La Vida Buena

Not much exciting travel news to report, but I did get a computer sent from home (thanks Mom and Dad) so I have more time to write. Of course, nothing is perfect, and I can’t yet get the computer to connect to the internet in WIFI zones here, but it is wonderful to be able to sit on our terrace and write this while Matthias is cooking. Life is good.

I started Spanish classes this week; four hours per day, 9:30-1:30, Monday through Friday, and I love it. I have signed up for four weeks of classes, so hopefully, by the time I’m done, my Spanish will be much improved. There are not too many other students in the class, and they are all quite young. Next week, I’ll be studying with a German guy who’s 20 years old. That’s definitely young enough to be my son, right? The horror! (probably more horrific for him than for me, though.) Still, while they are young (most in mid-twenties) they are international (German, Australian, Swiss, Danish, etc.) and they have interesting lives and plenty to talk about. As I may have mentioned before, Tarifa is a pretty young town, due to it’s reputation for wind and kite surfing, while other towns in Andalucía have more older tourists and immigrants. It’s funny to be in my age category around here though – too young to be “retired” and too old to be “bumming around Europe.”

We have continued exploring the area. Gibraltar was nice, and somewhat different from the other towns around here, what with the big “rock” and fish and chips signs everywhere. We didn’t see the monkey’s this time, but Matthias’ parents are coming to visit around the holidays so we plan to go back then, when we will take the cable care to the top of the rock. We also visited some natural parks in the area and went for some lovely hikes through the surrounding hills and cork-oak forests. Matthias even found some mushrooms that he put in the freezer for use in Gulasch or some other dish to be prepared at a later date.

Tarifa is really great for it’s location right at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, with stunning views of the Atlantic and Africa’s Coast. One drawback about the location, however, when one is without a car (like us), is that you can’t hike any real distance directly from town. One way (east) along the coast goes through a military zone where access is restricted. We learned that this is because of the proximity to Africa and the relative ease with which immigrants (and smugglers) can access the beaches. In fact, I just read in the local paper that 26 illegal immigrants (or those intending to be illegal immigrants) were intercepted in the water nearby. Walking west, there is a boardwalk that goes along the beach through the dunes, but it is only about a mile long – after that, you have to walk along the main road, with cars whipping by and no sidewalk. So, we have used the bus to travel to areas where we can explore more on foot. If we were going to be here longer, we would get a car.

Okay, I must be boring anyone who is attempting to read this (I’m even boring myself a little.) So, I’ll sign off for now. Happy Birthday to Patrick and hooray on the congressional elections. I can now hold my head a little higher around here (and around the world.)