This article is a bit of a link to a link! since the article I read and found interesting recently itself link to an article in the Guardian: Debt in the afternoon: bullfighting staggers into crisis.

It’s San Isidro here in Madrid this week, Spain’s premiere bullfighting fiesta, with daily corridas seeing exorbitant wages paid to big-money matadors: “José Tomás recently negotiated a deal worth €450,000 a bullfight during San Isidro - a figure that caused outrage among aficionados as part of it was paid by Madrid city council.”

Bit of a mixed morning this morning in the marina ……. Good = popped into see Roberto to sort out (another) pair of football boots. This is rapidly becoming an expensive event, but I am really enjoying the whole process - something remarkably exciting about selecting kit, boots etc. Yep it is a man thing, trust me!!!! Good = met up with Sands after her run along the beach and bumped into a friend and had some breakfast at Harbour Lights. Is one of the great things about Almerimar Life - you are nearly always bound to meet someone when you are out and about, and the impromptu chat is always the best in my opinion. Bad = the price at Harbour lights is really expensive!!! Sands had a tostada for 2€ which is about 1€ normally, and it wasn’t even as good as the Spanish ones never mind better. I had a bacon baguette for 5€ which was really expensive compared to 3.75 at La Plaza or 3.50€ at La Bahia. Sure you got a bit of salad with it but it really wasn’t worth it. Funnily enough a full english breakfast was only 5.50€ and a coffee and tostada 2€ between the hours of 9 am and 11 am so maybe they are better value. Not sure I will ever find out as I am very rarely over that side of the Marina and certainly wouldn’t make the effort to go there specially to pay more for my breakfast!!!!

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 Mirror of the Sun or 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.

After a very windy day (and night) yesterday the wind has dropped significantly this morning. The cats are certainly pleased, and I am relieved as we are going to have our first training session this morning (watched Rocky Balboa for inspiration yesterday!) Still no Internet or phone though. Can’t se them fixing that today. In a way I am pretty pleased as it has given me a great opportunity to test out the 3G Nokia N95 8GB that I bought in Dubai for just this reason. OK there were other reasons as well, but the fact that it would act as a 3G modem over bluetooth was a great attraction. With Sands in the UK with our external USB mobile modem the ‘decision’ to invest in multiple back up options is paying off!!! Right off for an athletes breakfast now while the cats are playing on the balcony. After the football training I need to arrange a Skype cal to the US to record my podcast segment that got delayed yesterday, and the I will be watching Watford v Hull City in the playoffs (come on Hull) and then Wigan v Man Utd (go MU). Maybe see you around ……..

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 Mirror of the Sun or 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.

Had a good chat and drink last night in the D Bar with a few of the boys - funny how we all bonded so quickly!!!

Richard Dixon was voted captain and John Hamill vice captain (although I am not sure he knows that yet!!! We are planning a bit of a kick around tomorrow morning to see what we can (and can’t do) - the mind is willing but I think the body may be past it!!!

………. the cats will play, and play, and play!!!

Just back from dropping Sands at the airport, and facing 12 days on my own with just the cats to keep me company. So what am I going to do? Am I going to adhere to the theory that you do all the things that you don’t get to do when your partner is around?

You bet I am!!!!

As promised here is the first of the Views of BOF. If there is something that you would like BOF to comment on, or you take exception to what they say then you can email them or of course leave a comment on the individual posts. And the winner of the competition to guess what BOF stands for is ………………….. revealed at the bottom of the post! If you want to become really rich buy shares in a good hearing aid manufacturing company. Noise is a “booming�? industry leading to a disease mostly caused by the selfish behaviour of others. “Nonsense�? says the greens. “More damage is done by air pollution contributing to fatal global warming than anything else�?. Both statements are true but noise is also an invasion of privacy, abuse of personal space, a criminal offence, one of the most debilitating illnesses, extremely difficult to treat and causes much more distress. Perhaps most of all is the effect on life here in Almerimar. But modern living often includes excessive noise! Discos, car radios with boot speakers loud enough to fill the Albert Hall and irresponsible use of motor bikes by youngsters are often cited as the worst offenders. Mobile phone users who have yet to realise you don´t need to shout are probably the product of having grown up with discos, car radios and motor bikes! As for barking dogs, day and night, maybe we should lock their owners up with their animals who mostly bark out of fear. We all have different levels of tolerance to everything and I am amazed and saddened by the lack of understanding of the effects of noise pollution. What I think is excessive is not necessarily what my neighbour thinks. Frankly, I don´t care about what he “thinks�? if I feel abused by excessive noise I am entitled to say so. I am a victim of others´ lack of consideration not the cause. Sadly we live in a “bullyboy�? society where small groups can impose their habits on those who want to live quietly and peaceably. So what should we do about it? We already have enough rules and regulations governing our lives. We don´t want a “nanny�? state and we don´t want to offend or be in conflict with those amongst whom we live. I have to say that most of the excessive noise is created by or for young people. That it´s tolerated is not their fault. It´s ours for allowing it in the first place. No good locking the kids up when it´s the parents who have failed them by lack of guidance and discipline. So if it´s our fault we must do more to remedy the problems. We as older people have a duty to account for our lack of parenting skills. The problem is that trying to tell youngsters to keep the noise down is seen as interfering in their fun. What about our fun? Are we also not entitled to the benefits of life without excessive noise? Maybe I don´t have any real answers but perhaps asserting our rights to privacy with some honest reporting to the proper authorities just might make a difference. A little more enforcement by all of us, including the local police and community leaders would substantially improve life in Almerimar. I´m told that the Spanish Policía Local use very gentle persuasion in such cases. So let´s make it a quieter summer and enjoy our privacy without noise? And the winner is …….. no not here, right at the bottom of the post.

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 Mirror of the Sun or 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. The winner is Pam Roberts. Congratulations, more than happy to buy you a drink!

La Solea has always been one of our favourite restaurants so it was a shame to see it ‘close’ but good to see that it had been taken over.

The inside looks pretty nice judging by these pictures, but I have to say I am disappointed by the menu - which is a little hard to see in the picture. In my view it is a very narrow choice and very expensive. Now it may well be the best food in the world but at those prices I think they will struggle.

Following on from his first article, here is the second in the series from John Witham. Many thanks to John for all the effort he is putting in producing this series of really interesting articles.

UPDATED from original post. See picture at the end ……..

We are always pleased to hear from people here in Almerimar (or who visit Almerimar) especially if they have an interest or an opinion that they want to share with us. John, who is married to Cynthia and lives locally, has offered us a number of articles about bird watching in the area.

Here is the first in the series of articles.