Europe 2023—Almeria Spain

Recently, we grabbed our passports and hopped an Icelandair flight to Europe. After a three hour layover in Reykjavik, a five hour stop in London, and a twelve hour rest in Madrid we finally made it to our destination, Almeria, Spain. Almeria is located on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. Our good friends, Nigel and Yvonne, hosted us during our six day visit. Their hospitality was amazing! Although we didn’t crash any old taverns, we had an absolute blast visiting outdoor cantinas, eating loads of tapas, and knocking back local wines and beers.

We were REALLY impressed with the area. The terrain, sunshine, and weather (think Arizona) were wonderful. The favorable Euro exchange rate and low cost of living make it an attractive place for retirees. Yolie has already been running the numbers . While bar hopping and sightseeing, we also got the opportunity to meet a number of United Kingdom retirees, and we even had the pleasure of a delicious home made paella dinner at the home of two, Ray and Kim.

During our Spain visit we had many great experiences, running the gamut from Yolie helping the mayor cut the ribbon to open the town’s Novemberfest (we still haven’t figured out why the Novemberfest was in June); spending the weekend by the Mediterranean at the naturist resort village of Vera Playa; and just lounging and drinking cocktails by our hosts’ pool. We thank Nigel and Yvonne for a great time and we look forward to our next visit when we hope to take the ferry from Almeria across the Mediterranean to explore Morocco.