Popped along to la Plaza last night to have a drink or two *cough* with Lee and Heather to help them celebrate their first year in business. A very pleasant evening it was as well, after a somewhat strange day ……..

The Main Man Himself!

By the time we arrived at 10pm the party was well and truly on it’s way, and party is the only way that you could describe the opening of La Barbera last night.

There is limited parking next to the restaurant, so if you do go I suggest that you park in the marina and enjoy a walk along the beach. It is certainly a nice way to arrive and depart the restaurant.

Met up with a very pleasant lady, Mary, in the Mercadona this am, who had had rather an interesting phone-call, and felt it would be useful to forewarn others! It seems electricity supply here in Almerimar is being opened up for competition, and that Endessa are making moves to try and ensure that they keep their customers. She was phoned by someone who spoke English, said they were from Endessa offering her 2% discount, and already had all her banking details. So far so good, but then the English stopped, and she was left listening to a Spanish recording that asked questions including expecting confirmation of her account details. SO be prepared that this may happen to us all. I think it all sounds above board, but I agree that it’s not pleasant being expected to give personal information over the phone when you don’t really understand what you are being asked for, and can’t confirm that the conversation is secure, or even where the caller is from. My advice is that it’s not worth going through anything that you are uncomfortable with for a mere 2%.

About Almerimar

Almerimar is located in the region of Andalucia, Spain. The nearest airport is 30km away in Almeria. Other airports that are within 3 hours include Malaga, Murcia, Granada, and Alicanti. Other holiday resorts in the region include Mojacar , Aguadulce and Roquetas de Mar Almerimar is a great place to live as an expat amongst the expats, or to work amongst the Spanish. There are all kinds of properties including villas, apartments and town houses for rent or sale. It is a very traditional part of Spain, with traditional Spanish foods so if you plan to travel to Spain either to look for jobs, for your company to trade with companies in Spain, or to learn Spanish and enjoy the Spanish weather then come and take a look. If you are interested in purchasing a property in Almerimar please visit our sponsor Mediterraspain. If you have purchased a property and need it furnished please check out our Sponsors DBJ who will give you a Exclusive 5% discount with the code AL2008. If you want to learn Spanish, get help with anything to do with the legal issues in Spain, or want WiFi access in the marina please check out our sponsor CentrePoint who will give you a 10% discount off all services with the code AL2008. If you want an amazing activity based day out in the mountains and to learn how to ride a motorcycle off road then check out our sponsor The Long Way Round and get 5% off with the code AL2008. Almerimar is also one of the largest marinas in Spain with over 2,000 births and excellent boatyard facilities.

I have no idea if the band was the Paul McCartney Tribute or the Sun Rockets (actually not true - I am listening to Heh Jude as I write this ….. or maybe it is tomorrows Beetle Tribute band turned up early!!!!) but they sounded good. How do I know when I didn’t go? The wonders of technology? More live blogging on the site? Maybe a roaming journalist sending back reports? None of them!!! Easy really - we have just been sat on our balcony with the cats, chatting (us not the cats!!) and listening to the music waft (if that is what music does) its way across the marina. Very pleasant it was too - a very mellow and enjoyable way to kick off the weekend!!! Hmmm - as I head off to bed I can hear Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer’ so what do I know!!!!!

Yesterday I lost my Nokia N95, which meant that today I had to sort out a replacement SIM card and phone. The main priority phone wise for me is 3G capabilities and the ability to run QIK on it so that I can stream live video. The N95 was perfect and I had actually stopped using my iPhone. However with the new iPhone released today it was always going to be tempting, and many of my friends, colleagues and readers of my Personal Blog are convinced that I lost the N95 on purpose!

I have written before about my lack of love of sunbathing, and some of it is definitely to do with the fact that I now live in Spain and my fair skin really can’t take constant sun. My equally fair niece has just been over for a week’s holiday and despite factor 20 has gone back with pink bits. She is not too concerned however as she ‘only does it once a year’, but when you live in a hot country all year round, how much sun is too much? Of course my plan was to sunbathe earlier in the year when it wasn’t as hot and get some colour before July, but somehow I never felt like it as sitting in the shade is so much more comfortable. Now however I am having to accept that a slight tan in summer gives my skin a little protection and is probably a good thing. Who wants to have to put on sun-cream just to spend 15 mins up on the roof playing table tennis or haging out washing for instance? So here I am finally spending the odd morning hour in the sun, although still with my high factor sun-cream. My legs are now very lightly tanned and however good Johnson’s Holiday Sun and other self-tanning body creams have been, my colour is definitely more natural looking. There is also the added benefit that a real tan doesn’t come off all over your towels!

Somehow I have managed to lose my Nokia N95. I have cancelled the number (apparently I have three months to go to a Movistar shop and they will give me a new SIM card on the same number), but it is a real pain as I used it a lot to stream video live to the site, and connect to the Internet via 3G. If anyone comes cross it - it is black and is very distinct as it was bought in Dubai so has Arabic on the keypad, I will happily provide a reward. In the meantime I am without phone (not all bad) and with the new iPhone due out tomorrow (although no details yet re Spain) I may well be tempted ……

Looking at the Event Calendar there is certainly a lot to do this week, not least the tribute bands for Paul McCartney and The Beatles on Friday and Saturday. I am sure that you will find something to keep you occupied on the calendar, but remember to ‘do it the Spanish way!’. As we said on the Medieval Market post, and have mentioned many times before, the only way to get a true insight into Almerimar and its people and events is to ‘go with the flow’ and set your mind and body to Almerimar time!! As Sands remarked to me at the Medieval Market it was really good to see so many of the English people we knew out and about at 11 pm enjoying the market. They had all eaten late, enjoyed a few drinks and were enjoying a wander round before a few nightcaps in the marina. That is the way to do it. Swim against the tide and you wont get a true picture of the event, bar, restaurant etc.

Evening started with a very pleasant BBQ on the balcony with the girls and then around 10.30 we made our way down to the Marina.

Hopefully the ‘Inauguración Sábada’ will go well for the recently opened Piramide today, although I bet they are pretty disappointed that they have ended up with the same day as the Medieval Market - although maybe people will wander across from the Market to have a look?

According to the posters around the events kick off at the Piramide at 1300 and the main music and dance event starts at 2030. The doors open at 1200 and shut again at 0100 i.e. 13 hours later!!!

Spain really isn’t the place to be a vegetarian! I actually love vegetarian food but I also eat just about all kinds of meat and fish in moderation. It is definitely tough to get a vegetarian meal in Almerimar, and it is also very tough to enjoy any kind of tapas which is one of the fun ways to spend an evening here. My niece, a vegetarian, is over for the week and as you will see form Chris’s main article we opted for the Chinese buffet. Al-rruz do a vegetable paella which is ok but nowhere near as good as the meat and fish options, and Laura would have needed someone to share with her. I remember having lunch with a business colleague of Chris’s in Barcelona who was a fish eating vegetarian. He however still ate Jamon as if that was a given for Spanish people! I also smiled yesterday when Laura ordered a Vegetal sandwich in the Milenio. It came with lots of vegetables, and she enjoyed it apart from the rather surprising large slice of chicken! So Almerimar is not easy for vegetarians on holiday. I go for lots of beans and vegetables when I cook at home, and enjoy the slightly less healthy meat and fish when I am out and about in the marina.

About Almerimar

Almerimar is located in the region of Andalucia, Spain. The nearest airport is 30km away in Almeria. Other airports that are within 3 hours include Malaga, Murcia, Granada, and Alicanti. Other holiday resorts in the region include Mojacar , Aguadulce and Roquetas de Mar Almerimar is a great place to live as an expat amongst the expats, or to work amongst the Spanish. There are all kinds of properties including villas, apartments and town houses for rent or sale. It is a very traditional part of Spain, with traditional Spanish foods so if you plan to travel to Spain either to look for jobs, for your company to trade with companies in Spain, or to learn Spanish and enjoy the Spanish weather then come and take a look. If you are interested in purchasing a property in Almerimar please visit our sponsor Mediterraspain. If you have purchased a property and need it furnished please check out our Sponsors DBJ who will give you a Exclusive 5% discount with the code AL2008. If you want to learn Spanish, get help with anything to do with the legal issues in Spain, or want WiFi access in the marina please check out our sponsor CentrePoint who will give you a 10% discount off all services with the code AL2008. If you want an amazing activity based day out in the mountains and to learn how to ride a motorcycle off road then check out our sponsor The Long Way Round and get 5% off with the code AL2008. Almerimar is also one of the largest marinas in Spain with over 2,000 births and excellent boatyard facilities.

Starting at around 11.30 pm and going on until late (well this is Spain) we plan to go down to the Everything Fire show tonight with the girls. They want to go out for a Chinese and fancy trying the Wok Buffet Shanghai (despite it losing my vote last time), and as they want to treat us they get the final say. After that they want to walk along the beach and watch the show, so I guess that is what we will be doing! Apparently we will not be stopping off at the Music Bars on the way back as that is something they want to do on Saturday - the plan being to stay out all night I think!

Found myself enjoying a house salad at El Espigon yesterday for the first time in ages. We seem to have got slightly stuck in The Square these days, and it is good to remember there are other places to go. I had actually sent my niece and friend there for a quick lunch as they wanted to go in the sea afterwards, and the location right on the East beach front is great. Chris and I joined them a bit later and they seemed happy but I was surprised to see that they hadn’t found tostadas on the menu and had ended up spending much more on their lunch. I guess this may all be part of my tostada frustration, as in some of the Spanish restaurants and cafes tostadas stop with the breakfast menu, but as the girls are students on limited budgets I wanted them to be able to have a good quality, cheaper lunch. I also have to admit that I didn’t like the waitress asking me if I wanted postre, then cafe, then another drink after we had already asked for our bill. This seemed a little pushy and I wandered if it was indicative of the fact that being on the beach El Espigon comes across more tourist trade and treats them a little differently from the locals. Maybe my imagination, but not a great plan here in Almerimar as I would hazard a guess that most of the tourists know somebody who lives here. Anyway Laura and friend did get a tostada for lunch today at La Plaza, where they are always very friendly, not pushy at all, and you can get lovely great value tostadas all day.

Wow it definitely is getting warm! I still haven’t managed to get up and out for a run by 8.30 am my target time, but this morning I did manage 9ish. However that extra 30 mins seems to make a big difference now in terms of the sun’s heat. At 8.30 I was actually enjoying a cup of tea in relative cool on the roof, whilst even walking down to the bins to start my run, I was feeling decidedly warm! Anyway I got my 3-4 Kms done and running down the beach certainly makes it more bearable. Today I noticed the pedalos lined up on the East beach, another sign of peak season approaching. Maybe if morning runs become harder I will have to switch to evening but by 8pm (bearable heat time), I am usually starting to chill out, maybe even with a beer or a glass of wine, OR being challenged to table tennis by Chris, SO basically fitness training in Summer here IS tough. What is the answer?

YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!YES!!!!!

What an excellent evening!!! Before I try and tell you all about it let me say two things:

1. THANK YOU Al-rruz for a truly excellent tournament, you did a great job and deserve all the praise (and new business) that I am sure you will get, and
2. I have no idea what time I got home, but it was (very) late, or should I say early!!!!