Thursday, September 29, 2011

On to Marbella

The Costa del Sol is unlike anything I have seen.  Endless sunshine.  Wall to wall people.  A walk along the sea wall that stretches endlessly into the sunset.  At least three restaurants for every day of the year.  Gloriously clean sand.  Sparkling blue water.  I know it may sound like Hawaii or southern California, but it's different.  I can't describe the precise difference, but once you experience the feel of the sun on your face and the sand between your toes, you'll know the difference is there.

After a morning in Rhonda, we traveled by bus to Marbella, a community of tourists and those who serve them.  Street after street after street of condominiums run parallel to the shore.  I watched people - some bleached white from too many days in the north, some freshly burned from the day before, and most overweight by at least 10 kilos - pour out of those condos, as eager for a fresh application of their drug of choice as any addict.  In this case:  the warming rays of the Mediterranean sun! 

By contrast, those who are there to serve have the most beautiful bodies imaginable.  Blemish free, light brown skin stretched over taunt slim bodies, many with sparkling blue/green eyes.  Makes me - one of those who vacillate between bleached white and freshly burned, but always overweight - wonder if I shouldn't be doing something different.  Maybe more olive oil?????

Enough self-deprecation!  On with the show . . .


To make an escape from the taunt slim bodies, we went for a buggy ride through town.  The city itself has some interesting architecture and some lovely plantings, but the most outstanding feature of all has to be the people!
Returning to buggy-ride headquarters, our horsey said he was too tired to pose for photos.  Poor guy had pulled too many tourists for one day!

Back on the beach . . . a sand castle extraordinaire!

A fabulous sunset . . .

Taking pictures of people taking pictures . . .
And later that evening . . . fun with the camera and a delicious seafood paella.