Places with a view: Almunecar, Granada's coast

In Almunecar , a very, very old (over 2000 years old) pueblo blanco on Andalusia’s coast in Spain, straight south of Granada, I lived on the 6th floor of a condo building on the eastern sea promenade called Playa de Velilla.

There the view was of the famed blue Mediterranean (sadly polluted, but the view did not reveal this shameful secret), a mostly stony beach with its fish restaurants and their open pits from which a tempting aroma of freshly caught, grilled sardines waffled all the way up, up, to my balcony.

On the beach there were tourists bathing and playing in season, and outside the tourist season retired expats from all over Europe, but mostly from Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark, Norway) and from Germany and Great Britain - the cold weather and high cost of living countries - walking, exercising... by the colorful fishing boats and fishermen loading or unloading their nets and fish.

Between the beach and the condo there was a paseo , framed with tall, stately palm trees and full of all kind of open air eateries, where people sipped their hot chocolate and ate churros (Spanish doughnuts) or olive drizzled toasts with garlic and tomatoes for breakfast, or munching on an abundance of tapas all day - and night - long.

On the left side of the bay, in the background, there were slopes of Sierra de Grazalema and - behind them Sierra Nevada mountains, with some of their peaks covered in snow, while oranges and bougainvillea were in full bloom at the coast.

On the lower slopes, the view revealed two pueblos blancos, typical Andalusian white villages, oh, so picturesque with their narrow streets and their white houses climbing the slopes.

Between the villages and the sea there was also a carretera climbing up, up, like a serpent full of moving objects, with tunnels and dangerous curves. It was both exhilarating - and quite often scary - to watch the bravado of cars negotiating the carretera.

Ah, my places with a view … I do miss them all, would love to return to them all, but not yet, not yet. Right now there are still plenty of new places and new adventures awaiting. Or so I hope.

Lake Geneva

Daughter had to attend a conference on the shores of Lake Geneva ... in Wisconsin, and I was invited to tag along, to enjoy the change of scenery.

Since we arrived on a weekend, we vegged a little,

indulged a little in some forbidden pleasures

and took a boat trip along the lake

enjoying the water and the sun

and the views of typical? midwestern? mcmansions? dotting the shores

Ah, Savannah!.... or temptations

I have always loved Savannah - who would not? Its historic southern charms, its loveliness, its architectural and cultural wonders, its legendary gardens and its location on the crossroads of Georgia and South Carolina's golden coasts: Hilton Head to the north, The Golden Isles of Georgia to the south. Who could ask for anything more?

Yet, although I have often visited the area and looked for an interesting opportunity there all during this decade, I never found one.



Until now... when, immersed in the tropics and in ongoing and planned projects in both Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, I was not looking for anything or anywhere else, a very tempting (=challenging in the most interesting way) opportunity to work on the Golden Coast out of Savannah found me.

Uff, what to do, what to do?

Daughter has been looking for a while for a second home in either Hilton Head or St.Mary's, since those places are both colorful, beachy and only a few hours drive - and less than one hour flight - distance from Atlanta, and she would gladly rather share my new digs in Savannah with me - had I decided to accept the tempting offer and relocate there, rather than buying a second home for herself... which, in turn would allow me to buy a second home in the tropics - most likely in the Dominican Republic, since it is far less crowded and far less pricy than Puerto Rico, yet far more cosmopolitan = far more fun.

I still have my (almost) entire library in a storage in Atlanta ( I only brought about 75 pounds of books so far to Puerto Rico), most of my beloved Arctic birch Finnish and Swedish furniture, all my crystals and china (including a humongous Finnish art glass dinner service consisting of about 150 pieces), all my silver, practically all of my paintings, etc. etc. .... in sum: practically all of the trappings of my non-minimalistic lifestyle!

In Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic I have some obligations, that could be taken care of if I just spent a few months a year there, say, during the coldest winter months, and otherwise devoted, on average, no more than 10 -15 hours a week (providing I was disciplined enough not to let myself being suckered into doing more) to them.

I have a (second) car in Puerto Rico and a few possessions: a brand new TV, a very comfy leather recliner, some other furniture, household goods and clothes.

Of course, I would take my cats with me, no matter the logistic difficulties of transporting them in high summer - hot! - month, but, otherwise, I could either dispose of my possessions by selling the car and giving the rest away, or store them in a cabin belonging to a friend, who visits PR only for a few months a year (lol, I have done it a few times before: in Spain, Sweden, Germany... and never returned to retrieve any of them when my plans changed, incuring a loss of no more than a couple of grands outlays each time... a small price for having an adventure).... a lot easier than shipping all of my non-minimalistic lifestyle to the tropics... and yet I think I should stay in the tropic for another year, or at least half a year, and try to postpone the Golden Coast opportunity.... but I am not sure...

I guess I'll explore both options a little more in detail for another week and have a "family" meeting with the "kids" the last weekend in June, when all "family" members will be present in Atlanta.
Any inputs from any of you?

Arecibo observatory

If you have seen the film "Contact" you have had a glimpse of Arecibo observatory an the world's largest radiotelescope.

I had seen the movie, had a glimpse, but have to admit that seeing the real thing
got me into an even more eery and unreal mood.



The site is awesome! The telescope impressive, the exhibitions intriguing, very cleverly edutaning for all, no matter their age and level of education.

You can't go away from there without becoming increasingly fascinated with astronomy and astrophysics.

And all of it located in the heart of Puerto Rico's spectacular karst country!

A must see!

The English Rose

During a recent visit to the west coast of Puerto Rico I had breakfast with a friend

at La Rosa Inglesa, a B&B located high up on a hill over Rincon.

La Rosa Inglesa has expansive vistas, nice amenities,

comfortable rooms, very friendly and attentive staff, but it is most famous for its sumptuous breakfasts. Here is their breakfast menu:

Dan had a Full Monty
and I had a breakfast burrito

Both were yummmmy!

What's blooming in my jungle garden...

.... right now? I do not know. I have not been there for two weeks. But I have documented for garden blogger's bloom day what was blooming in mid April... and forgot to post it then. But better late than never, so here it is:

Daughter's birthday

Today's a birthday of my beautiful daughter! Here she is in the early evening, holding the bunch of roses she just received from her ex-spouse, and ready for her birthday party.

This is going to be her second birthday party this year. The fun party.

The elegant party was two weeks ago: an elegant dinner with her seven best girl-friends and.... a butler.

Yes, a butler: a company executive of English extraction offered his services as a butler at a recent company charity auction and she bid and won. Thus the two-part party: elegant and fun.

There was also a third, miniparty this morning, for just the two of us, when, according to a Swedish tradition I woke her up early in the morning carrying a tray with a cup of tea (she prefers it to coffee), a mini-cake ( a fruit tartelette, actually) and a symbolic candle.