Anyway, we’ve just come back from a weekend mini-break in Almería, the region’s capital and this year’s Spanish centre of gastronomy. We never tire of this wonderful city. It’s real Spain with Moorish influence in abundance. It’s less than an hour’s drive (or bus) from Vera Playa and if you love historic places and culture – this is a must to visit. This time, we visited the cathedral which as you step inside, literally makes you go ‘wow’ as your eyes are trying to take it all in. We’ve done it before, but we love it so much that we visited the stunning Alcazaba again. The constant restoration enabled us to access more areas than we could last time we visited. The view from up there is spectacular – looking over the city, across the Mediterranean and out towards the coast of North Africa. Of course we spent the evening finding the tapas bars that our Lonely Planet and Guardian guides recommend, and ended up at some wonderful Cuban bar with Latino music playing loudly, overfriendly staff, everyone dancing with flowers in their hair and knocking back Mojitos like they were going out of fashion. I don’t quite remember getting back to the hotel, but our passports and wallets were still with us and we weren’t being held captive – not that after that many Mojitos – black market or not, our livers would have been any use to anyone.

We got home just now and it was a joy to look out the window and see the VP naturist beach full of people enjoying the wonderful sunny Sunday afternoon and it’s only the beginning of March! You know, I often hear Steve on the phone telling people calling from the UK just how pleasant the temperature is here at VP even in the dead of winter. “Really?” they question him back “but I was looking at the weather forecast and you don’t seem to have it that warm” then off Steve goes, resident expert in weather reports that he is…explaining that the nearest weather station isn’t actually at VP where we have a micro climate, and besides, if you are out of the wind but in the sun it actually feels warmer than the air temperature and besides … looking out the window right now there are naked people on the beach despite it being the middle of February blah blah blah. Listen, why do you think Vera Playa is full of northern Europeans all the way through winter, propping up the naturist bars, doing their naked pétanque tournaments, bashing the poles to their windbreaks into the sand almost every day on the naturist beach. Face facts, it’s bliss here all year round, and if that fact makes you feel sick with jealousy, well, you’ll just have to try it for yourselves next winter won’t you? See our photos below taken this weekend in Almería to see just how lovely and sunny it was! 

Last week saw Día de Andalucía to commemorate Andalucía being an autonomous community in Spain. The adult education schools in our area got together for a little celebration. We were lured there on account of the free bus and sandwiches. Well, free bus yes, but sandwiches? They lied…more like bits of cheap cake from Lidl, but it was a day out I ‘spose, and a good laugh. And we even got to see inside a Sorbas cave, visited a pottery (again!!!) and sat through a seemingly endless “show” in the auditorium.

Talking about learning the lingo, if one more person tells us they are learning Spanish with the app Duolingo, then I will have a stroke down one side of my face. Do you know it? That Duolingo? You know, the one where that stupid owl winks at you every time you get an answer right? No reader, we don’t need lingots and owls to motivate us. And don’t get me started on that annoying pinging noise either.

Anyway, we’ve got a lot on our plate at the moment because our season this year starts early…in just a couple of weeks! That’s our winter break well and truly over, but I’m not complaining. It’s nice to have the apartments inhabited and enjoyed again and of course the spoils of such keeps me in wine and chock-lit. And if you are reading this as someone who will be visiting us this year then of course I would like you to know that we are very much looking forward to seeing you! Roll on holiday time, hey.

Toodle pip for now…I’ve got a Mojito to make and some Cuban music to play…