From Badesi Sardinia to 83 Avenida Rio Segura, Calabardina, 30889 Aguilas Murcia, Spain

September 23, 2010
I was up early for the last wash, bed change, and cleaning, before I left Badesi. I arrived at the quiet little Alghero Airport far earlier than I needed to, but it was time to leave! So I read and actually finished The Shadow of the Wind while I waited. Because of the striking air traffic control in France, we left two hours later than we were supposed to. Then the captain came on the loud speaker saying that we were going to be delayed another two hours. I thought it was a joke, but he never laughed, so I thought we would be there for two more hours, but that was not the case-luckily! So I had two hours of sleep at the Best Western in Madrid to get the 6AM shuttle to leave for Alicante on an 8:10 flight.

September 24,2010
At the Alicante airport, I picked up a bright blue four door Renault Elf, and drove to (exchanger) Joan’s German friend Hilde to get the keys.(She waited for me all day yesterday, since Joan told her that was when I was coming! Woops!) Before I even got in the door of this house, I met three British neighbors! Kathy and Tony from Gloucestershire live right next door in probably a unit with the same floor plan as this one. (NB. When I was in the Cheltenham several years ago on a swap, and Kathy and I lost our water supply, the water treatment center was in Gloucester!) So I’ve picked up some groceries and am off to bed early. It’s also interesting geography with lots of mountains, but also lots of plains, so far it has not been as dramatic as Sardinia. And it is still very hot! Maybe even too hot to go to the beach during the day!

September 25, 2010
Well, today may have been a bit of a fool’s errand, but who knows! When I checked out the car yesterday at Avis with not much sleep, I didn’t even look at the car for scratches, etc…. But late yesterday pm, I noticed a small nick on the rear left panel. I called Avis and after going from person to person, I finally got to Elayna. I explained the situation, and she said, “How do I know you didn’t do it? I replied, “You have to trust me.” Basically she said she wasn’t getting paid to trust me. She told me to go to the Murcia airport to show it to them.
So about 10:30 I put Murcia into the GPS and started. (Before I left, I found out there was no hot water. so much for washing my hair!)
Now, if because the airport is called the Murcia Airport, I should NOT have assumed it is in Murcia, which I did! Because not only is Murcia the name of a city, it is also the name of the whole province! So until I figured this out, I was going in the wrong direction, since the airport is much closer to Cartagena!
Got to Avis, and got it all resolved, so I shouldn’t have a penalty, when I turn the car back in on October 19th! Oh, and by the way, it is probably about 112 miles each way……..HMMMMMMMMMMMMmm. “If you’re happy and you know it, stamp your feet!”
About 5 I went down to the nearest beach-maybe an eight minute walk-with Kathy and Tony for a swim. It seems like no one goes to beach between 10 and 4! We stopped for a beer at the little bar there, which they said has the best paella and calamari. I’ve never yet had paella, so I won’t be a good judge, but I’ll let you know when I’ve tried it. Karen, who is coming over on October 7th loves paella, so she'll be a much better judge. (Karen lives in Denver; when we went to Peru five years ago,our mutual friend Nancy Foster introduced us, and we roomed together on that trip.)

September 26
Well, this morning I had a bit of a panic attack, as I thought that I’d left my Blackberry charger and the electricity converter in my travels. Luckily I FOUND IT!!!! One of my thoughts at the time was 'I’m ever so annoyed that I’ve become a slave to technology!' So I would have been (sort of) like the old English poets I talked about in Rome doing the Grand Tour!

The place where I am staying is very comfortable with a pleasant patio and deck space. Built four years ago, it is a four bedroom, three bath duplex. Across the street all the units look to be attached; I can see at least four For Sale or For Rent signs! Tony said they are probably asking €220,000, but the “estate agents say they should be asking €180,000”! (Ah, the universal real estate dilemma!)
According to Kathy, these units (maybe eight in all?) were designed by an architect who lives above these units. Because he wanted to see the ocean, he ended up lowering the elevation of these units. Several of them have had huge water problems, because of the rain coming down the mountain and running down this street, and down into the garages. One woman lost her car which was parked in the garage! There was a problem here, but Joan only said “unforeseen circumstances” meant the garage would not be available. I’d not want to park down there anyway. The incline would be a real challenge to anyone, let alone someone NOT used to a manual shift!
Between Tony and Roger, another British neighbor, the hot water heater is running fine now! The flame seems high when it goes on, but they say that is how it should be. Learning about the different systems is always interesting!
I drove into Aguilas, which is a mixture of farming and tourist town. I had seen this shepherd later yesterday herding these sheep. Today I saw him sitting here as they fed off the hillside.
I'm at Los Geraneos, a restaurant-bar near by where there have free internet, so I'm sitting here drinking my €1.20 COKE Light and catching up. GOOD thing I brought my little Acer Notebook! They also have access at the library where we can print things, so Kathy and Tony had said they'll take me there. Shortly I'll head off to the beach for another swim. Ah, but first, I decided to have a snack. CAROL, they have tapas here! So I ordered a dish of what is just like what Gloria made and called Insalada rossa (with potatoes and tuna, etc. Can't imagine what else. It is a bit salty, but tasty!) for €1.50.
Mateo, the bartender here at Los Geraneos,speaks no English, but Natchez, short for Ignacio, does speak English, so he helped me order. It turns out that his father was in the Spanish army, so they spent five years in Alexandria, VA back in the early '80's.
So that is Spain,Chapter 1! Adios!