The Perfect Siesta
June 19th, 2008 - Chris MarshallNow that summer is well and truly here it is time to brush up on all those essential summer skills:
- Getting brown but not burnt
- Cooking on the BBQ so the food doesn’t get burnt
- Late night drinking in the music bars – talking 6am here!!!!
- The art of the perfect siesta!!!
In my experience the secret of the ‘Perfect Siesta’ lies in the preparation, specifically what you do before and what you intend to do after! When talking Siesta with people that don’t live here they confuse siesta with going to bed. Now I accept that some people may do that, the norm is to lie on the bed, or the sofa, or outside in the shade.
In many ways the Siesta could be called a ‘cat nap‘ but that isn’t really as romantic.
A siesta (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsjesta]) is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal.The word siesta is Spanish, from the Latin hora sexta – “the sixth hour” (counting from dawn, therefore noon, hence “midday rest”).
For me the perfect siesta comes after a combination of exercise and a nice, long relaxing lunch – with not too much alcohol consumed.
Sleeping off a ’session’ isn’t a siesta at all. It is a booze fueled slumber, that will leave you waking up dazed, disorientated, dehydrated and in all probability with a headache and regretting falling asleep in the first place.
Going to bed for a couple of hours to ‘catch up’ on the lack of sleep from a late night isn’t a siesta either.
A siesta is part of your everyday routine. It is an opportunity to give your body and mind time to switch off, take time to recover, and come back all refreshed and ready to go.
So how long should a siesta be?
I suggest anything between 20 and 40 mins is about perfect. Anything less and I tend to feel listless and cheated, like I nearly got to relax but didn’t quite make it, and anything more and I tend to wake up as if from a deep sleep.
Ideally I like to lay on the bed with the air conditioning on to give my body a nice cool down at the same time, ideally with a bit of sport like cricket or golf on in the background – something that isn’t intrusive or attention seeking, but has a certain rhythmic harmony to it.
Post siesta there is nothing better than a nice cup of tea and some fruit to waken the body up, give a boost to the energy levels and set you up for whatever the rest of the day holds.
And yes, I am heading off for a Siesta now!
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.
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