Sotogrande Sunshine
To start the month off right I had the opportunity to go on holiday with my sister, I say holiday it was actually an invite to spend time with our grandparents in Sotogrande, in the South of Spain. They have lived there for 15 years but have recently moved to a new house; a townhouse that sits right on the edge of the port. That’s right a water view and everything.
Flights to Spain can be as low priced as £70 in any case our grandparents generously paid for us to fly out to them to spend 10 days at their new house. Sotogrande, usually bustling in the summer months was exceptionally quiet when we arrived, apparently the end of summer is September 2nd. This was nice for me and my sister as we could wander round and go do our favourite things without the crowds of people making everything unbearably busy.
So, for 10 days we had a relaxing adventure. The house itself is part of a complex which has a pool and outdoor showers, it was less than 20 mins from the beach and had a pleasant 20 minute walk to the Blue Marina. The only thing we didn’t take advantage of was the beach, we did however spend a lot of time at the pool. There were a few people there at the same time as us but for the most part we had this huge pool to ourselves. We even made some pool friends, some guys who were singing in Duquesa on a regular basis.
We visited Puerto de Duquesa a few times, where they have restaurants and bars a plenty. We went there to eat and to also subject myself to public humiliation through the medium of song. Yes, I did karaoke and yes, I loved it. I had a really fun night; we also visited our pool friends during their final performance. They were really good. So, with the video evidence of my embarrassment we watched them and then returned home.
We went to Tarifa; a part of the coast where you can see the straits of Africa. They also have beautiful beaches and touristy shops. I especially enjoyed the beach bar that we went to named Bibo. It had beanbags instead of sun beds and a shaded canopy right next to the restaurant that was perfect for me with my delicate baby skin. We spent a day in Tarifa, eating at the restaurant which had delicious food.
We also went to Castellar de la Frontera, a castle at the top a mountain in Cádiz, with phenomenal views and quaint little alleyways and shops for the guests staying in the castle. It was the perfect weather for wide shots of the landscape and a nice drink at the top of the castle.
A visit to the river was also scheduled so that Hayley and I could go kayaking. Fortunately the river was a 5 minute walk away from the complex where our grandparents lived so it was super convenient to get there and go out onto the river for an hour of paddling. We enjoyed going up and down the available space, but also taking plenty of breaks to chat and catch up.
Finally, we got to reexperience the Gibraltar airport, we crossed the Spanish border and go to really admire the new glass situation. All I recall from the old airport is that it reminded me a little bit of a cave. Fortunately, with walls made of windows this new airport was the complete opposite.
It was a really fun time to hang out with family I hadn’t seen in well over a year and also a great opportunity to enjoy the warm weather before getting settled in the rainy UK for a while. At least, like America, there were plenty of mosquitoes to bite me while I was sitting out in the garden…
