Spain!!

Spain, March 24 – 30
Our agenda in Spain was different from that of Italy: we strove for rest and relaxation, a little beach action, and plenty of beautiful scenery. We flew from Gatwick Airport – where prices range from 20 pounds on up for flights – to Malaga, located in southern Spain. We then rented a car and drove to a small town called Elviria where we stayed in a rented condo on the top of a large hill. The scenery was so beautiful – from our place we could see the lush, green valley, the beautiful ocean, the Rock of Gibraltar, and the tip of Africa. How cool is that?
We purposely took this trip to celebrate Hannah’s graduation from high school. We originally planned on travelling to Greece, but with the failing economy and the numerous strikes, we decided to head to Spain. We are so proud of Hannah and how hard she has worked in school. Before we left Abilene, she was 13th in her class of around 250. Presently, Hannah takes three college classes with the students here in Oxford. Needless to say, we tried to focus on her throughout this trip.
We spent time walking along the beach, playing cards, and eating plenty of oranges. The beaches fill with people in all types of outfits: many women in their 60s and 70s wore two piece bathing suits, many men wore Speedos, many West Africans tried to sell knock off products, while Asian women worked the crowd to massage vacationers’ backs. We even had a man stand by our car suggesting that he watch it in order for us to tip him. What is that all about? We wondered the same thing.
We also enjoyed playing golf (free with the condo) and watching many balls uncontrollably end up in the various waterways. Hannah particularly enjoyed playing golf with her dad, running on the treadmill with me, and laying near the pool with her sisters. We thoroughly enjoyed the relaxation and each other. We travelled to Marbella, a beautiful town on the ocean with a beautiful boardwalk in which families stroll in the evenings. I loved to see grandparents, children, and grandchildren all together. The grandparents were usually dressed in nice clothing: dresses and suits and ties. On Easter Sunday night we headed to the old town in Marbella and watched their Easter parade – a cultural sight to see. Families lined the streets for hours until there was a sound of bells in the air and the smell of incense. Hooded participants began the parade with wheat in their hands signifying the coming of Jesus and the cleansing of sins; then a large statue of Jesus riding on a donkey was carried on the shoulders of many men. A band and more hooded participants followed only to give way to another statue of Mary being carried by many men on their shoulders. Finally, the parade ended with the celebration of Jesus rising from the dead. We were so thankful that we had an opportunity to witness this cultural expression of the resurrection of Jesus.
On Saturday, we drove to a quaint, historic town located in the mountain named Rhonda. It was one of the “white villages” where many building were white in color and old in design. We loved walking the old streets and the prominades, particularly with the beautiful scenery and the wonderful sides streets filled with flowers, Spanish speaking people, and decorative shops along the way. We took a tour of the city in a carriage ride with the driver shouting out different tourist locations in a deep, not understandable Spanish voice. No one understood him, particularly Hannah, Kelly, and Michelle who speak Spanish, but we all just shook our heads in agreement. Spanish and Italian boys really surprised our girls as they were quite straightforward in their interest of them. They would just stare at the girls without embarrassment and without even talking to them. I remember one time on the bus where Hannah and Michelle stood directly next to a high school boy that stared at them the whole time. Hannah and Michelle just laughed but he was intent on making eye contact with them. Rick and I finally made our presence known and he backed off a bit.
The girls dyed a strand of their hair blue for excitement and memories. Kelly concocted a mixture of Kool Aide and conditioner and then ran a line through their hair. They even included Rick and I in the excitement; right now Rick has a small strand in the back of his hair that is blue. I am sure that it will be gone by the time we arrive in Abilene.
We thoroughly enjoyed out time in Spain and the special time that we had together as our full family. Spain is really beautiful and we hope to return to travel more in this country in the future. Blessings.