Spain Trip: Day 8

Today was golf day #2. I enjoyed Baeveria golf course so much I went back for another round. This time I was paired with two very friendly Spanish gentlemen - Jose and Fernando.  When they found out I was from Hawaii they wanted to know if I was here for business. When I said my wife and I were here for a holiday, they were puzzled as to why 1) we, from Hawaii, "el numero uno destinacion para turistas," would want to come to Spain, and 2) what am I doing playing in a "segunda clase campo de golf." I love the self-deprecating Spanish sense of humor!

Golf with locals Jose and Fernando at the Baevaria Golf Course.

While I was at the golf course, Tess went to the Saturday farmers market which was held on the harbor right across our condo. She had a such a good time and was very pleased at how inexpensive things were.

Big crowd at the Saturday morning Caleta de Velez farmers market.

 A trinket store at the farmers market.

Tess's treasure-trove from the trinket store.

Lunch, courtesy of the bounty from the Caleta farmers market. Muy fresco y delicioso!

Later in the evening after our pm siesta, as has now become tradition with me and Tess when we're on vacation, we went to see a movie - Jason Bourne. You might think it's easy to go see a movie in a foreign country but not quite. We learned the hard way but you don't have to. You need to make sure the version you want to see is in English (or the original version from where the movie was produced). Here in Spain they're labeled VOSE (Version Orihinal Subtitulada Español).  They are subtitled in Spanish and there is one minor nuance about that - the locals react to the scenes, i.e., laughter, a second after you do. 

Las cinemas en Torre del Mar con dose salas.

A funny story on the way to the cinema. When we got to the mall I asked a white gentleman, "¿Perdon, señor, donde esta la cinema?" The prick ignored me! I told Tess, "Wow, that was a first!" All Spaniards we've encountered so far were very friendly and always went out of their way to assist. Later on, that same guy was ahead of us in line for the movie tickets. It turned out, overhearing him, that he was a Brit! I felt better.

To cap the night off, we got home and there was an air show right at the cove! (English for caleta). We watched a solo fighter jet doing tight spins, rolls, vertical climbs, and pass-bys right in front of our condo! At one point it shot out flares; we've seen the USAF Thunderbirds and the US Navy Blue Angels perform many times but we never saw them shoot flares. Impressive! Here's the video I took. A must-watch.

Day 9

Spain Trip: Day 7

Today we ventured out of our pueblo poquito and took a trip to Nerja and Frigillana. Two nearby towns to the east, the first is known for its beautiful underground cave and the other, is an old Moorish town built high on a steep mountain.

The Nerja cave is huge, with high ceilings and gigantic stalactites, columns, and stalagmites. One room is so big, it is regularly used for concerts!

For lunch we went to the town proper of Nerja that had the awesome "Balcon de Europa," a large terrace overlooking the Mediterranean.

Balcon de Europa.

 The town of Frigillana.

Day 8

Spain Trip: Day 6

My blog wouldn't be called Save Par if it didn't have stories about golf, ya? Today was golf day #1. The golf course is called Baeveria and it's just uphill on the edge of Caleta. I asked for the earliest tee time and I was given 0730. As customary with golf courses, I showed up 15 minutes early but the place was empty! In the US during summer, the pro shop would have been open at 6 in time for the first tee off at 0630. I killed time at the practice putting green. At exactly 0730 the pro shop opened and I was told I was paired with a local gentleman, who shuffled in 10 minutes later.

As we headed off to tee box #1 just before 8, finally, more golfers showed up. After three holes, my partner asked if I wanted to go ahead since he said he was too slow for my pace and that he was just practicing, anyway. I obliged and off I went and enjoyed a wonderful round at a beautiful golf course. See for yourself!

 At the practice putting green next to the clubhouse.

  My pull cart and bag next to hole #1.

Hole #6 overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. 

A very well maintained course. The sand in the bunkers are white and grainy. 

The crane along the fairway on this par 4 hole is on a construction site. The workers stopped banging as I readied to hit my second shot. Nice courtesy but intimidating. Luckily I hit the green.

 A picturesque but with very tight and long fairway on this par 5 hole.

 The tee box on this par 3 hole is on a cliff overlooking the green with a water hazard infront.

Day 7

Spain Trip: Day 6

My blog wouldn't be called Save Par if it didn't have stories about golf, ya? Today was golf day #1. The golf course is called Baeveria and it's just uphill on the edge of Caleta. I asked for the earliest tee time and I was given 0730. As customary with golf courses, I showed up 15 minutes early but the place was empty! In the US during summer, the pro shop would have been open at 6 in time for the first tee off at 0630. I killed time at the practice putting green. At exactly 0730 the pro shop opened and I was told I was paired with a local gentleman, who shuffled in 10 minutes later.

As we headed off to tee box #1 just before 8, finally, more golfers showed up. After three holes, my partner asked if I wanted to go ahead since he said he was too slow for my pace and that he was just practicing, anyway. I obliged and off I went and enjoyed a wonderful round at a beautiful golf course. See for yourself!

 At the practice putting green next to the clubhouse.

  My pull cart and bag next to hole #1.

Hole #6 overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. 

A very well maintained course. The sand in the bunkers are white and grainy. 

The crane along the fairway on this par 4 hole is on a construction site. The workers stopped banging as I readied to hit my second shot. Nice courtesy but intimidating. Luckily I hit the green.

 A picturesque but with very tight and long fairway on this par 5 hole.

 The tee box on this par 3 hole is on a cliff overlooking the green with a water hazard infront.

Day 7

Spain Trip: Day 5

We got our missing luggage delivered today. Yey! One hour behind schedule but that's ok.  Nobody seems to be in a hurry here, it's just taking us a while to get used to it. This morning at 6, I went looking for an open store to buy coffee. It's a small village and there's only one main road where most of the businesses are lined up; only two open - a bakery and a bar. One, early opener, and the other, late closer. Guess where I found the coffee? Yup, the bar.

Later, we scouted the two closest golf courses where I'll be playing, per my wife, "so I won't have to stress looking for them early in the morning." (She's definitely a keeper :).   When tapas time came at around 7pm, we went to Torre del Mar, the busy town next to ours, but, I kid you not, we could not find a parking space. Not one!

We ended up driving to our condo and walking back to Torre del Mar. Walking by the beach on the promenade, we found out why all the parking spots were taken - the beach was jam-packed with people! At 730pm!

These table huts, all occupied, are for rent.

We're from Hawaii and we're used to the beach scene but the Spaniards, they take it to a whole new level!

A Torre del Mar marker on a beach park.

In town, we looked for a tapa bar but practically all the restaurants were hieladeras (ice cream parlors)! We made it to La Cueva, a Trip Advisor top choice for tapas. We had to wait a few minutes for it to open, and at exactly 8pm, they were.  The search and the wait were worth it because the food and las bebidas (drinks) were great!

Dining and drinking at La Cueva.

Bacalao y vino riojo.

On the way back to Caleta, we were so fascinated to find out that the hieladeras have changed their signages and are now tapa and regular restaurants! What a town!

This restaurant was a heladeria a couple of hours ago. Now it serves "tapas & mas."

The walk back was a joy, seeing families up to four generations frolicking along the promenade, enjoying la cena at outdoor restaurants, or having a picnic at the beach. And yes, at close to midnight!

Closely-knit families abound.

Espeto (skewered fish) grills line up the boardwalk next to the beach.

This is our favorite beach side restaurant.

Last one standing - a family still at the beach close to midnight.

Day 6

Spain Trip: Day 4

Day 4 - the final leg of our journey to southern Spain - continued to be quite interesting it invoked colorful language. Thank God we went to the airport early because unbeknownst to us, there are unique things about traveling in Spain.

First, the luggage fee and weight allowance are not the same as what we were informed by our travel agent back in the US (good ol' Expedia). It is actually more and less, respectively. You can save some fee if you pay online in advance. If you pay at the airport, it is quite a bit more. Scrambling at the check-in counter after waiting in a long line was not fun. (We will never take our gold premier status at United for granted again. :)

Checking in at the Madrid airport for our flight to Málaga.

Second, always check your boarding pass and luggage claim tags. We found out we were missing a claim tag in time but we failed to notice that I was on standby and had no assigned seat! The suspense of not knowing whether or not I can be on the flight until everyone else has been processed at the gate was torture! The other person on standby, a lady, wasn't ladylike anymore after she found out she was not on the flight! She used a word my grandma used (may she rest in peace) when she was pissed: lechè. And no, she didn't mean milk.

Boarding our jet-prop plane. 

Third, a baggage tag does not guarantee your luggage will arrive at your destination. I wasn't bumped but two of our luggages were.  After filling in the necessary form we were assured that they will be delivered that same day to the condo we would be staying. Wrong. That's when we were first made aware of another Spanish habit - the mañana kind. We got a call later that the luggage came in late and won't be delivered until the following day. Oh well, at least Tess has her clothes; if one of us has to go commando for a day, better be me, otherwise, I wouldn't hear the end of it!

Final approach into Málaga after a U-turn over the Mediterranean Sea.

Fourth, driving in Europe is all about the roundabouts, or as they call them in Spain - la rotunda. After we picked up our rental car, immediately after leaving the Málaga airport, I was introduced to the rotunda. The first one had six exits (salidas). The girlie voice in Google maps could not keep up with the Spanish names! Amazingly, I made my exit -- into another rotunda! I am not making it up. It reminded me of the roundabout scene in the European Vacation movie. I was ready to cry!

The view from our condo balcony. Worth all the hassle!

But amazingly, we made it to Caleta de Velez. And the world was right again. We met our property manager, Emma. She's fabulous. Our rental condo is amazing! It is right across the harbor and walking distance to everything. We walked 300 meters to a seafood restaurant on the harbor for lunch. Food was fantastic and the service was great! Spanish hospitality more than makes up for all the minor inconveniences about Spain.

Tess with Emma, the condo property manager.

Lunch at the harbor restaurant steps away from our rented condo.

Seafood, as fresh as you'll ever get.

Day 5

Spain Trip: Day 3

We arrived in Spain via Madrid at 7am, got to work right away practicing my survival Spanish by borrowing someone's phone and call our hotel shuttle. After we checked and settled in, we finally experienced the Spanish dia that we've all heard so much about: the Spaniards take a siesta in the afternoon, then snack on tapas and imbibe in light drinks in the early evening, then dinner around 10pm.  What a country!

We also experienced Spanish hospitality right off the bat. Everyone we asked for directions were so eager to help. At one point a gentleman ran after us to correct the directions to the place to get taxi that he gave us.

Final approach into Madrid.

Madrid Aeropuerto.

Checking in at our hotel.

Our first tapas and vino.

Trip to a nearby mall.

Refreshed after a grueling 15-hour flight from LA, we're ready for southern Spain. Tomorrow, we head to our final destination - Caleta de Velez.

Day 4

Spain Trip: Day 2

So I'm writing this at 37,000 feet above sea level in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the way to our final destination in Spain - Calete de Velez. Our next stop is Madrid. We'll spend a night there then fly down south to Málaga. From the Málaga airport, we'll pick up our rental car then drive for about 30 minutes to Caleta de Velez, our home base for about 3 weeks.

On the flight from DC to Madrid. Still on the grid with onboard wifi.  

We haven't reached Spain yet and we've already had quite an adventure.  First, we had to advance our departure from Honolulu by 13 hours to avoid Tropical Storm Darby that was closing in on Hawaii. Based on the latest news, the storm caused flooding that prompted evacuation. Not sure if flights were cancelled or delayed but we're glad we decided to leave early.

The other good thing that came out of that decision was that we were able to meet up for dinner with our friends from the LA area - Edgar and Gerrie. We went to this restaurant by the beach called The Fishbar -- good food, good times.

Dinner last night with close friends, Edgar and Gerrie.

This morning prior to our LAX to DC flight, another close call. We were on the hotel shuttle and almost at our drop at the airport when I realized I forgot my golf clubs at the hotel storage! Yes, hard to believe, I forgot my clubs! Tess got off and I had to go back to the hotel with the shuttle. The driver was on break but was kind enough to drive me there, and at speeds I'm thinking she wasn't suppose to exceed. (She deserved the tip I gave her; hefty for my standards:). Anyway,  after I grabbed my golf bag, the next shuttle didn't appear to be coming any time soon. So, I walked across the street, golf bag in tow, to a rental car lot and took their shuttle back to the airport. Made it with plenty of time to spare. Whew!

Day 3