The Spanish Overview

Spain is varied and diverse! The quiet and relaxed cafe's of the North, the hustle and bustle of the cities of the East and onwards to the boisterous nightlife of the South, the sun seekers and the beaches that attract all sorts of pale white tourists.

My favorite place is Almeria. Situated on the South Coast just around the corner from the hot sun spots that Spain is so famous for, Malaga and Marbella on one side and Cartegena on the other, with little Almeria in the middle remaining semi-untouched by the outside world. If I were asked to describe the place: a small, relaxed and culturally diverse town by the sea, not yet destroyed by mass tourism. It is the exit point for the Ferry to Melilla on the Moroccan side, a Spanish enclave on the Mediterranean Rif coast of North Africa. The town and area have also become famous through cultivating innumerable plastic covered greenhouses to now produces the bulk of the province's fruit and vegetables, much of it for export.

I worked on a ferry working out of the port of Almeria for one year! The Ferry operated two or three times a day depending on the season, but it was always full. When not working I used to wander up the wharf and watch all the panic as passengers fought to get the last space on-board. One Spanish driver so desperate in his attempt to sail that evening jumped onto the leading edge of the ramp as we started to lift it. There he was slowly being raised into the air as he kicked his legs in vain and he would not let go. The end result being that to allow us to sail we had to squeeze his car into a small corner - he never did thank us.

The one thing that I loved most about the town came in the form of food. On the ship we were given a very poor selection of fare for dinner, the result of a Moroccan Cook who had three meals up his sleeve, monkey brains, oxtail and chicken. I can't eat monkey parts and oxtail wore thin very quickly, so apart from the chicken every third day I felt constant hunger pangs. Typically, as soon as the ship had berthed and the engines were switched off, I charged up the road to the nearest tappas bar and gorged myself on ham sandwiches and salami rolls with a glass of San Miguel beer to wash it all down! I have never since found Ham so delicious!

On other occasions I worked up North, out of the City of Bilbao and the smaller quieter fishing villages along the Coast like El Ferrol and La Coruna, little towns balanced precariously on hills, with steep windy roads that posses a richness in fish products and wine.

Bilbao sticks in my mind as the most confusing city I have ever known. There we were (a fellow sailor and I) strolling through the deserted streets on a lazy Sunday afternoon acting like any other tourists that day. To be normal we should have stayed in bed and had siesta like all other sensible people were doing but it was not to be, an opportunity not to be missed. Anyway off we set, on our agenda that afternoon was to use the services of an bank machine to get some local currency out. We soon located one and I used the machine first! To my consternation the machine 'ate my card'. Munch, munch and away it vanished. Well, my shipboard mate went next and ... whoops, that machine was on a roll. There we were in the middle of Bilbao, no money in our pockets and now no cash cards to get any!

With nothing left to do except return to our vessel for a late siesta, we took note of the banks position and listed it in our minds as follows: Bank on corner at end of street, four streets coming together into a piazza with a fountain in the middle. Simple? We thought so, and decided that we would have no problems relocating the bank the next day so that we could return and reclaim our cards. Silly us! That following Monday we traipsed the streets of Bilbao in never-ending circles. I never imagined for one minute that there could be so many banks on corners that face fountains. We never did find that bank or our cards!

I used to enjoy sitting in the small cafe's that abound along the front of seaside villages. Little atmospheric cubicles that are famous for their seafood delights, to which I eat with gusto. Sitting outside watching the sunset, a cool breeze drifting in from the sea, a plate of buttered prawns by one hand and a glass of red wine in the other. What more can anybody require from life? Relaxed and comfortable, that is until the "bang" comes along, and the silence is brutally disrupted. The first time this happened to me I spilt the wine over the table (another magically appeared without anything being said), I naturally assuming that a car accident had occurred or the French were invading! This noise typically originates from any two of the elderly gentlemen, customers who spend little yet tend to be there morn, noon and night! It did not matter at what time I arrived, they where always there and when I left they would still be there, same seats, same side, with the only difference being in the varying levels of the wine in their glasses and the time on the clock.

Yes, the "bang", I have not forgotten to tell you! This comes from the game of speed chess that they play, a game found in most corners of most bars along the Northern Coast. And the "Bang" came when one or other of the elderly participants would slam his hand violently down onto the clock in a bid to gain a few seconds though speed. Typically, chess pieces would go flying like missiles across the room and wine would be spilt by the unaware, but within one minute silence would descend once again, as if nothing had happened: but only until the next 'bang' came along.

Spain is relaxing, laid back and has plenty of soothing wine! Just be prepared for a shock!