Our First Day

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Our first full day in Spain. We arrived yesterday in Malaga and then had to make a two-hour drive along the coast to Roquetas de Mar. About half the drive was on a good, modern freeway; the other half was on an old, windy road. Keenan got car sick after about 90 minutes.

Coming into Roquetas we drove through an area of industrial farming. Everywhere you can see are improvised greenhouses made out of plastic and mesh. It turns out that this type of farming is a recent development here and has been a big boost to the economy because it permits three crops a year instead of just one. It has also resulted in a large increase in African immigration, many of them undocumented to work in this type of agriculture. Together with a large development in tourism, it has transformed this area from a poor fishing village to a much wealthier (and more crowded) area.

The owner of the language school, Graeme, met us as we drove into Roquetas in order to show us to the apartment that he had arranged for us to rent. Its very nice; about a block off the beach but with a view of the water, it has a small kitchen, dining room/family room, two bathrooms and three bedrooms (although Keenan’s room is really a large closet). Its very comfortable, however, and well located about a 5 minute drive to the school and close to a small market and restaurants. The beach is mostly empty this time of year but nice; coarse sand, but wide and long. Its unseasonably cold right now; probably high 60s during the day but with a decent breeze.

Graeme and Sarah, the owners of the school, are an interesting couple. He is from Zimbabwe, she from England. They met in Africa when Sarah’s parents lived there. After getting married and spending 6 years in England, they bought this school last year and have been running it. They have a 4 year old and a 6 year old, who attend regular school and are more fluent in Spanish than their parents.

We had our first sessions today; Angie and I both had one-on-one lessons with Sylvia, one of the instructors, while the kids were all together with another teacher. My class was very helpful; mostly conversation, with some review of the future tense. It helps to spend two hours thinking and speaking in Spanish. The kids gave it mixed results: Tommy came out very fired up, Ryan was a bit more lukewarm, and for Keenan two hours was too long. Tomorrow the teacher will take them out walking to make things a bit more interactive for them.

This afternoon we drove about an hour east, past Almeira, to a dormant volcano near the picturesque town of Nijar. We first ate in the town at a very nice restaurant run by two Romanians; we then headed to the volcano, where the kids found hundreds of small garnets lying about. Tommy saw a scorpion; that was about it for wildlife. The rain brought out lots of scents of wild sage and other desert plants, and there were patches of black lava and rock outcroppings everywhere. Afterwards, Keenan announced that she wanted to live in Spain and thanked us for taking her on the best vacation ever. She loves nature.

Other than the cool weather and the inability to find a wireless internet connection, so far everything here has been wonderful. Its now about 8:30 and we are winding down; after a light dinner of cheese and chorizo that we bought today, the kids will all write in their journals and get to bed at a decent hour.

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Photos

On the beach
Here are the kids on the beach in front of our apartment in Roquestas de Mar, dipping their toes in the Meditaranean for the first time.

A rare quiet moment
One of the few times the kids have actually sat still since we arrived

The volcano
Here we are standing in the crater of the (hopefully) dormant volcano we visited.

Garnet Hunting
The kids were good hunters, finding hundreds of small garnets. Look for their listing on ebay soon.

On top of a volcano
Los conquistadores!

Comments

[Carter Clark]

hello hope you are having fun in spain
Hi this is carter and i hope u r having fun in spain!!!!!!!!!!!!! it is to bad i wont see tommy or any of you for 3 months!! bye, Carter

[Stephanie Shapiro]

Huge Bash next door
Just kidding!!!!! Thanks for the wonerful blog and photos. Looks like you guys are having a blast. We look forward to reading about your trip and the boys love the awsome pics!! Be safe! We miss you! Stef

[tom conley sr.]

great hearing from you all and really enjoying the pictures. love you all, grandpa and grandma conley

[uncle jungle jim]

what a great start to the trip
Sounds like you guys are having a great time, so fun to read about all of your activities thus far, keep the updates coming. Can't wait to see more photos. I am sure that by now you have learned about the fate of your SAAB, sorry but they do think that it can be fixed. Enjoy Africa and Happy Easter. Much Love, Jim, Jo, Mary and Jimmy.