Retirement, Part III: Spain

Sunday, July 15
Off to Malaga, Spain to meet up with Andre, Marco, and Caroline. My redeye to Paris was very fruitful. I took Air France, and I can’t NOT recommend them enough. Sure they fed us, but between the terribly maintained airplane and flight delays, I’d recommend anyone else, unless of course, you’re travelling on a budget. I love finally having a legitimate excuse to be cheap! Well, on this flight, I sit next to a man that seemingly only speaks French, but I come to find that while he prefers French, he speaks a little English as well. Very interesting guy, this Jean Baptiste Eken. He was visiting the US for a peace conference. A topic I could see myself getting involved ion, I pry. He works for Action Pour Le Developpement (http://acdevcm.free.fr), a French organization promoting health and nutrition in his mother country, Cameroon. (For those of you like me that don’t know your African geography, that’s on the West Coast, at the bend between the top left and the bottom portion of the continent. I suppose it’s the Malibu of Africa. I mentioned that I’m planning a trip to India and South Africa and was interested in volunteering somewhere in Africa. I have no idea what I’d be able to do, but I’m smart and handy. He tells me that he’d love to have me and would sponsor me. I don’t know what sponsoring means exactly, but I confirmed that with his help, I can at least get any required documentation to get there; getting home may be a different story. Anyway, stay tuned with this thread, as it may turn into the most socially impactful thing I’ve done to date and may even lead to a new life journey!

Spain was nice, but Malaga didn’t feel like Spain to me. Maybe it’s the British influence, and maybe it’s just that I travel enough to begin blurring borders. Granted, everyone speaks Spanish, and mine’s getting better, but most folks speak English too. Even Marco’s been learning enough English for the two of us to communicate when needed.

Thursday, July 19
The four of us took a day trip to Gibraltar to see the rock and Africa (Morocco), 14 miles away. To put this into perspective, Catalina Island is 26 miles from Long Beach, and you know how close it looks on a clear day! Well, doing my research, I find that Gibraltar is an English colony. COME ON! I mean the US declared independence more than 200 years ago, and India broke free several generations ago… I suppose that Spain isn’t much interested in a big rock. Besides, the cheap booze and cigarettes is a huge tourist attraction. It’s basically the Ti Juana of Spain.

We spent lots of time with Daniel and Sarah, Raquel, Thomas, Karen, and Kelly. I know Andre cherishes the time he spent with Daniel and Raquel as a child, so it’s important for him that his kids have a chance to get to know their Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.

Sunday, July 22
As a family of 10, we took a day trip to Granada to visit the Alhambra, one of Spain’s Moorish/Muslim castles. (Andre gets a +1 for knocking out one of the 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up.) While the castle was nice, I enjoyed the drive home through olive fields and little towns the best. That may have been the most of Spain I saw on the trip.

Quick trips to local tourist sights, eating, and sitting out by the pool filled the rest of our trip. I have a tan for the first time in about a decade! I can’t say too much for the food in Malaga, but we had a few excellent meals at Raquel’s house. Overall, a good time was had by all.