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.

Adopting just a couple of elements of the Mediterranean diet could cut the risk of cancer by 12%, say scientists.

• A study of 26,000 Greek people found just using more olive oil alone cut the risk by 9%.
• The diet, reports the British Journal of Cancer, also includes higher amounts of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and less red meat.
• A separate study found adding broccoli to meals might help men vulnerable to prostate cancer cut their risk.

I have a feeling that this news could lead to a bit of stampede to the Doctors here in Almerimar and El Ejido as people ‘rush’ to get existing ailments sorted out in case the same happens to us:

The provincial government in the Costa Blanca is changing the law because it claims elderly people who have made their home in the region are placing too high a burden on the health system.

Spanish Woman are the most depressed in Europe!!!!

• Las mujeres españolas son las europeas que con más frecuencia padecen de depresión y ansiedad, según un reciente estudio.
• Sólo las británicas igualan a las españolas en la incidencia de estas patologías mentales.
• El informe se ha realizado en seis países europeos: España, Reino Unido, Portugal, Eslovenia, Estonia y Países Bajos.

The interesting bit from the above is that English woman don’t fare much better. I am not sure where that leaves English woman that live in Almerimar, but most of you seem happy enough to me - well apart from when the football is on of course!!!! Now that is a little unfair as the article also concludes that the Spanish man is the second most depressed man in Europe, after ……… us English! I find this really hard to believe (about the Spanish) as they always seem so happy to me. For those wanting to test out their Spanish here is the article in full: Las mujeres españolas son las europeas que con más frecuencia padecen de depresión y ansiedad, informa Público. Sólo las británicas igualan a las españolas en la incidencia de estas patologías mentales. Esta es una de las conclusiones de un estudio realizado sobre 7.000 pacientes de atención primaria en seis países europeos: España, Reino Unido, Portugal, Eslovenia, Estonia y Países Bajos. En general, para ambos sexos, tanto España como Reino Unido tienen las tasas más elevadas de estos trastornos siendo los Países Bajos y Eslovenia los que tienen menos problemas en este aspecto. El trabajo cuenta con una muestra de 1.270 pacientes españoles y el 18,4% de las españolas que participaron en la investigación tenían una depresión, mientras que el 20,1% padecía un trastorno de ansiedad. En ambos casos, registraron las tasas más altas de los seis países incluidos. El tercer trastorno estudiado fue el síndrome de pánico que tiene más incidencia entre las portuguesas seguidas a poca distancia de las españolas. En relación a los hombres, los británicos son los que tienen más depresión seguidos por los españoles y los estonios. Los españoles también encabezan en ansiedad a sus vecinos europeos. 20minutos.es

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 sponsors 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.

Just back from a quick visit to the doctor. I needed a tetanus booster injection having been bitten by a stray cat earlier today (picture below). Apparently there is a really friendly black cat that looks like Moreno that hangs around La Plaza and La Bahia. Anyway it is due to be caught and sent to the Casa de los Gatos so when we were in the marina earlier today it was suggested that I catch it. Now I should have worn gloves I know but I was told it was really friendly and had been picked up before, and I did stroke it and it seemed happy, but as soon as I picked it up the little sod sunk its teeth right into me!!! Yes it did hurt, in fact it still does!!! Thanks to Debbie (La Bahia) and Heather (La Plaza) for the first aid!! Anyway the doctor was shut and I couldn’t be bothered with the hospital as it wasn’t really that much of an issue, but I did want to get a tetanus booster injection. So 5pm on the dot we went to the Doctors surgery. First up we were treated to the site of three somewhat large Spaniards being handed sample bottles and then trooping off one at a time to the toilet (urine only thankfully) and then sitting back in the waiting room proudly holding their pots. I was asked what I wanted and explained just the injection so I was taken into another room, told to roll my sleeve up and that was it. 20€. No paperwork, no inspection of the wound - she said she was too busy for that, and I was told to keep an eye on the wound and if it looked inflamed on Monday go back for some antibiotics. All very efficient and fast with no fuss at all.

Spent a very pleasant couple of hours yesterday afternoon in Al-rruz watching a very impressive Spain beat Russia.

There is something very civilized about watching football with Spanish people in a Spanish bar. At Al-rruz this is in no small part down to the enthusiasm for the football that Inés and Juan Carlos have. Yesterday they were handing out T-Shirts to support Spain, and the tapas was again exceptional. I can recall home made meat balls, fish, pinchos and empanada before we all gave up on the tapas as we were full and concentrated on the drinking.

Monday morning again and I’m thinking about my exercise plan for this week, as if you’re trying to get fitter it is good to have some aims. I want to get to the gym 4 times this week so I’m aiming for at least 2 classes (Pilates and Tonificacion with some extra cardio) and a couple of extra gym sessions. The latter needs a little more focus on the arm machines this week, although the toning class last week did include a good little session with a wight bar. I also want to get back into my running with at least 5km, but that will definitely not be today as the wind is blowing quite strongly again. This all sounds good but maybe a little tiring SO wish me luck and I’ll let you know how it went at the end of the week.

Also feeling very virtuous as have just been to the gym for the 3rd time this week, and I am slowly doing more each visit. The Tonification class this afternoon was fun and tough and took care of just about everything, but I also did a 10 min warm-up on the bike and 20 mins on a lovely hill-climbing program on the cross-trainer after. SO that may be me just about done for this week, apart from possibly my first run in about 3 weeks tomorrow.

My mind still keeps drifting back to the idea of running a marathon this year. There are two main reasons for this:

• I want to get fitter and need a end goal to focus on
• I want to do another sponsored event to raise some funds for the stray animals here in Almerimar