Goldenbear's Honey Here - Days 3 & 4

Goldenbear (a/k/a Alan) is hibernating at the moment, after another walk across town. I am wisely saving my energy today in preparation for a very long day tomorrow - more on that later.

I find myself in "catch-up" mode for this blog, as Alan has only covered the flight to Rota. After we arrived, we checked into the Navy Lodge and showered - ahhhh! that felt great! Alan also did some laundry, and we walked to dinner in town with Bob & Kate (the father/daughter team we met on the flight). Between Kate's excellent Spanish and Alan's remedial Spanish combined with his supreme confidence, we found the restaurant the NL manager had recommended - Meson los Arcos, where we ordered Paella per the server's suggestion. It was a beautiful dish, but a little too fishy tasting for us - nevertheless, we were hungry (all I had to eat for breakfast and lunch was the Milky Way and Nutri-Grain Cereal Bar from the box 'lunch' we had on the plane), and we enjoyed the company and the setting. I found myself coveting Kate's steak and sauteed mushrooms and making a mental note not to order Paella again - 'ever in life,' as one of my cute daughters-in-law, Polina, says.

The next morning (Monday), we again walked to town, first to the ATM to obtain some Euros (amazing thing how you can buy money); then to the police station to have our passports stamped; and then making it across town to the Atlantic Ocean. The beach was beautiful - too chilly for swimming or sunbathing, but we enjoyed the gorgeous Bay Area-type weather and stopped to sample some local fare, including delicious homemade patitas fritas (potato chips) and helado (ice cream). We shall start the low-calorie diet another day.

We could see the town of Cadiz to the South as we stood at the beach. Alan took some good pictures of the lovely rows of houses and charming narrow streets. We found we were strolling during the siesta period of the day - most of the shops and restaurants close at 1400 and reopen at 1700. Alan was happy, because that meant I could only window shop and not purchase. I did treat myself to an orange thinking they must be fresh, as I could see them growing on the trees along the street.

For more photos see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21984041@N08

I was surprised that the Naval Base only flies the Spanish flag and is manned by Spanish military staff. Alan explained that the US Navy is only a tenant here, and as guests and not residents with permanent orders, we are not allowed to purchase items from the NEX or Commissary - there is a convenience store where we can buy the bare necessities, however.

So...tomorrow (5 May) we will have a taxi pick us up about 0700 and take us to the train station for a trip to Madrid, and later in the day we will board an Alitalia flight to Tel Aviv that will get us there about 0230 6 May. I am going to have to get the olden, goldenbear up soon to walk me into town for some supper - last night we waited too late, and we had to get by with only a bowl of cereal.