Spain from the Costa del Sol – April 2010 – Arrival

Day 1- April 24 – So here we are in the airport in Spain. We needed to pick up our car and drive to the Costa Del Sol. We accomplished this task without being injured or getting lost too badly. We are with another couple that we travel with quite often. We are staying at the Marriott Vacation Club at Playa Andaluza.

The drive was a pleasant one through rugged mountains and green rolling hills. Eventually we reached the sea. It was a beautiful sight as we drove down to the coast and found our quarters near the ocean. I have lived at the coast my entire life, so I feel at home when I can see the horizon where the sky meets the distant water.

My family was strictly working class, but we have been lucky to have always lived close to the mother of all life, the ocean, here in southern California.

I have no idea how long the drive was. When I am on vacation time stands still. Even when I am at work, I never wear a watch. I am always early for my appointments and never miss ending up where I am supposed to be. Well, never is not correct.

I had a customer who had many large apartment buildings that all looked the same and had Spanish names.

I worked for the company at least one day of every week for thirty years or so and once got confused and ended up at the wrong building. It was an easy mistake, but no damage was done. We all had a good laugh over that mistake of mine and, yes, I was late to the appointment that I was supposed to arrive at, for the same company.

We settled in to our rooms or apartment and soon felt relaxed and at home. It is nice to have a reliable, comfortable base of operations when traveling.

I might add here that I speak enough Spanish to understand most of a conversation around me and to stay out harms way or jail. Luckily, a large part of the world speaks Spanish. It is spoken slightly different in every Latin country, but I can usually get by and stay out of trouble. Even in Italy I can get a sense of what is being said most times.

This is a helpful skill to have and to use when traveling abroad.

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Thanks as always, R.C. Hand.