The resort was located in Mijas along Costa del Sol, in the province of Malaga. It had been a quick plane trip from Portugal to Madrid and then by train to Malaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia.
As soon as I entered I felt the Iberian atmosphere fill my spirit. After a whirlwind week of meetings, presentations, technology workshops, and more, it was time to decompress Andalusian style.
"This is so wonderful," said Rochelle spreading her arms.
Indeed, there was a laundry room, bedroom, bathrooms, kitchenette, living room
and a balcony with a superb view of the westernmost section of the Mediterranean called the Alboran sea.
This was my first encounter with a city not built on a grid principle and navigating it (without phone service) was a nightmare. At times, I felt like a prisoner trapped in a beautiful surreal world. And what a world it was with one wonder after another around every corner.
But Rochelle and I had not come this far to hang out at a resort, as beautiful as it may be. We wanted to explore the place, its culture, and its people. The following day, we set out to do just that.
This being spring at the time of the visit, the air was cool and the locals wore winter clothes. For Rochelle and I, it was perfect weather, so we wore shirts, shorts, and sandals, which I think amused some of the locals. We were surprised when we found people inside shops wearing thick coats and blowing warm air into their hands as if they were freezing while we stood there basically half naked (in a manner of speaking ;).
We explored the city in a chaotic manner, as we had not really made any concrete plans about what to do while there. So, we just walked around hoping to stumble unto something interesting, which we did.
Ole! Enter La Plaza de Los Toros. There were no shows that day, so I didn't attend a bullfight (not that I would've paid to see such a spectacle), but I took some pics of the arena in any case.
The sound of the streets and Spanish voices calling out made the place feel very exotic. The architecture was distinctly European but with that unique extravagant Spanish flavour.
Soon we settled to the slower Mediterranean pace of life. We ate simple foods like jamon iberico and olives, wine, and cheeses. Our diet vastly improved, and soon I was feeling invigorated, to say nothing of the fresh sea breezes that blew from the sea.
Market
With no maps for these territories, our strolls were random as if lost through a maze of streets, history, and architecture.
I took great pleasure on encountering the Roman ruins. Those guys were everywhere, man. I'm convinced we're still riding a wave of technological and managerial innovation that had its nexus in that ancient Roman empire. We have improved on their governing and civilization building methods, but the core of those improvements is Roman through and through.
That first day was all about exploration. Readjusting to our reality and slowing down our pace, which was hard to do for two highly charged spinning particles.
In the evening, we had a cold plate of meats, olives, cheese, bread, butter, and wine.
"Is that the strait of Gibraltar?" Rochelle asked me while we were sitting out on the balcony.
"No idea," I said, casting my gaze upon the orange skies. "I get a strange sensation being here. It's like an elation. How can I explain it? Culture shock maybe. Imagine this place centuries ago, prehistoric people swarming its shores, the European tribes spreading their reach, later invasions, and all the while the sea is navigated by ancient Mediterranean mariners and others from far northern realms. It was the confluence of cultures. A meeting of high tech innovation and maritime kyber-culture filled with the entrepreneurial spirit of discovery and conquest. All of history converges on this point in Andalusia, generally speaking, when Columbus slingshots himself onto the Americas, and the rest is history. I can feel that sense of adventure and discovery in this place. I understand why a man would want to venture out into that dark and forbidding sea, where his ship may fall off the edge of the world or be led astray by sexy sirens."
"Would you like more wine?"
"Yes, please."
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