POD "Almuerzo (AKA Lunch) to Die For!"

What does one do, when Mexican is a favorite food and it can't be found???

Make it yourself, of course! I was CRAVING some mean nachos today, so I took my time and put some love into their creation. I even made some fresh salsa from scratch! Mmmmmm combine all that with 2 icy coronas and you have an almuerzo to die for! Hence why, it's today's photo of the day! :)

Life is JUST Beachy! :)

Last night, Matty and I headed for the beaches of Rota for a military friend's "Wetting Down." A wetting down, put very simply, is a party to celebrate someone's new promotion (and raise!). It's tradition for the sailor being celebrated to TREAT! No one ever complains about that part, unless of course it's YOUR turn to put forth your first paycheck. ;) Matt! No silly faces!

For Stan's wetting down, he chose a cerveza, sangria, and tapas party at a chiringuito on the beach. The drinks were great, the company was excellent, and the views were spectacular! The men made the wetting down official by carrying Stan to the water and throwing him in. :) Someone here is a bit wetter than the others...
On a side note, I realized last night how GREAT Spain is for people with kids. While the parents sat and enjoyed tapas, drinks and adult conversation, the older kids were MORE than happy to run around on the beach and in and out of the water. Occasionally they would re-join us at the table with soggy shorts and sandy feet for a quick mouthful of food, but there were no complaints from the management. It's a chiringuito! Sandy floors and wet clothes are what it's all about! I just couldn't believe it; even after 8 pm the beach was still poppin!

As the sun started to set, many of us decided to keep the night alive and walk about a 1/4 mile down the beach to a different (very famous) chiringuito. The beach was stillllll full, and on the way we encountered these sweet airplane kites!
Upon arriving at the second chiringuito, we decided that the location, specialty drinks and outdoor lounge area more than validated why this chiringuito is one of the best!
I'll take whatever you're making!
Yum, yum, yum!!! This is not a mojito, but who cares?! It's tasty and beautiful! Just DON'T eat the cherries! They're candied, and they taste like popcorn.
Watching the sunset made me want to box the WHOLE chiringuito experience up and share it with everyone I know!
Lastly, a mile long walk back on the boardwalk brought us to our final stop of the night: Fiesta de la Urta. The Spanish know how to party, and they will find any excuse they can to do so! Including, a festival to celebrate a fish, the Urta, found only in these parts! At about 11:00 the party was just getting started. The band began and the streets were full of families eating, drinking, and dancing. Unfortunately, Matt and I didn't last too long and made the decision it was time to trek the mile back to the base and catch a cab home. Snapped one last pic of the moon over the carnival rides on our way back.
WHAT A NIGHT!!!! :)

POD "You Can Run, but You Can't Hide"

Found this little guy while watering my flowers. He quickly scampered away, but I tracked him down and finally was able to catch a few photos when he cornered himself. I've been trying to get a pic of one of these lil lizards since we arrived! HURRAH! Now, if I could only capture those wild parakeets! You can run, but you can't hide Mr. Lizard.

POD "The Run is Fun When It's Done"

I've discovered that I really like jogging along the ocean. :) Well, the ocean part... not the jogging part. I'm not quite to the point where I like jogging, I just do it. Anyway, on Saturday morning. Matt joined me for a run on my new favorite route. The beach is nice and quiet in the morning. My favorite part of the run might have to be when I leave the beach walkway to wind through this small pine forest.
I lied. My favorite part of the run, is when I'm DONE. Stretching on the beach, and looking at the beautiful quiet beach that I get to splash around on while I slowly make my way back. :)

POD "Here a snail, there a snail, everywhere a snail, snail... Old McDonald..."

Soooooooooo I feel like there's snails EVERYWHERE here. EVERYWHERE. Not a day goes by that I don't see a snail. Before Spain, I never saw such a variety of snails. Big snails, small snails, sea snails, land snails, acrobatic snails, snails you can eat... etc. :) So I felt it was only fair to give some props to the snails. The photo of the day today features the mini-me snail as well as the death-defying act snail. Enjoy.


(PS. Be sure to note the other grouping of snails clinging to the branch in the background of this photo!!!!)

POD "A Delicious Tree"

Just a simple shot of one of the olive trees (probably out of thousands!) you can find here in Andalucia. :) Which reminds me... it's Gypsy market wednesday. I need to go buy some OLIVES!!!

POD "The Landscape of Southern Spain"

One of my favorite parts of Southern Spain is the variety in the landscape. Just two hours from here you can find yourself driving on roads that curve around and tunnel through the mountains of the Sierra Nevada range. You can find white washed towns set up on cliffs or the enjoy the miles and miles and MILES of beaches, all of them different! Mostly, around us you find beautiful rolling hills and farmland splattered with the occasional pine forest. The farmland though, is like none I've ever seen in the US. I'm sure the US HAS farmland that looks somewhat like this. Maybe in New Mexico or southern California, but I haven't seen it.

I wish I could really capture the beauty of this landscape, but it's so hard. It's more than just a photo. You really have to BE here to take it all in. The different colors, the different flowers, the cacti, the vineyards, even the random deserted falling-in buildings (in my opinion) make this place unique. Not to mention, the landscape changes EVERY season. The large green bushes that line most roads and Spanish highways shocked me at the start of summer when they exploded with flowers, either magenta or white. What were big empty fields when we arrived in the winter became miles of bright, glowing, sunflower fields in late spring. These fields however, have now passed and will soon be harvested for the seeds.

Everytime I drive through the countryside, I find something new and beautiful in the landscape and yet... the next time I go through, it will have changed or be gone completely. It's when I see these things, I am reminded HOW blessed we are to be living here.

The POD today is just a shot I took (from my moving car) hoping to capture one of Rota's small vineyards in the height of summer. Oh, how I adore the landscape.

POD "The Last Supper"

The POD today is just a pic of last night's supper. It is a rack of ribs that takes like 5 hours to make. Matt researched and picked out the recipe for the ribs, and when he picks out a recipe... he doesn't mess around. The ribs are rubbed (and must sit refridgerated for atleast an hour), baked/braised 2 1/2 hours in a homemade brine, the brine (after this baking) is then boiled down to a syrup for the barbeque sauce, and finally the ribs and sauce are broiled for that slightly burned carmelized finish. Why do I feel like there were alot of Bs in that last sentence? Braised, brined, baked, boiled, barbequed and broiled. :) Say that five times fast.

Anyway, our Sunday afternoon cookfest was a big success. The "high-end" flavor was WONDERFUL and we will definitely be saving this recipe for future all day rib cookfests. :) PS. This is also sadly titled "the last supper" because... we're going on a diet. Boo-hoo.

Beach Reviews: Conil AKA La Playa Fantastica!!!

Yesterday, Matt and I drove about 45 minutes south to Conil beach. WOW! Cadiz beach is looking worse and worse! Conil was just as great as everyone has said it is. We're going to give it a 4.5 out of 5.0 stars and will definitely be bringing guests back there. We got there a bit late (around noon) so parking (although free) was a bit hard to find. Nevertheless, we were able to get a spot within a short walk from the beach. (Get there early, and there's a big parking lot right along one of the best parts of the beach. We looked there, but no soup. It was full.) This picture of PART of Conil beach was taken from a road that starts along the cliff and then makes its way down along the water. As you can see, there was a BIT of construction/beach work going on, but further down the beach (to the far right) we were not affected where we spent the day.

This extra long, extra wide beach seems to have something for everyone. The cute little town of Conil is RIGHT there and the boardwalk along the beach has all sorts of fun little shops where you can scope out jewelry, dresses, and other fun beach stuff. Since Matt and I had to park a bit further from this main strip of beach, we found a spot to set up in a quieter area. I had already gotten a "birds-eye-view" picture of the beach from the cliff/road where we parked our car, but I wanted another shot taken down ON the beach. I mean, come on, it's important for the blog readers! SO, I took out my camera to snap a few and had only taken one picture when Matt reminded me that a camera on the beach MIGHT not be the best idea.
I had been focused on shooting the beach in the distance and little did I know that in the forefront of what was to be my next picture stood a well endowed topless senorita. Whoops. Yeah, probably should put the camera away, eh?

Anyway, as I was saying, the beach (as do many in Spain) has lots of options for an icy beverage or a savory snack, but still, this wasn't the selling point for Matt and I. What really made this beach extra special was the water!!! The water seemed extra clean and clear and the sand was smooth and just about toe-stubbing/foot slicing free. Most importantly, unlike other Spanish beaches we've gone to, the shore is nice and shallow and deepens very gradually. Matt and I were able to wade pretty far out into the water and play in the waves! Living on a bay, we've forgotten how fun a refreshing a slap in the face by a 3 foot wave can be! How much time did we spend in the water? Let's just say that even today, I still have some water rolling around in my left ear.

On a side note, I finally got a taste of the liberation that many women experience daily on the beaches of Europe. About the 15th time, my bikini top was blasted this way and that by the power of the waves... I gave up. The bikini top CAME OFF! I will however note, that America will be proud, because the moment in which I discarded the useless bikini top was very "NON-european-like" and a lot more "Spring break-girls gone wild-like" as I WHIPPED it off and wildly spun it in the air around my head while giggling and looking at Matthew like "OH SNAP... I DID IT... I'M SO BADASS!!!" :) If you know me, you know that as soon as I retreated back to the beach and left the solitude and coverage of the waves... the top went back on. However, it was progress!!! Bucket list item numero 17: Go topless on a European beach... almost complete!!!

POD "Why Bother"

I think the title of this POD is pretty self explanatory. No but seriously, why do I even bother???

POD "Sooo are you going to finish the statue, orrrr... ???"

The POD is just a shot of some ginormous statue in Jerez I stumbled upon last night while out to dinner celebrating a friend's birthday. Not only is it ginormous... it's a smidge creepy too.
I asked some spanish ladies how to get to the restaurant we were headed to and I partially understood their response which was something like... "that direction, big... no head... on the left." That's what I got out of it anyway. Apparently the "big... no head" was referring to this sweet statue just outside the restaurant. Anyway, it's not your typical religious statue and it's pushing some mean artistic boundaries... so... pretty much, I'm a huge fan.

POD "The Dog Days of Summer"

Although this morning is cool, we've officially reached the dog days of summer. I'm up bright and early every morning, (thanks to the soft woof of a certain white dog standing on the floor at the edge of the bed) and the dogs are walked and home well before 9AM. It's the only way I can do it, because once the sun starts creeping higher in the sky, it becomes much too hot to exercise the boys.
So, in the morning, while the backyard is still in semishade, you can find them running around like crazy: tearing in and out of the bushes with the occasional thump of a clumsy black critter flying into the (thankfully) sturdy fence. The POD is the boys enjoying their last bit of outside time before the yard is fully engulfed in sun.
After some morning play and a nice walk, the boys are ready to beat the heat by settling down in their comfortable air conditioned home. So until about 5 or 6 pm, when daddy gets home, this is how you'll find them:



Trust me, I appreciate a long quiet day with sleeping children, but you can only imagine the energy they have come 9pm when the shade and cool air begins to return!!! Ah well, what's another short walk around the block at 10pm right?

Beach Reviews: Punta Candor

On Sunday, (I know. I'm a little late. BUT the Spanish won the World Cup, I partied and then I had a hangover. How's that for an excuse?) Matt and I checked out another new beach. This beach, Punta Candor is still a part of the Rota beach system, but it's around the corner from the busy boardwalk and restaurants that line most of the beach. The beach is a pretty easy drive from Rota, and if you get there early... parking is a cinch as well. Get there late... you'll be parking on the edge of the skinny road. Good luck with that!

As you can see... the beach was very quiet at 10:00 in the morning... but it filled up as the late- rising Spanish arrived.

Anyway, with large sand dunes and a shoreline lightly littered with rocks and shells, this beach is more natural than some of the other beaches we've gone to here thus far. However, the beach is still close enough to civilization and popular enough to support it's own chiringuito. I was able to do a little late morning beach combing (one of my favorites usually only possible on the rustic beaches or in the off season) and yet still sit down for a yummy tapa of chocos fritos (a version of fried calamari) and a refreshing tinto de verano!

I really liked this beach because it's the best of both worlds, but I can only give it a 4.0 out of 5.0 because it's still early in the summer and we've got a lot more beaches to try! In fact, i'm reconsidering my Cadiz rating of 3.0 and lowering it to 2.0. After seeing this beach... Cadiz looks pretty bad! Who knows, by the end of summer... I may realize... my top rated beach is right here in Rota!

The adorable Chiringuito.
The view of Punta Candor from our table at the chiringuito. :)

Un dia a la Mayeteria

Un dia a la Mayeteria. I really should Wikipedia Mayeteria to see exactly what it has to say about what it is. From what I understood, (the day/tour was completely in spanish!) it is a traditional Rota Farm from the olden days. Farms have grown and expanded, but we were able to see how it was done way back when!
My spanish partner, Rocio, works at the Rota office of tourism and on Fridays she takes groups to the Mayeteria. She invited me to come along and see this important part of Rotan Culture. Why not?! So, she informed me that we would be taking "el tren" to the farm. A train? Okay, clearly something was getting lost in translation, because there are no train tracks in Rota. I figured it was her way of saying bus or something. So we were waiting for this "tren" when look what rounded the corner! I started dying laughing! I had no expectations of what this day would be like, but it was already off to a good start!
The ride to the Mayeteria was super! We drove through the town with the wind blowing in our hair. The conducter was NOT afraid to lay on the whistle or bells for kids standing along the side of the street, and of course we were expected to wave! :) Here's us getting outside the town to the fields. It was about a 10 minute train ride there. Superb!

As I said before, I had NO idea what a Mayeteria was before telling Rocio I'd join her at work for the day. I am still not exactly sure, but... I will tell you... it was a fun time! Seeing the countryside for the first time (other than driving through with a car) was great, and seeing how the Spanish farm was very interesting. I took lots of photos, so that Rocio could snag some and so that my other friends of the base with kids can see if it's something they'd be up for doing. Personally, I thought it was a great little morning trip and well worth it!

Moscatel grapes. Plucked one of these suckers right off the vine and ate it. Delicious. I've always wanted to do that!


Rocio starting the tour at the old building dedicated to the cameleon, a rare and endangered species here. There were no live cameleons in there, but lots of great information.


Sorry, being a wino I just LOVED the grapes!


Discovered these little guys hiding in the shade up under the thatch (thatch... is that the right word?) of the roofs. There were HUNDREDs of them. They will be delicious next Spring when the caracoles are served again. ;)


Old tools


The only "fence" for this bull pen was this little gate in front. The rest of the "fence" was a ginormous cactus ring. SO neat to see that the Spanish used/use nature as a natural fence!


Hey big boy...


Introducing... my boyfriend. Haha no but really, when I showed Matt this picture, he laughed and was like... it looks like Sultan's long lost brother. Same googly-eyed confused expression and everything!


Did you know that the vines of squash were strong enough to hang them?!


mmmmmmm SO pretty!


Tintilla grapes. A varietal that is ONLY grown and made into Tintilla wine here in Rota. I've tried it and it's pretty darn tasty! (A sweet sherry-like wine)


A delicious ending to the morning. Beer, a tintilla wine tasting, and fresh homemade aranque. A delicious dip made out of various crushed veggies and bread. It's a dish you can only find here in Rota!

POD "Smart Birds"

These black and white scavenger birds are popular here in southern Spain. Not a day goes by where I don't hear or see one of these little guys. They often frequent our back lawn in search of tasty piles of... well... you know. I SAID they were scavengers didn't I? Don't hate. Just because they are sh*t eaters doesn't mean they can't be pretty.

Anyway. Surprisingly enough... they are very skiddish. I can't even walk by the window without them flying away. These photos were taken from INSIDE through the window by hiding behind the wall and slowing sticking my hand out in front of the glass. It was the only way I could get a picture of them without them taking off.

SO YEAH, knowing this, you'd THINK they'd be TERRIFIED of a dog right? A dog sitting RIGHT outside with them, staring them down. I mean, a DOG has a lot better chance of causing it harm than a human. Well, apparently these birds are smarter than they appear. Apparently they've seen how stealthily Sultan can move. They must have observed him from the trees and said "AHA! Take note! Fear NOT the black creature for it runs in circles and into fences." Smart birds...

AHHHH Portugal :)

As most of you know, Matty and I took un puente (long weekend) trip over fourth of July to Portugal. We spent two nights on the ocean and explored the Moorish Castle and Palace of Pena in the beautiful, scenic Sintra area. We also spent two nights in downtown Lisbon right in the heart of the Baixa district. There, we walked the streets and saw all sorts of great stuff including the alfama district, the Belem tower and St. Jeronimo's monastery. I posted ALL of the great photos in two albums on Facebook, but I wanted to share my favorites here. :) Although they NEVER do justice, I think these particular photos capture at least SOME of the beauty, history and mystery of these great areas. Ahhhhhh what a beautiful weekend. Enjoy the shots, and don't forget you can click them for a larger view!