Almeria

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Alicante to Almería

This morning, I finally began to understand why Spaniards are such night owls — it was still dark at 8AM. I thought it was very odd that Spain is on the same time zone as Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, etc. As it turns out, it used to be on the same time zone as Britain, but then the dictator Franco changed the time zone to put Spain on the same time zone as Germany and the country has been out of whack since.

I woke up without an alarm, but it had not been a good night of sleep and I knew I was going to have to nap on the bus. I was already packed, so I was out the door by 8:30, with the bus being at 9:30. I had about a half hour walk ahead of me, so I wanted to stop for sustenance along the way and then hopefully get a coffee at or near the bus station.

Alicante was busier than I expected at that “early” hour, but there was very little open. I finally came to a proper bakery and was a little taken aback that two pastries and a large bottle of water were only 2.15 euros. There was a café at the bus station and when I asked for a coffee with a bit of milk, I was offered a “cortado,” which ended up being the best not-made-by-me coffee I’ve had since I got to Spain! The barista had a super thick accent, though, and his “1.20” sounded a lot like “90.” He was annoyed with me when I handed him just one euro and even more so when, still not sure what he’d said, I passed over two euro (instead of exact change). His grumpiness is forgiven for the perfection that was his coffee!

I then went to my… okay. I have to say this. I just blanked out completely on the English word for the Serbian peron. This is how I get when I’m tired — I lose my English! My platform, I went to my platform! There was a huge crowd waiting for a 9:15 bus to Madrid. That bus came and went and then nothing. 9:30 came and went. I thought I heard Almería on a loud speaker, but it was super tinny and I didn’t get anything else. I asked a couple of people and they hadn’t understood the announcement either. I was concerned our bus had moved to another platform. It finally pulled up around 9:45!

The driver did not get out to help load luggage and he didn’t check anyone’s ticket! Seating was assigned and very strict. I’d picked a window seat near the front and was satisfied with my selection even though, like on the train, the windows weren’t line up well with the seats and I got a lot of wall with my window.

We drove… If it wasn’t for the gas stations having different names, I would have thought I was in the Sonoran desert in Mexico. I eventually drifted off to sleep.

At almost bang on noon, we pulled into a station and the driver announced that we would be taking a 15-minute break and would be arriving about 30 minutes late in Almería. I emailed my host to let her know as she had offered to pick me up at the bus station. Thankfully, she got the message.

We finally pulled into Almería at 1:51, 31 minutes late. For all I heard people complain about buses in the Balkans, they ran like clockwork. So far, I prefer the smelly Spanish train. 😀

My host was waiting for me. Her house is in a suburb about 15 minutes from downtown Almería so she showed me where to get off and back on the bus when I come into the city. She then took me to her house, introduced me to my feline charge, showed me my room, and then we sat down to discuss practical matters regarding my gig. Out of respect to her, I am not giving any details about exactly where I am, the house, my responsibilities, etc. I can show pictures of the neighbourhood, local restaurants, the beach, etc. so give me time to get properly landed and all of that will come.

We went for a nice walk along the beach and through her neighbourhood, then came back for a rest. Around 7:30, we headed out to her favourite bar so I could have my first tapas! We had two glasses of white wine each and two tapas for just 8.50 euros total! The first tapa was a large chunk of seared tuna on tomato toast and the second one was a small order of fried calamari. Yum! I was really famished by this point, so the fish was welcome protein and the calamari gave me that bit of moreish I needed to not feel I was going to bed hungry.

Tomorrow is going to be a full day. We’re going out for breakfast, then my host will show me around a bit more, then I have work to do. I’ll be on my own as of Wednesday morning and will be here through to about December 16th.

I can’t believe I’m currently about the same distance from Africa as Haven is from Regina…

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Narrowing Down the Itinerary

My host in Spain got in touch with me last week to know if I’d bought my ticket for Spain yet. I was not anywhere near ready to lock that down. But as the month started to progress, I saw flight prices increase and knew I had to make a decision as to where I will be flying from, if only to give me a firm target to hit on my travels. I’m now in a part of Europe where travel isn’t that easy. There’s not much information online, bus schedules are really loose, and you have to really scale down your plans because you can’t get anywhere quickly.

This morning, I decided to find the best deal on a ticket to Spain from a location that won’t cost me hundreds of dollars to get to from Sarajevo. I had originally thought I might fly from Athens, but from where I’m sitting this morning, that doesn’t make sense in terms of how much ground I’d have to cover and the cost to get there.

I looked at Tirana, Albania, but research tells me that while Albania is lovely, it’s still the Wild West out there in terms of public transportation and internet (so basically the Canada of Europe?) and not ideal for my current type of travel.

I’m trying to make my next stop the Adriatic Coast in Montenegro (which is proving to be a job unto itself and will warrant another post), so I looked at flying out of Podgorica. Prices were terrible and Podgorica is universally regarded as one of the ugliest and least worth visiting capitals in Europe so I wasn’t that keen on spending time there.

Next, I thought of going back to Belgrade, but was shocked by how high flights prices were and that most flights had me go through Istanbul!

That left one other choice, which just happened to have a bargain flight to Barcelona on Wizz Air, which I know how to navigate, on October 17th: Skopje, Macedonia.

I had planned to fly into Spain around the 20th, so I’d have plenty of time to get to Almería by the end of the day on the 24th. So the 17th is a bit early, but still well within my initial timeline. So I now have 11 days to get to Skopje Airport (I fly out late in the day, so I have most of the 17th if I need it) and from Barcelona will have a full week to get to Almería. My 50USD/70CAD flight is about three times less than I had budgeted, so that will cover some exploration and the extra expense of being farther from Almería than Madrid. I’m thinking a couple of days in Barcelona and then meandering my way down the coast…

It feels good to have the flight booked. I’ve been feeling a little rudderless and now have a better idea of my budget and if I can afford the prices I’m seeing for accommodation on the Adriatic Coast. I know I will kick myself for skipping it, so I think I will go, but for only a few days and then spend the rest of my time in the Balkans in Macedonia. If the bus schedule I found is correct, I may get to add Albanian and Kosovan stamps to my passport after all, even if I don’t spend any time in those countries.

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Flexibility and a Shift of Schedule

I had a loose plan what what was going to come after Bulgaria, staying in Eastern Europe until December and then going to Spain or Portugal. I kept an eye on housesits and when a nearly perfect one turned up, I pounced even if it would put me in Spain a full two months sooner than I had planned. Thanks to Croft and another friend who acted as references, I got the job!

So I am flying to Madrid from somewhere on or about October 20th and then taking a bus to Almería, in the south of Spain. This is my dream Spanish location — far enough south to have warm weather, but still off the tourist path in a very expat-centric part of the country. My Spanish skills contributed greatly to my getting an interview. I would be lying if I said I’m not tired of being somewhere I don’t speak the language and that it will be an immense relief to land somewhere that I do.

I will be watching a house and a 12-year-old cat for seven weeks. That is the limit of what I can say in deference to my host’s privacy. I will not be sharing pictures of her cat or her home, but I am allowed to say where I am when I get there (I’ll actually be in a small town outside of Almería). And that I am looking forward to having access to a proper desk and chair for working!

I still have only an inkling of an idea of what I am doing between Bulgaria and Madrid, so please don’t ask me about that at this point. 🙂 Belgrade for a month is still on the table, but I’m also investigating the possibility of an organised tour of some sort through the Balkans. I really would love to see Sarajevo, Kosovo, and the Adriatic coast. But at the same time, work is slow, not particularly lucrative, and I didn’t manage to add to my savings here so I have to be frugal what with having to pay for accommodation for the next four weeks. The cheapest option is definitely a monthly rental and that’s also the option most conducive to working.

By far the cheapest option for getting to Almería is to fly from a large city, like Belgrade or Athens, to Madrid and then taking a bus to Almería. I toyed with the idea of a very long train ride through Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy, and France, but the cost was exorbitant. I’d rather fly to Madrid a few days early and play tourist.

Now that I have a hard target, I suspect the next four weeks will come into focus. And so, the coddiwompling continues!

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