April 4, 2013

After 25 hours of travel we finally arrived in Calpe, Spain last evening. The villa we have been blessed with permission to stay in for 3 months is breath taking.

The architecture is very unique for each home; individualism is evident as each house is named. The homes are surrounded in stone walls that are not made of symmetrical bricks. The walls are made out of natural rocks that are stacked carefully and plastered on one side, exposing the natural sun bleached stones. The homes are also laced with tropical fauna gardens that radiate bright colors in distinctive combinations. Aroma is the next best gift offered by the ecology found here for residence and influx of tourists during the summer months. 

Today is our first full day in here and because we have no pressing time constrains. Zoey and Joey are enjoying their first visit to Spain as well. Only a few errands were on our list. Being that we are staying for an extended duration we wanted to shop for food, change our currency over to Euros, and find a free wifi connection. None of which would have been possible if not for Aunt Maria and Uncle Ralph’s friends here.  These retirees are quite entertaining people full of knowledge, patience, and an invigorating thirst for life. Our first communication with Ermi was challenging because he is Polish and his wife, Johanna is German. Both of them speak Spanish and their native tongue; while Ross and I speak only English. As one could imagine arriving at their house at 10:30pm with our hands out for the keys to our temporary villa was slightly intimidating. As per usual our fears were blown out of proportion because the initial meeting and exchange was an ecstatic humbling experience. We were greeted with open arms and kisses from Ermi and Joanna; as well as bread and jumbo bottled water to get us through the night till morning. Then Ermi would pick us up with his friend Matias, who speaks five languages one being English, and take us to run our errands. We were able to accomplish our planned tasks with enough time to squeeze in an afternoon siesta before we went on our first walking exploration alone.

On our first solo mission out of the villa was a success! We walked more than a mile, leisurely I might add, down to the water front where we were faced for the first time with the beauty and splendor of the Calpe coast with the infamous Rock of Ifach. Its placement is too perfect; it looks as if it were laid by Gods hands just on top of the sand of the Blanco Coast as a beacon that draws in the 300,000 tourist that flood this city come the month of August.  We cannot wait to climb to the top and experience the spectacular views of the Mediterranean Coast. Tango, a local bar/restaurant shared their internet and their four euro happy hour nachos with us. The nachos were made out of Doritos Nacho Cheese flavor chips which we laughed at being that we are in Spain. We reached out to immediate family to ensure them of our safe arrival and thriving excitement for our once of a life time experience. Due to the travel fatigue and our initial expedition we spent a relaxing evening at the villa, cooked chicken tenders for dinner and went to sleep.  

April 5, 2013

We woke today early after a full night sleep well rested. Our day began with a filling breakfast that provided us with enough calories to go on an exhilarating jaunt down to the coast. This time we took a different route to check out more of the terrain.  I bit off a little more than I could chew when thinking I could jog the hills here because they kicked my ass and I mean hard. The neighborhood streets are narrow and lined with stone walls. Turns come out of nowhere and cars are not as cautious as they should be about pedestrians.  We stumbled upon a trail near the marina that is elevated above the sea and moonscape looking boulders found along some areas of the Calpe coast line. Along our jog we encountered steep cliffs, large eroded pools full of snails and algae, and a razor like cratered surface of the exposed sea side.

After our morning exercise we returned home with the thought in mind of a cooling swim in the villa’s pool.  Ross jumped in and sprang out of the water so fast that it seemed he was never in it. The water was shockingly cold although the weather would not have led us to believe it would be that chilly. I did not take the plunge after I witnessed Ross’s reaction but I did take a step on the wild side. I laid out nude for the first time because we were safely behind a stone wall and on our honeymoon. After a little adjustment and adding some sun block to areas I had not shown the sun before I was able to relax. To my surprise after sunning one side for a while I turned over only to see the pool man walking around the corner.  I am sure I looked like a translucent deer caught in the head lights of a car but it did not phase the man at all that we were sunning in the buff. He carried on with his duties as we modestly covered up and tried to explain to him in broken Spanish that we were not intruders but welcome guest and family of Maria and Ralph Johnson. Of which he could have cared less about or perhaps he just did not understand us.

Once we had soaked up enough sun we got cleaned up and went to find wifi again.  Today we did not have to walk as far to find access and we enjoyed a lovely lunch at Bitburger our local wifi spot. The rain clouds from the west limited our outdoor activity today, especially considering we are on foot. We accomplished our internet tasks just a few moments too late because the sprinkles began. The temperature dropped rapidly at least 15 degrees within 30mins. We covered up our gear and sprinted home as fast as we could.  The rest of our day was spent reading out loud to one another and talk about the life experiences.  We are connecting with one another on a deeper level due to the lack of modern distractions. Our relationship is already a strong, supportive, loving one but with the added time to spend solely with one another we may just become unstoppable. 

April 6, 2013

Today was the first day we were able to drive in Spain. Before today everyplace we have been was done so by foot. I am not at all complaining about walking places because walking opens your eyes to the details of the environment you are in much clearer.  Ermi and Matais came over early this morning and brought us the updated registration and showed us everything we needed to know about the car, being pulled over by the Police, and how to get in and out of the garage.  The car is a Saab, it’s practically brand new and it’s takes diesel; therefore we save lots of money on fuel. Even though Ross has an international drivers license and they drive on the right side of the road here like we do in the US; Ross was still a little nervous driving here because we don’t know how to read the road signs.

 We thought we would make our first outing a simple one so we went to the grocery store to pick up a few more things. We found the store just fine but parking is a bit of a problem here in Calpe.  We shopped for about an hour for a list of less than 20 items because things are not packaged the same way here as they are in the states. Nor are they in the same places. For example, eggs and creamer are not in the refrigerator section and fruit juices are sold in cardboard boxes instead of plastic bottles.  Another difference here from the US is that people have to pay for their plastic bags to carry your groceries home. You must also pay for shopping carts. You pay one Euro in a machine to borrow a shopping cart then once you return it you get your money back.

After our adventure to the store we returned home for some afternoon relaxation before getting dressed and making our first night outing.  We decided to go out to eat at the local German restaurant because of its proximity to the house and being fearful of driving at night. We also planned to have a few drinks for the first time since we arrived in Spain; therefore keeping it close to the house would be best.

 The weather here is still a little cold, especially with the wind from the Mediterranean Sea. The rain comes out of now where. There can be no clouds in the sky but you feel sprinkles on your face from a rain cloud out off the coast blowing its water all the way on land. We have not went swimming yet, nor have we done a lot of sun bathing; hopefully soon though.    

Stay tuned because next week we plan to venture into the country a little perhaps Benidorm or Denia Spain.  Our plan is to post a new blog each week on Friday but hopefully you enjoy receiving this one on Sunday since most people are off work today. 

Also, we would like to send our love and support to the Wooldridge family for their resent loss of Jerry’s mother. Let us all remember that the end of this life is the beginning of her eternal life in heaven.  She is in a much happier place sitting beside the lord and smiling down on each and every one of us.  We love you all and wish we could be there to console you in this tough time.