Friday, July 31, 2009

Life’s A Beach

The summer monsoons have come to Norway. It is like being in South-East Asia except it is 16 C, there are no street food vendors, and there are few Asians. Aside from that, there’s not much in it. It has been pissing, blowing, cracking and flashing in biblical proportions.

I have evacuated Mrs. BB to the casa in Spain. We are south of Seville on the plains between the mountains and the coast in La Frontera country, pueblo blanco land. This was the last frontier between the Christians and the Moors, the former drove the latter out of Spain in the 15th century.

It is scorchio, scorchio, scorchio. The standing temperature is 40 C. We are in Spain’s oven. I gladly surrender my offerings to the sun god. My soul is warmed.

We lunch in Jerez, or Sherry as the English call it, adopted from its old Moorish name. Jerez is the heart of sherry country, horse breeding and the Flamenco. A rambling ride through the byzantine streets of the old town and there is barely room for our small car to maneuver the casa encroached cobblestones.

As if by magic, we pop out at the bustling market. We feast on the local tapas: fresh fried choko, tortilla de camorones - a local specialty, manzanilla olives and cold cerveza. Some light shopping on the promenade and we are off to the beach.

We are spoiled for choice with the beaches on the west coast from Tarifa to just north of Cadiz. With the exception of Tarifa, most are beaches frequented by Spaniards. No Inglese here and little English is spoken. In fact there are few Northern Europeans to speak of. It is one of the reasons we come here.

The beach in Rota centre is excellent, though the village is not overly charming. We settle on the eco-beach north of Rota, a spot of natural beauty. The ancient sand dunes camouflage the beach from the casual onlooker.
The sand bar runs for a few miles and is sparsely populated.

No beach club here, it is DIY. We transport our sun loungers, beach umbrellas and beach bags to an ideal spot between the dunes and the surf. We make beach camp and get horizontal. The cadence of the surf is hypnotic. Soon I am in Never Never Land. A fresh plunge in the Atlantic is electric and awakens me. I am very alive and in the moment.

Mrs BB and I have serious beach DNA. When we find a beach we like, we cannot be moved from dawn until dusk. Our existence is meted out around our small beach camp: reading, napping, swimming, kissing, and long and engaging conversations where we make deliciously big plans. Time is lost. I gaze off into the horizon, meditating, the gentle westerly breeze consoling my absent thoughts. I’ve checked out.

Life’s a beach.

Beaverboosh

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, are you guys going to come and visit? I'm leaving for a week in Málaga on Sunday, otherwise I will be here BAKING in Sevilla. In either place, a cold beer and some tapas with you & Mrs BB sounds like a nice idea.

Agree with you about the Cádiz beaches. My favourites are Bolonia and Conil.

You might also want to check out the horseracing on the beach in Sanlucar de Barrameda. This weekend - August 1,2,3 - or if you're still here, August 17,18,19.

Corinne said...

Hey, BB, you wanna change spots? You can cool off and rehydrate here in Oslo and we can take those baking beaches off your hands. No problem!

Anonymous said...

delicious... i can almost feel the sand in my buttcrack...

Blonde Goddess said...

I have to agree with what you said about the Atlantic...it's cold!

Anonymous said...

Wow, BB. Are you thinking about changing careers to become a tourist guide writer? 'Cuz you're pretty damned good.

Although the +40 C is not that appealing, the rest sounds absolutely wonderful.

Unknown said...

Rough life you lead... I am jealous... I can't even guess how much rain we have had in the past 2 days...blah...

Get some sun for me!

Lesley said...

Bum.

Anonymous said...

Enjoy Spain. I'll think of you while I'm in sunny Singapore

Michele said...

You're living the life, dude. Good on ya. Enjoy.

Anonymous said...

It is like being in South-East Asia except it is 16 C, there are no street food vendors, and there are few Asians.

:D

Thanks for the constant rain, I don't have to look for beaches in Ottawa this year. It's probably for the best considering what locals consider is a beach.

Jo said...

Wish I was there! I would love to visit Spain but have always avoided it due to my issues with bullfighting. A couple of pics would be good?

beaverboosh said...

az - thanks for the kind invite, we left on the day of this posting. We'll catch up next time. BBx

corrine - was back for 2 days and left, had enough of the rain

df - lucky its only sand you feel in your buttcrack, this is Spain...

bg - effin cold girl, mr. winky went hidy widy for hours

rob - you're too kind pal, no money in it anyway! 40 is getting almost unbearable but IT is worth it

ain - hey it's a tough job hon but someone has to do it

lesley - definitely a beach bum

nm - have a great one, can't wait to hear about it

michele - gotta be done girl, gotta be done

zhu - wish i could help, we always spent summer at the cottage a couple of hours outside of Ottawa on a fresh water lake... it was yummy

jo - hope you work out how to reconcile your differences, it is a lovely place well worth a tour