Saturday is Market Day

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A leisurely start to this brilliantly, hot, sunny day......... breakfast and a fresh coffee. then off on the bikes to the Market held at the far end of Los Alcazares.

When we planned to have a holiday here without a car it was going to be in September and not in the heat of mid August !! The apartment is really cool with a through flow of air when all the windows are open. It's like stepping into an oven as you exit by the front door of the complex so by the time we had cycled the 3km to the market we were already very hot.

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Ian looked after the bikes while I went to find the best prices for fruit and veggies. Sounds boring but he found plenty to entertain him ........ mostly the motoring skills of Spanish drivers who are very adept at gently shunting any cars out of their way when trying to reverse park. 'Smack' into the car infront of them; 'smack' into the car behind; 'smack' again into the car in front; and then the space is just the right size for them. Then the driver of the front car returns and goes through it all again in order to get out of his parking space which had been plenty big enough when he actually parked his car !!

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And then for added entertainment there is the choice of parking space; the more bizarre the better. Corners and road junctions are near the top of the list but right at the top must be any space that actually blocks traffic around the busy market.hen

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The shopping was successful. I bought a carrier bag full to the brim with peppers for 1 Euro and 2 large piel de sapo melons, also for 1 Euro. The peaches and nectarines are massive and range from 1 Euro to about 1.80 Euros for a kilo. There are loads of plums in season which start at 1.20 Euros a kilo.

Riding back with the weight of melons and potatoes in the basket was not always easy but I got there in the end. Chucked all our clothes straight into the wash (very whiffy !!) and started to enjoy the things we had bought starting with a fresh fruit salad for lunch. The white of the melon, the red of the plums both contrasting with the deep yellow of the peaches and nectarines. Not much of that left over !

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Like the Spanish we believe in taking a siesta in the afternoon when it is so hot which is when I write up this blog. Then after our evening meal we promenade on the seafront paseo. We love this dusky part of the day; and we love to be in the Spanish part of the town at this time. As we walk down to the sea front we pass through the Balneario commercial centre where all the restaurants attract the tourists. There is just a narrow walkway for pedestrians through the hundreds of tables set for evening meals. Most of the customers are speaking English.

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But when you arrive at the seafront it is most definitely Spanish. We love the bars and cafes, some working from wooden kiosks. There is such a buzz of excited Spanish noise and on the beach Spanish families are setting up bbqs and the children are playing on the sand and swimming in the Mar Menor. It is very family orientated; such a pleasure to feel a part of it.

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I would have described today as one when we didn't do much ..... but realise now just how much we packed in. We cycled for about 15km altogether and walked about 6km (3km each way along the seafront). I spoke to several of the market traders and stood my ground when one of them was trying to sell me much more than I wanted; we spoke to an old guy on the seafront who had greeted us with a cheery "buenas"(no noches or tardes!); we had found out details of a drink served in the bar in the evening "Blanco y negro" which is a black coffee with icecream on the top. We'd done some shopping at the local supermercado and tried several shops to buy some food covers with no success. We'd worn 3 sets of clothes each, 2 lots of which have been washed, dried and put away.

And do miss having a car? Well, yes in someways we do and I have rechecked the hire prices. Still a no,no though.