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!
Almeria is on the coast! Wow, the ideal location! There are probably wineries nearby!
I wonder what the difference between Spain Spanish and mexican Spanish will be. My Cuban friend has a terrible time speaking to Mexicans. He says it is “Almost like we speak a different language”.
Yes, I believe right on a beach!
The two are VERY different. I learned European Spanish and had to unlearn a lot and tone down my accent for Mexico. Now, to forget all that I learned in Mexico and reclaim my accent. 😀
Almeria Wineries!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuch-ZM4rG4
You have a one track mind! 😉
But, hey, I understand her!
That looks like a great itinerary. You’ll be able to see a lot of museums along the way. Plus what Croft said too.
It’s getting exciting again 😀
What, has my Bulgarian interlude bored you?! 😉
Congrats Rae on another great adventure. Spain will be perfect for you and the location couldn’t be better. Knowing you I suspect that all the other locations you want to visit will fall into place. Found this tidbit re WiFi on an Almeria site.
https://www.easymifi.com/en/
Personally I would head to Marrakesh for a few weeks before Portugal.
The house will have internet, yay!
I really would love to go to Morocco, but I’m not sure if it will be a good destination for working. Still doing my research.
Rae, I’m just guessing, but it is probably as easy as a ferry ride in Canada. From an economic standpoint, you could just do a day trip, see one or two museums or sites, and return the same day on the ferry, better than not going at all. But I have no idea of the cost of the ferry, and daylight is shorter that time of year–just thinking out loud!
Dee
I had to think for a minute where you wanted me to go, LOL. Sorry, been a long day! I keep going back and forth on Morocco…
I like Dee’s thoughts. There is a ferry from Almeria to Merilla. Morocco. It appears to be a four hour ride each way so doing a day trip would be out but to go for a weekend or so it would probably work!
Well! On second look, Melilla (spelled wrong in previous comment) appears to be part of Spain. Isn’t that interesting.
“Melilla is a Spanish autonomous city located on the north coast of Africa, sharing a border with Morocco with an area of 12.3 square kilometres. Melilla, along with Ceuta, is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities in mainland Africa.” Wikipedia
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