We’ve moved apartments, which has probably been one of our easiest moves since we started travelling. Our small place is just a stone’s throw from our last, along the promenade, which means we’ve also managed to hold onto our little daily routine for a bit longer. We’re now on the eleventh (and top) floor, with a great little sun terrace that works just as well for bracing early morning exercise as it does for hiding away from the strong onshore winds that have arrived. The views across the bay and along the coastline in both directions are really quite something.
We had planned to move from Almería to Granada to spend a week there, but that was before I saw the forecast. The binary weather report didn’t look promising, and neither of us has the wardrobe for it, nor are we quite ready for the cold. So, we’re staying put for a while longer.
Since we had another weekend here, we decided to look in on Mark, a friend from the Bahamas who also helped me out with a car when he left. I haven’t seen him since I left the islands nearly thirty years ago. He’s been in Spain for many years now and is living with his partner Pablo just outside Málaga. We arranged to meet for lunch in Nerja, which is just over an hour and a half from Almería.
It’s funny how, when you haven’t seen someone for a long time, you wonder how you’ll find them again. But more often than not, it’s how you left them that determines where you pick things up. That seemed to be the case for both of us. The meal was okay, as was Nerja, but it was really good to see Mark again and to meet Pablo. Rachel and I both enjoyed a moment of quiet nostalgia as we made our way back along the coast.
The weather has now shifted. Gone are the calm seas and still air, replaced with strong winds and rough water. Our final swim of the year came on November 23rd, and since then we’ve made way for the kite surfers and surfers who’ve taken over the bay. It’s hard to believe after six weeks of near-perfect conditions. A couple of nights of heavy rain have swept away the last of the warmth, leaving us with cool evenings and crisp mornings. I’m still in shorts, though, as we continue our walks along the promenade.
I’d already bought our bus tickets to Granada, followed by the high-speed train to Seville, which ruled out a direct flight. With move day upon us, we headed to the bus station with our luggage safely stowed and boarded the bus to Granada. It was a painless two-hour journey.
Granada was cold, and we could already see the snow dusted across the Sierra Nevada mountains. We had an hour to get to the train station. The ride only took about ten minutes by taxi, but the challenge was actually finding one. After cancelling my Uber, we eventually flagged one down and made it to the busy station, where a long queue of passengers was waiting. What we didn’t realise was that all passengers had to pass through full security checks and luggage screening. With just a few minutes to spare, we made it through, found our carriage, and slumped into our seats.
Dream Chasers 