¡Vamos a hablar español!

OK RATHER than bang in another post about how tired I feel I decided to go with an idea I had from (actually quite a depressing) TV prog last night entitled Spain: Paradise Lost. Now what you must understand about Spain, if you're not British or North European is that it's always been the short-haul sun-seeking destination of choice for Brits, Germans, Beneluxians and Scandinavians (with Greece a close second). From an American viewpoint you might say it's our Mexico. In recent years, the coasts have been deluged by mostly British but also a lot of German ex-pats wanting to start a new life. For this reason the Spanish Costas are sometimes called the California of Europe.

I've been to the Costa del Sol and it was pretty mental. People pack up and just go, get jobs in bars or restaurants or set up places of their own ~ most never learn a word of the local language.

Buying property in Spain is fraught with dangers ~ and this was the topic of last night's docu. Land laws are VERY different out there ~ and not having a clue about the language you're basically at the mercy of fate unless you're very careful.

Then I realized that because I speak German as well as English I'd actually be in quite a strong position to deal with a great number of these ex-pats, if I chose to go. I've always wanted to speak Spanish anyway (just never had a strong enough excuse to learn). If I DID get good Spanish ~ wow! I could start up a sunny new life. And act as an interpreter for folks taking sewerage-spouting rivers of diarrhoea running down the embankment like volcanic lava whenever it rains never finished la urbanización property developers to court!

An urbanización is a new development, usually of holiday apartments with bars areas, restaurant, swimming pools etc for lobster-red Northern European tourists to splurge life savings on...

... the problem being that the credit crunch has left many such places that were bought and paid for off-plan utterly unfinished. Or even worse the towering Euro and cowering pound credit-crunch interest-rates type situation has left many in negative equity and faced with losing everything.

Well it's only an idea. But as the saying goes, where there's trouble there's dosh to be made. So maybe I shall end up in the environs of Malaga rather than Vienna-Berlin...

The local fresh sardines are really nice. So long they flop each side off the plate. And local lemons to squeeze all over them. Not like the tinned variety at all...

... that's if I can stop myself sleeping 14 hours a day first!! I did 9 hours straight last night and woke up unhappy to be disturbed. Got back early afternoon and did another 3 or 4 ~ that's 12 or 13 already and the day is yet young.

Right I've got to ping else I'll be terminated.

*photos: self-explanatory except: towering hotels ~ Benidorm; top pic Costa de la Lux, said to be Southern Spain's undiscovered treasure... the secluded beach is Tenerife's Playa de Antequera (Canary Isles)...
... o yeah, and the painting's of Miguel de Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE...