This Spanish Life

While my title may not conjure up such pleasant mental imagery as does that of Chris Stewart's popular book, it does sum up my experiences of cycling in Spain rather well. Obviously there is so much more to cycling in Spain than just going over roadkill but I have found this to be quite a frequent occurrence. But anyway, let's start on a chirpier note shall we? Let's start at the beginning.

I bought my bike a year or so ago and since then I have had all sorts of adventures and fun on it. I love cycling. Not only does it get me out of the house after a busy day at school, it gives my poor runner's knees a much needed rest on an alternating days basis and is also a great form of exercise. And we mustn't forget the style factor; who doesn't welcome the chance to wear a kaleidoscope of neon Lycra whenever they can? Not since the 80's have I looked so unashamedly luminous in public! 

I have heard it said that Spanish drivers don't have the best reputation when it comes to considerate and careful driving, but I have found that drivers in Spain are surprisingly courteous towards me when I'm on my bike. It may just be that I'm so very uncoordinatedly colourful that they can't help wanting to avoid me but I find that I have a more harmonious relationship with fellow road users when I'm on my bike than I do when I'm in the car. In the early days I worried about cycling on what I used to think of as 'the big scary road' aka the N340, but actually I feel much safer cycling on this busy main road than I do when I'm cycling through towns. Cars tend to keep a safe distance on the N340 and apart from being almost squashed by a neglectful bus once, I haven't had any major scary moments. Cycling through towns is a completely different experience. I have to navigate double-parked vehicles, have to brake hard in order to avoid crashing into pedestrians who step out into the road without looking and have to swerve to avoid suddenly opened car doors with a frightening regularity. Cycling through towns can get a bit hairy! One of my favourite things though is heading off inland, exploring the beautiful, quieter and less polluted country roads, especially discovering new places that I haven't been to before where I don't know what I will find around the next corner. 

I've found cycling to be a surprisingly sociable activity. Fellow cyclists always call out greetings as they pass, they are a friendly bunch. Last Summer one man went so far as to try and engage me in conversation as he rode alongside me on 'the big scary road'. He was oblivious to the fact that I couldn't hear a single word he said and he failed to notice my gestures which were intended to communicate that due to the wind whistling noisily in my ears I had no absolutely no idea what he was saying. So instead we travelled along, in companionable incomprehension as he chattered away inaudibly and I smiled and nodded in agreement at sufficiently regular intervals so as not to appear rude or unappreciative of his efforts. Eventually, after some minutes, he raised his hand to bid me farewell and took the next exit. 

Another time I found myself inadvertently absorbed into one of those huge groups of cycling expert types that you often see travelling along the main road. While I must have stood out as a black sheep in the pack, what with my distinct lack of sponsorship embossed clothing and having no fancy reflective sunglasses, I experienced a reassuring but brief sense of community as one by one my 'companions' cycled past me. 'Hola!", said the first while smiling and raising his hand in greeting, "Hola!", I replied with the same smiling gesture. Then the second one sailed past, "Hola!", he called out while smiling and waving and again I did the same. Then went the third one, "Hola!", he called while smiling and waving. "Hola!", I replied, wondering how many more still had to go past as I forced a smile and waved. By the time the 12th one had passed and we had called "hola" and smiled and waved at each other it was all getting rather repetitive but I didn't want to be the one to break our fleeting bonhomie. 

Sometimes people in cars get in on the sociability too, especially in Summer when drivers often have their windows open. I have had many people talk to me while we are stopped next to each other at traffic lights, I've been offered a beer from a van load of workmen as we waited at a zebra crossing and I've even had variations of "alright darlin', nice arse" shouted at me in both English and Spanish, usually as I'm furiously cycling upright while going uphill. So you see it can all be a very interactive and multicultural experience!

I sometimes forget that there are other people around me. I have quite a vocal approach to exercise. When I run I tend to sing along to the songs my iPod and when I'm on my bike I tend to talk to myself a lot. I give myself encouragement on the more challenging roads, I provide a running commentary on things I can see or on how I'm feeling and I even (and this might not be completely normal) repeatedly recite the number plates of passing cars, trying to remember them. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. On one regretful occasion I was cycling along in the rain and lying in the road I saw a freshly squashed animal that had its bits that should have been on the inside on the outside. It was so badly mangled as to be quite unidentifiable. "Ewww, what the hell are you?" I asked of it in disgust as I passed, but unfortunately a rather bedraggled lady who had clearly been surprised by the sudden downpour and who obviously hadn't applied waterproof mascara that morning judging by the way it was running all down her face, looked at me in a very disdainful way as she had thought I was talking to her! 

Now this brings me nicely back round to the subject of my title. Roadkill is a very common sight along the roads. Cats, dogs, hedgehogs, rats, frogs, toads, snakes and various other creatures fall foul of the passing traffic. I myself have only ever squashed one thing, a rather large grasshopper. I had tried valiantly to avoid it but usually if I'm trying to avoid something I end up making a beeline for it instead. It must be a fault in my internal navigation. And so as I turned around to check for damage (almost wobbling into the kerb as I did so) I saw that my attempt had been futile. The grasshopper had been squashed. It was a sad day in my cycling history. It's not just road kill I have to try to avoid though. There are all sorts of strange things littering the side of the road and I sometimes wonder how they got there in the first place. There's the usual bits of blown-out tyres, fallen off car parts, rocks and general rubbish, but I've also seen shoes, teddies, syringes, socks, gloves, various other items of clothing, a nail varnish, a pet passport, a potato masher and a box of breakfast cereal. 

Sometimes there are more exciting sightings. One day, just before Christmas I was cycling along 'the big scary road' when I passed a silvery, shimmering box just at the side of the road. I continued on but the further away from it I got the more I formulated this idea in my head that it was actually something valuable, something worth going back and retrieving. So, at the next 'cambio de sentido' I turned around. I cycled back the other way for several minutes until I could change direction once again and then cycled back towards where I had seen it. I kept my eyes peeled ready to locate my treasure, hoping that nobody else had stumbled across it first and claimed it as their own, all the while imagining what it might be! How exciting! Soon, up in the distance I caught a glimpse of the box shimmering away in the sunlight. My treasure! I pedalled faster, getting ever closer until I eventually got close enough to work out what it was, a soggy box of 'turron' wrapped in cellophane. The condensation which had formed inside the wrapping was reflecting the sunlight giving the box its magical, silvery effect. Oh. It wasn't quite as valuable or exciting as I had hoped then. But not every story can be a best seller. 

Nor can every road be a joy to cycle on. In fact, whether you are a cyclist or a pedestrian you would be well advised to keep your wits about you when travelling on paths and roads here. It isn't unheard of to come across a gaping manhole missing its lid, just waiting for a poor, unsuspecting person to stumble into it. Sometimes helpful folk have attempted to warn of the hole by stuffing it with tall branches or planks of wood with scraps of material attached to billow in the breeze in the hope that this will alert other people to the danger ahead. Potholes are another frequently encountered hazard. Many a time I have gone careering down a steep hill, enjoying the rush of the wind and the frisson of excitement that comes with travelling at speed. I always check my sport app when I get home which records my maximum speed and my personal best to date is 52km/h. That particular speedy day was a grey and overcast one and by the time I got to the hill it was getting dark and my light wasn't very bright. Consequently I had no warning of the bumpy road peppered with potholes ahead of me and crashed through a sizeable pothole just around the time that I reached that maximum speed. The huge jolt reverberated painfully up my arms as I struggled to keep hold of the handlebars and not fall off! Since then I have invested in a brighter light and am now slightly less cavalier in my approach to plummeting down steep hills in the dark. 

So, we can conclude several things from this, not least that there are some strange people about, but if there were one thing I would hope to communicate via my rambling anecdotes it would be this; cycling is a wonderful thing. When you cycle you have freedom to explore and to go wherever you want to go. I would recommend it wholeheartedly! And so next time you are driving along the N340 and you see a multicoloured, fluorescent cyclist talking away to herself while bumping into potholes and over uneven surfaces, give her a wave.

It might be me!

My last post was on the top 5 reasons that I love living in Spain. It stimulated lots of discussion and thank you to everyone that shared their thoughts and experiences. One of my top 5 was the opportunity to do outdoorsy things thanks to the (usually) fantastic climate. I say usually because I'm currently sat huddled up in a blanket, looking out of the window onto a grey and windy evening that's threatening rain, while I shiver and contemplate lighting the fire early! But we know that this is a temporary state of affairs and that despite the current cold snap we are experiencing in much of the Costa del Sol we will soon be enjoying blue skies and Winter sun once more. In our family we take full advantage of this and we grasp every opportunity to explore new, fun things to do and visit familiar favourites. In the Málaga/Costa del Sol area there is no shortage of fabulous activities and attractions, especially those aimed at families, but they often come at a cost. Many of these places are expensive for the admission price alone, and they frequently require additional payments once you are inside. Extras such as food, activities, souvenirs and photographs can quickly add up and a fun day out can end up being prohibitively expensive. However, this doesn't have to be the case. There are numerous places in the area where you can have a fun day out for little or no cost which is one of the things that we appreciate most about living here. So, here are some of our favourite things to do and places to go. Obviously having two young children I tend to look for family friendly places, but all of the places listed below are suitable for adults too, so don't let my child centred view put you off from visiting these great places!

Parque la Batería, Torremolinos.
This park is full of fun things to do. There is no admission charge and ample parking is provided inside. We like to climb to the top of the Torre Mirador and enjoy the wonderful views, look at the cannons and the boys love to splash each other at the fountains. They can run around on the many open, grassy areas and play in the fantastic, large playground. The park doesn't have a cafe but there are some vending machines next to the playground. For people with younger children there is a 'dummy tree' which gives you a place where you can hang your child's dummy to give them an incentive to stop using one when they are at an age to do so. There is a huge, old fashioned carousel which you do have to pay for but it is only 50c per ride. There is also a big boating lake where you can hire a rowing boat for only €1 for 30 minutes and you can have a pleasantly relaxing sail in the sunshine. Or, alternatively, you can do as we usually do and spend the whole time trying to avoid crashing into other boats, shouting "look out!" and "sorry!" rather a lot, embarrassing yourself by getting wedged in under the bridge in front of amused passers by, before eventually being called in at the end of your allotted time and trying to reverse rather amateurishly into one of the numbered bays!

Paloma Park, Benalmadena.
This is another place full of big, open spaces ideal for a leisurely stroll or for energy filled children to run around in and if you stop and look under the hedges and bushes there is a good chance you will see some rabbits hiding underneath! There are also freely roaming chickens, geese and peacocks as well as various other animals housed in enclosures which are located just behind the big playground. This has equipment suitable for younger children as well as other more adventurous climbing apparatus for the older ones. The park has a few cafes along with a big fountain and some rather wonderful metal sculptures of heads lying around on the grass which are large enough to crawl into! The lake itself is home to lots of ducks, geese, swans and turtles and you can hire segways and pedal powered carriages if you fancy travelling around the lake at a slightly faster pace! We love it here! There is lots of parking around the outside of the park but it can get a bit busy at the weekends and in the Summer.

Los Pedregales park, Estepona
There are two parts to Los Pedregales. There are the more developed bits with playgrounds, picnic tables and open air barbecue facilities which are very popular with families and which can get quite busy at the weekend. It is a good place to hold a birthday party or communal barbecue if you aren't averse to carrying all your paraphenalia through a bit of overgrown terrain. This bit is also due for further development in the future as there are plans to create a dinosaur themed park there and a go karting track too. Or there is our favourite bit which is the wilder, undeveloped side of the park. We go in through the smaller side gate with the Adana sign (the rescue home for dogs is also through this gate and further up the mountain track a short way) where there are lots of pine trees (great for pine cone collecting missions but not good for dogs in the Processionary Caterpillar season) and rocky tracks leading down to a stream that rushes over the pathway at the bottom in the rainy season. We take our dog up there and we all love to clamber over the rocks along the stream and climb up the tree covered slopes at the top of the hill. Great fun for bracing walks, rock climbing and paddling in rock pools in the warmer months.

San Pedro Boulevard, San Pedro
The fantastic new boulevard is an ideal place to go for a walk/scooter/skate with the children, stopping en route at one of the many playgrounds. There are a couple of cafes too if you fancy stopping for a drink. My boys especially love the big skating park at the far end where they can ride their scooters in the large, open space and also the undulating bridge which they love to run over. Although aimed primarily at families the boulevard is a great location for a walk, before stopping for a spot of lunch at one of the cafes on the boulevard or on the streets running alongside it.

Parque Tres Jardines, San Pedro
This park is relatively new and hidden away in the industrial estate of San Pedro. It has a lagoon with some hungry ducks always eager to be fed, lots of open spaces, two playgrounds (one aimed at older children and the other ideal for younger children) and a kiosk which admittedly I've never actually seen open but maybe I've just been unlucky. There is also an adjoining area set aside as a dog park so its a great place to go with your dog too! This is another popular venue for birthday parties and other social gatherings so it can get quite full at the weekends and competition to reserve picnic tables can get quite fierce!

Paseo walks
Our favourites are the San Pedro and Estepona paseos, both of which have playgrounds on the beach and on the paseo itself along the course of them, as well as chiringuitos and cafes if you want to stop for a drink along the way. Paseos are a great way to spend a few hours on foot or on bikes or scooters.

Benahavis parks
Benahavis has two excellent parks for children. The first one you will come to, which is on the left just as you drive into the town has a lovely little playground, a lake, a waterfall, open spaces to play on the grass and even an amphitheatre where children can put on a 'show' on the big stage area. There are pathways that you can walk or ride along, beautifully tended gardens and picnic tables too. In the lake we have often seen turtles and even a water snake. The second park is further into the town, right opposite the school and this has a nice little kiosk. There are lots of play facilities for all ages and it is also a popular location for birthday parties.

Duquesa castle and park
My boys love visiting this castle. We like to climb up to the top of the castle walls to see the great views before going into the little exhibition rooms within the castle itself. There is one room where you can have a try at fencing and others that provide historical information and displays of relics. Next door to the castle is a park with a playground and a wishing well. It is all nearby to the beach and some lovely chiringuitos as well so there are lots of opportunities for things to do. And if you happen to find an orange frisbee somewhere in the trees at the back then it is ours!

San Pedro Golf Club driving range
This is located opposite the Bárcelo hotel and for just 1€ you can get a bucket of 25 golf balls to use on the driving range and there are golf clubs that you can borrow if you don't have any of your own. There are a couple of putting greens where you can practise your finer golf skills and a big grassy bunker where you can whack the balls with a little less finesse! Golf lessons are available if you discover that you could possibly be a golfing genius and there is a cafe where you can enjoy a drink while watching all of the golfing action.

Fuengirola castle and river
The castle grounds are a great place to explore and walk around and there is the added opportunity to have fun on the water for the more energetic types. There are pedal boats that you can hire for a few euros for 30 minutes (30 minutes has never seemed longer than when I was pedalling a swan full of excitable children with my rapidly tiring legs, to the shouts of "faster, go faster mummy!" coming from the smaller passengers in the back!). There is also a zip line going over the water and a cafe on the water front. We have never actually seen the castle open so I can't comment on what is inside those elusive walls as that remains a mystery to our family!

Benahavis river walks
Just before you get into Benahavis town you can park up on the right hand side and explore the river walks. There are places you can swim as well as more adventurous routes that you can follow through rocky terrain and water. In the Summer it gets very busy and it can be difficult to park but it is a fun way to spend a few hours and get some exercise too, all for free!

So keeping yourself entertained needn't cost the earth. These are just some of our favourite things to do and chances are you have your own favourites. I would love to hear about them as we are always looking for new, fun and more importantly, inexpensive things to do! So please share your ideas below!

When I first moved to Spain eleven years ago my life was very different to how it is now. I originally moved here on my own. In those days I didn't have anything depending on me for its survival, animal or human. It was just me. Whenever I contemplate this my first thought is how much things can change in such a short period of time. This is swiftly followed by my second thought which is the realisation that actually eleven years is not such a short period of time at all and then this is inevitably followed by subsequent thoughts along the lines of 'Eleven years? Really? Eleven years? ELEVEN? Time passes SO quickly!' and 'Has it really been THAT long?' and then eventually comes the inevitable wake up call, 'OMG! I'm old! That makes me so old!'

But really I'm very fortunate. In the (henceforward to remain unquantified) years since I moved here 'just me' has expanded into a wonderful family. We are blessed with our two fantastic little boys and our gorgeous dog, Joey. We even have two fish called 'Happiness Friendly' and 'Goodie Baddie', not named by me I hasten to add. And to top it all off we are lucky enough to live here in Estepona, which is a wonderful place to live. 

So what is it that makes living here such a good thing? Here are my top five best things about living in Spain. 

1. Family values.
Spain has a reputation for being a family friendly place and it is. Children are especially well catered for in the local community. Where we live there is an abundance of well maintained and colourful play parks so there is always somewhere to go. Children are also welcomed in most restaurants and we don't feel the pressure of trying to keep our children 'seen but not heard' when we go out for dinner. I love that a sense of family is so highly valued here and that families support and help each other, living as an extended unit. Children, parents and grandparents can often be seen out and about together. This isn't always a benefit of course, especially when supermarket shopping necessitates having to slalom up and down the aisles while attempting to negotiate whole families deciding what to buy! Paediatrician's waiting rooms can frequently be standing room only as multiple generations of families wait for their little treasure's first weigh in. But I love this sense of togetherness. Coming from a rather scattered and small family myself it actually makes me a little jealous. 

2. Urbanisation life.
Living in an urbanisation can offer a sense of community as well as some convenient sources of sport and entertainment. In our urbanisation we have a padel court, a swimming pool, a play park, trampolines and a football pitch as well as some lovely gardens to walk around and play in. Admittedly it costs us the equivalent of a whole year's gym membership in community fees each month(!) but on the plus side all of the facilities are easily accessible and we do use them a lot. Living in an urbanisation can also be very sociable. Neighbours frequently convene in chatty clusters around the grounds and organise social events. The children play together and everybody knows each other. There can be a reassuring sense of community in urbanisation life which is sadly becoming an increasingly rare occurrence these days. 

3. Outdoor things
Living in Spain presents unending opportunities for 'outdoorsy' pursuits, be they organised activities such as horse riding, paragliding or buggy safaries or simpler, more spontaneous pleasures such as walking or running along the beach (especially out of season) or climbing up the nearest mountain. Whether you have children or you don't there's no denying that the warmer climate allows a much healthier, more outdoorsy life. 

4. Travelling and exploring new places
Now obviously a person can travel and explore wherever they are, it's not exclusive to living in Spain. However there is something about discovering an undiscovered beach or a new town or landmark here that I just love. Last year we went to Extremadura for the first time and have since enjoyed several family jaunts up that way, exploring new towns, villages, castles, lakes and all sorts of other fun stuff whenever we go. Something I especially appreciate about many places in Spain is that they retain a sense of identity. You can walk through a town and you won't find only the same duplicated chain stores that can make them seem like faceless clones of every other town. Nor are small towns and villages turning into ghost towns as a result of superstores that lure people away from dying high streets that are full of closed down, boarded up shops as can be the case in other places. In the village of Orellana de la Sierra where we stay whenever we go to Extremadura the community gathers around the small local shop. It is full of chatter, everybody knows everybody else and the locals support their local shop rather than abandoning it in order to seek cheaper prices and a wider selection in a megastore outside of the local community. The opposite is happening in the UK where small towns and villages are suffering due to the arrival of superstores which frequently sound a death knoll for small businesses. 

5. Learning the language
Obviously living in Spain presents you with the perfect opportunity to learn a new language, but more than that, you are able to use what you have learned in practical situations every day. There are those (rather annoying!) people who have an innate ability to pick up new languages relatively easily. I have friends who are natural linguists and who speak 6 or 7 languages seemingly effortlessly. For the rest of us though (and that definitely includes me) we need to work hard and must continually practise in order to develop our competency and fluency when learning a new language. When I was at school I learned French and even studied it at A Level. I was really rather good. However, lack of opportunities to use it practically (Clacton on Sea was never a hotbed of French speakers!) resulted in my French vocabulary gradually dwindling away to nothing. It did come in handy once though many years later. I was in the USA and on a visit to Alcatraz prison where the only information leaflets available on the boat ride to the island were in French and I was able to read them. This was of very small consolation though especially when I compared this rather measly accomplishment to my previous level of being able to speak in detail about the life of Louis XIV (with dates and everything!) It was hardly a fitting denouement to my years of study. Consequently a major benefit for me of living here is that it gives me the chance to learn, use and more importantly remember a new language.

Of course there are negative sides to living here, as there are to living anywhere. For one, I can't stand that every time I leave the house in the Summer I have to smother myself and two very reluctant children in sun cream. Also the population here is quite transient; people come here to live for a short time and then move on. We have made some wonderful friends who we now see only occasionally because they have moved back to the UK or to another country. However, the positives far outweigh the negatives and we have made a happy life for ourselves here. But everyone is different and people have different opinions. These are the five positives that I personally value. You may well have different ideas. Perhaps you agree with me or maybe you don't. Share your thoughts via the comments box below and let us know your positives or negatives about living in Spain. 

So, it's over to you.......