Almeria

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Sunday Morning at the El Alquián Mercadillo

The nearby village of El Alquián has a “mercadillo” every Sunday morning. That literally translates as a flea market and would be a tianguis in Mexico.

I didn’t realise that the clocks moved back yesterday, which explains why I was awake around 7:30 when I’d gone to bed around 12:30. Even the fact that the sun was up did not clue me into the time change!

I had a full eight hours of typing to do, but I still wanted to go out. So I had a quick breakfast, vaguely remembering my host saying I’d be able to have coffee at the market and so skipping that step, grabbed the grocery cart, and headed off around 8:30.

While I had less than 5KM to walk, I discovered that the road is absolutely not pedestrian friendly, having a high speed limit and no shoulders. I ended up coming home by the beach, which was lovely, but not grocery cart friendly. So I really doubt I’ll be going to El Alquián again, not when Almería downtown is about 15 minutes away by buses that run regularly.

Approaching the market. People were parked quite a distance away.

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The market is just a very long row of stalls. It starts with clothing and accessories, then you get produce. I bought a ton of stuff from the guy running this stall (he’s in the red shirt) as he had everything I wanted veggie-wise and it all looked fresh. I think prices are way better than in Canada, but sad compared to the Balkans and Mexico.

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The folks with the covered trays in front of that blue tarp had bulk goods so I was able to stock up on raisins. Mangos and avocado were very pricy and I did not get any.

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I wandered up and down a few times, adding four apples and a loaf of bread to my haul. I had hoped to come home with cheese as well, but there was only one tiny vendor selling cheese and meat and he was doing business much too fast for me to feel comfortable shopping as I didn’t recognise any of his wares and would have had questions. The only stall that I lingered at was selling olives in bulk, but the containers were just flimsy plastic ones and I didn’t want to come home to olive juice all over my groceries!

There were only two food stalls. One had whole roasted chickens and the other one had coffee, hot chocolate, and churros (doughnuts). I got a coffee and that alone was worth my very long walk as it it was very strong without being bitter and the crema was almost like caramel. Yum!

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Frankly, I was disappointed. It just didn’t have the lively community gathering feel that I’ve grown accustomed to at markets.

I’d had my fill within about an hour, right on schedule, so I headed off, pausing to dig one of my apples out of my bag. I found apples, certain types of which are a favourite food, disappointing in the Balkans (always mealy) and have been in withdrawal. This apple was perfect, so crisp and balancing tartness and sweetness.

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I turned to the beach at this point, where you can see my neighbourhood in the distance. I live at the completely opposite end.

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Found someone living the good life!

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When I finally reached my neighbourhood, I was reminded that I’d been to this end of the malecón before with my host. So our malecón is really quite short and that’s why folks will run up and down it. I still had almost a full kilometre left to get home at this point!

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I got in and put my purchases away. 16.52CAD had gotten me:

  • 1 bunch celery
  • 1 large bunch carrots
  • 4 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1 medium broccoli
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 4 medium onions
  • 2 cucumbers
  • 2 zucchini
  • 4 large apples
  • 1 small loaf bread
  • 1 coffee

Next, I did all my outdoor chores and then I finally plopped myself down at my desk and started typing.

Around four, I used some of my veggies and as well as leftover chicken broth and roasted chicken to make a quick chicken soup.

Even though I worked steadily and did not take many breaks, I wasn’t done with my jobs until almost 10PM. Phew. My eyes literally hurt by that point. I had a long hot shower, watched an episode of something, and then passed out.

Today will be a slightly easier work day. Depending on what time I finish, I may go to Almería, but I think I’m better off saving that for tomorrow and making a day off of it. We shall see. My clients have been surprising!

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I’m Apparently in the Affordable Part of Spain

I ended up almost triple booked for work this weekend because a major (in terms of who they are, not yearly order volume) client dropped a largish job into my queue with no warning. They are too important to say no to and will be paying me at the start of the New Year, when I’ll likely be traveling around, not having as much time to work, and grateful for the cash injection.

Despite that, I really want to go to the market tomorrow morning, which will be about two hours away round trip walking. So I worked my tail off today!

Thankfully, I had a really amazing night of sleep — 00:30 right straight to 8:30! That’s almost unheard of for me! The room is like a cocoon, so dark and quiet. I know I slept like crap all summer in Bulgaria, so it’s a blessing to have better sleep conditions here and that I’ll be able to leave refreshed.

I like to check my emails in bed and the cat joined me for a snuggle, so I didn’t get up till almost 9:30. I got cracking right after breakfast and worked steadily through my day. By 8:00PM, I still had, ideally, another couple of hours to do, but I was getting rather hangry. I decided to pause and have a beer and tapa at the place around the corner my host took me to on Monday.

8:30 on a Saturday night in Spain is apparently the perfect time to have a quiet drink at a bar, LOL. I ordered a beer and chose chorizo as my included tapa. I expected a bite or two of the sausage on a toothpick and to come back home and have some peanut butter toast. Imagine my surprise that my 2 euros/3CAD got me not only the beer, but a whole grilled chorizo sausage on a small bun and a small order of fries! I don’t think I’ve ever done that well even in Mexico! That was absolutely a full meal and really yummy! I read the local paper as I enjoyed my unexpected dinner, savouring a little luxury I missed in the Balkans. There, I could read the paper, but if I understood more than the odd word, I was on fire! 🙂

I think I will be going to that bar quite often! Now, back to work.!

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First Glimpses of My Mediterranean Shore

I had another good night of sleep. The room is very quiet and like my room in Alicante, it has exterior blinds that allow for a complete blackout. Add in a decent bed and I’ve got good sleeping conditions.

I wanted to complete a fairly large job before the invoicing deadline today, so I got cracking on that. With about an hour of work left to do on it, I took a break to make something I have been craving for four months: roasted chicken. Or, rather, roasted chicken breast, having bought yesterday a really huge one with the bones in! I had brined the chicken overnight, so I dried it off, seared it, and then roasted it over a bed of veggies. It came out perfectly, so tender, juicy, and flavourful! I have heaps of leftovers I look forward to enjoying.

By about four, the job was done and I started on my weekend work, knowing more was incoming. Not only did I have the stamina to do that, but I hadn’t felt the least bit of a need for a nap and… I wanted to go for a walk! I’m almost better!

So off I went to explore the very nearby beach and malecón.

Here I am looking towards Cabo de Gata.

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It’s not a nice sandy beach, but rather gravel. My host explained that the beach got washed away every winter, so the authorities finally built a series of jetties to control the erosion and then covered the beach in pea gravel. The jetties seem to be working.

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The jetties aren’t meant to be walked on, but I wasn’t the only one who had fun hopping from stone to stone to get to the end of one!

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I cannot believe the colour of the Mediterranean! I thought I got a couple of good shots in Alicante, but it looks like it really is turquoise!

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So Cabo de gata again.

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And looking towards the African continent, less than 200KM away…

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Looking back towards my neighbourhood.

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Our lovely Malecón. It ends a couple of blocks away in the direction I’m facing, but I’m not sure how long it is in the other direction.

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I could be in a suburban Mexican neighbourhood, like Playa Sur or just off the Golden Zone in Maz.

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This is where I had my first tapas! It has been fully renovated recently.

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It’s going to be a working weekend, but I am taking Sunday morning off to go explore the market my host told me about. Hopefully, I’ll be back to full speed by the start of the week so I can take my first bus ride and get further orientated as to greater Almería as I’ll already be one week down into a seven-week stay. My time here is going to fly by!

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My Own Routine Is Good

My sore throat went to painful and kept me up most of the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. I eventually got desperate enough to choke down an ibuprofen tablet and it helped immensely. I don’t think I have a cold per se. I just get like this when I’m running on not enough REM sleep.

My host left very early Wednesday morning, so I had the house nearly to myself when I finally got up around 10:00 to a cat who made it clear her breakfast was the first priority! We spent some time cuddling on the couch before bed Tuesday night and she gave me a bath, so I’d say we’re starting off on the right foot. It’s so lovely to have some feline company again!

It is very particular to live in someone else’s home. I’m really torn between realising that seven weeks is not an insignificant period of time so I should get comfortable and my instinct to make myself as small as possible so as to not disturb anything of my host’s. Thankfully, there is clear designated space for me in all the areas I am allowed to use and being able to put my things away in those spaces helped me feel a bit more at home than if I had to live out of my suitcases for nearly two months! My host did a great job of making me feel like I can be at home here.

One of the best gifts she gave me is permission to use her home office, so I have a proper desk and chair! I worked most of the afternoon, glad to have an excuse not to go out as I really am worn down to the nub. I even had a mid-afternoon nap!

Dinner was a simple pasta, but baked with browned cheese on top. I have so missed having a broiler!

I managed to get to bed early (by Spanish time) on Wednesday night and slept a solid five hours before going back to sleep for another three or so. Even though my throat still hurt this morning and I’m a little sniffly, I felt rested, something I haven’t experienced in too long. A couple more nights like that and I’ll be back to normal.

I didn’t latch the bedroom door properly when I got up in the middle of the night and so I woke up to a snoring weight on my chest this morning! I’d say the cat and I are going to get along just fine!

The morning was spent working steadily and then I headed out to the nearby shop to get a few groceries. I really did mean to take some pictures of the beach, but I had no spare energy at all for even such a tiny detour! If I hadn’t been somewhere I speak the language, I don’t think I would have had the strength at all to go out.

I had another largish job to do in the late afternoon/early evening, so I took a long nap before starting on it! Listening to your body is the best way to heal.

My appetite is just fine, so I heated up a pizza and had part of it for dinner, with my favourite sore throat food for dessert, vanilla pudding. If I have to be sick, at least it’s in a country where I can ask if such a thing is available! What I was offered isn’t as good as the Lala brand in Mexico, but it does the trick!

Now, I’m having a cuddle on the couch with the cat and am about to put on a movie. It really didn’t take us long to be friends. She even hung out in the office with me for part of the afternoon!

I’ve got a couple more big days of work and then I should be able to start exploring a tad. Just bear with me. 🙂

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Slowly Settling In in Almería

My host is an early riser with a routine, so there was no pressure for me to get up this morning as that would have put me in her way. I slept pretty soundly until 7AM, when I was woken by a plane from the very nearby airport taking off. I then dozed for another hour or so. I think I will sleep well here once I get settled. I finally got up around 9AM and was able to make myself coffee, needing only hot water and a mug. I had time to enjoy my coffee and bond a bit with the cat before heading out.

I will have pictures next time I go exploring on my own. So please, no frustration at the lack of pics in this post! 🙂

We went to the nearby village (4KM away, so walking distance) to have a traditional Andalusian breakfast, get me orientated as to various services, and also pick up some groceries, especially heavy stuff to take advantage of the car today. Breakfast was toasted baguette with tomato pulp, olive oil, and salt. Very yummy! Two of those and two coffees were 3.20 euros. My coffee order in Spain is a “cafe cortado,” which is a shot of espresso with a bit of milk.

Next stop was a health food store where I was able to pick up sugar free almond milk (something I really missed in Bulgaria, where I could only find the kind with sugar), sugar free cereal, and chia seeds. Prices were a bit lower than in Canada for similar items. The cashier was a bit taken aback, but delighted, that I speak Spanish.

This is a very non-touristy part of Spain and so having a housesitter who speaks Spanish was a priority for my host. I was worried about the local accent, but I’ve so far had no problems worth mentioning with the language and am getting done what needs to be done. I’m a lot more relaxed than I was my first months in Mexico as I’ve definitely gained a lot of confidence that I can understand folks and them me.

The grocery store was a bit of a disappointment as to dairy and produce, but it’s not the only store available to me and I will have access to “hypermarkets” by bus (similar set up to when I’m in Mexico, where my Isla grocery store was good for basics, but I liked going to Mega, Soriana, and Ley for more selection). This grocery store was fine for me to get laundry detergent, toilet paper, washing up liquid, and other household things. Spaniards seem to universally buy drinking water in 6L containers (the most you can really carry comfortably) and with my fragile digestion, I decided to go that route. So I picked up four containers, which should last me a week to ten days.

I then went next door to the pharmacy to get ibuprofen as I’ve been battling headaches all week. Like in the Balkans, you can’t buy ibuprofen (and similar products) off the shelf, but rather have to ask for it at a counter. It’s ibuprofeno in Spain (ee-boo-pro-fen-oh). The dosage is higher than in North America, so you likely only need one tablet rather than two. I had one when I got in and it worked really fast, just like the Nurofen did in Bulgaria.

We came back to the neighbourhood where I’m staying and my host showed me a little shop I can walk to that has a bit of everything. It had better dairy and produce, a bit of a deli section, booze, and more. I got a few things there, including some veg that I had to ask for rather than select myself. The owner of that store is incredibly friendly! It will be so much easier to shop there than it was at my little village shop in Bulgaria. I just have to remember that the shop is closed Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and between about 2:30 and 5:30PM the rest of the week.

There is a nearby market on Sunday mornings for produce and other things, so I look forward to going there this weekend! My host is providing me with a wheelie cart for hauling groceries, so I’ll be able to carry things with ease and haul home more than I could in my backpack when I was in Bulgaria.

Where I am is a bit isolated, but it’s nothing like where I was in Bulgaria in that I can walk to a few bars and restaurants (there’s a Mexican place I need to check out!!!), the grocery shop, a pool (if I buy a bathing suit), and a bus stop in less than five minutes. The village is only 8KM round trip and I can get to Almería downtown in about 15 minutes on the bus. I think I will be very happy here once I’m orientated and settled. There is a little bit of touristy stuff to do, but I want to focus on work and getting to know my neighbourhood before I do any real exploring. I look forward to walking the beach!

I worked through most of the afternoon and got a tiny rush job around 7PM. I am going to try to adapt to the later Spanish lifestyle while I’m here since it will be good for me professionally as I’ll be up during more of my clients’ work day. It’s funny how I was a night owl for so long and now I’m struggling with not being up by 6AM! Also, if I want to have a meal out here every once in a while, I really need to get on the Spanish schedule.

Tomorrow will be my housekeeping set up day where I work on the kitchen to suit how I cook (I’ll be taking lots of before photos so I can put things back the way they were!), set up my office (a real desk and chair, yaaaaaay) because I’m booked through the end of the week, and just settle into knowing the house and the cat’s routine. I feel a bit like a traitor to all the cats I’ve had in my life, but my charge here may be the most beautiful cat I’ve ever seen… And I’m not just saying that because my host will likely read this! *winks*

I’m still feeling very run down with a sore throat and a bit of congestion, so it will be a blessing tomorrow to be able to just stay in. Now, I’m thinking of a hot shower and an early night, which these days, has been about 11PM!