It's the Costa, baby, and I'm in with the in crowd

So, I’m back in Spain, the seventh time in eight years (one interrupted by the pandemic). It was a fluke how I found myself here. A friend belonged to a worldwide travel club which suggested a vacation in Andalusia, southwest Spain, the famed Costa del Sol to be exact. I’d travelled in Israel with her the previous year and having never been to Spain thought this would be a great place to check out. So, my partner and I joined Abigail for a trip to Marbella, the springboard for a multi city rail tour of España. I or we (my partner is incapacitated and can only spend limited time sway) have come here on the eastern flank of this charming if affluent city (Elviria, where Julio Iglesias is known to live) in a four star “apartment hotel”. It, (Ona Alanda), is resort-like but low key at least this time of year and the prices are amazing; about $100 Cad/night. (I just booked two weeks in Florida next Christmas at four-fifths the price of two months here.) I have a condo-like one bedroom, self-sufficient in this urban neighbourhood, dotted with small plazas with numerous restaurants, bars and boutiques. I'm also two blocks from the Mediterranean. When I’m staying here alone, I take public transit, with two local routes into Marbella Centro and one

to the, believe it or not, La Canada shopping mall, with a logo complete with a fir tree! If I want to go east to the bigger Malaga, I take a combo bus-suburban train, which also runs by the bustling airport. (Otherwise, when my partner Cathy is here we rent a car.) The weather isn't quite as warm as Florida but daytime temps are in the 60s and in direct sunlight the 70s and sunning in a bathing suit is quite comfortable. But this is a desert like climate, so temps drop in the evenings though all you really need is a sweater. The area is framed by the stunning Sierra Blanca mountain range. So, you have the best of both worlds -  mountains and sea. Beside the phenomenally beautiful and historic cities of  Malaga and Marbella southwestern Spain is strategically located for easy trips to British territory Gibraltar and one-hour ferries from Tarifa to Tangier, Morocco (you can see it across the strait).... My lengths of stay here have varied from a week to two months, which is the case this year. And while in some ways this area is ‘old hat’ I constantly discover new things and am surprised I hadn't found them earlier. Last Sunday, for instance, I walked seven km from Marbella along the shore (beautiful promenades filled with restos, bars and cafes) from Marbella to Puerto Banus

in the west, home to – shhhh! – shall we say the filthy rich, even reputedly underworld types and Russian oligarchs. But after a good seafood lunch  I head to the Red Dog Cinemas, then wait for the bus home at the Plaza Antonio Banderas (a regional native who has the Soho theatre in Malaga)  at the corner of Av de Julio Iglesias. I also discovered another elongated promenade east of Fuengirola (a small city between Marbella and Malaga).  Next weekend I’ll probably do another walk from Puerto Banus west to San Pedro Alcantara.....Yes this is a rather high end tourist area (great for fashionable people-watching and Porches and Land Rovers abound) and notorious for being frequented by the Brits. But there are also many Scandinavians and Germans. But even with this tourism Spaniards dominate because it’s their mecca as well. I’m actually happy I don't hear too many foreign tongues. And I’m more than happy when a Spaniard doesn't default to English as soon as I start speaking. Though so far this trip, I’ve held my own and maintained Spanish whenever I know the words and phrases, which incrementally - very incrementally - keeps increasing. 

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller

A conversation requires two-way communication

So, there I was standing in the cold pouring rain at the corner of Sandwich & Alma waiting for the 605 to Windsor. Getting on I plunked in $4 for what I thought was a $3.75 fare. I'd checked. But apparently not enough, driver said. $5.25 from the 'burg since we’re “out” of Windsor. Fare enough (get it?) Three buses and two hours later I was at Windsor airport. Was it worth the slog through the rain and the transfers? Sure. I save $65-$75 compared to Uber. .... But the weather played havoc with my flight to Toronto. The last 6.45 pm AC flight was delayed to 7.10 then 7.20 due to late arrival from TO. Then we were “grounded” more than half an hour while awaiting something to do with weather and appropriate slots in TO; had never heard of that before.....I stepped off the plane 9.05 and my Frankfurt flight was departing 9.25. Anyone knowing TO airport knows the small regionals fly into the airport's far north end Concourse D, while European flights leave Concourse E. Believe it or not that’s about one mile distance. I did a combo run-walk, arriving at the gate about 9.22. Too late. The agents checked and the bridge had just swung away. Off to the AC service desk. A pleasant lady helped me get on an alt flight – that night or tomorrow? Seemed travelling that night would be awkward including a flight to

London Heathrow then a cross town transfer to London Gatwick (70 km). No thanks! So I stayed overnight at the airport Crowne Plaza, which was actually pretty good. An impeccable hotel room is always nice and a generous number of plump pillows even better.  I even slept in and checked out as close to 12 noon as possible as my rescheduled flight wasn’t until 4.30. AC also provided two $15 meal vouchers so I was in good shape for my new Frankfurt flight....The AC service rep had booked the last available seat on the new flight but I lucked out as it was on the aisle, my fave. But thank god I don’t check luggage anymore; god knows where my suitcase would have ended up, or where.  Probably Malaga, my destination, but when?....But what is it about fellow passengers? A seat companion is hit and miss, at least from a conversation standpoint. Half the time or more we’re on non-speaking terms if at least initial acknowledgement. This time my companion was a middled aged woman from Thunder Bay, flying to see her daughter in Germany. We began talking and she was pleasant enough but then the questions were all one-sided: me asking them, and I eventually ran out; there’s only so much I can ask about Thunder Bay. A conversation relies on a two-way process and this wasn’t evident.....Arriving Frankfurt and transferring between terminals, I noticed a  couple of things about my new gate. For one, there was a coffee machine (top photo), where fresh ground coffee was dispensed. I hadn’t seen anything like that before, even if you had to pay. Second, perhaps German efficiency (a stereotype) but boarding zone lanes were painted on the floor (photo). It wasn’t snowing in

Frankfurt but below zero and our A320 Lufthansa Neo taxied to a broad apron where four boom trucks dispensed de-icing fluid (photo). Wow. There was a fleet of them readying for every aircraft.....The under three-hour trip to Malaga was uneventful and I tried to get some shut eye. I got the window seat (beggars can't be choosers) and my middle seat companion was tall and kind of spread his legs, making me think of those NY subway ads admonishing men for just this behaviour.  He also didn’t talk. Fine....Upon arrival in Malaga all was sunny and a variety of narrow-bodied jets lined the boarding gates at this holiday destination – Ryanair (which even had airport buses), Wizz, EasyJet, British Airways, Vueling, Air France, Baltic. My silent companion didn't want to get up - “I’ll do so at the right time,” he said when I asked. Oh, okay, but I didn't want to wait until I was among the next to last passengers. And deplaning etiquette means passengers behind wait for those in front, which I kind of indicated to him. “Well, I’m getting off anyway,” I said. He then got up from his seat.....The delightful – and always surprisingly large – Malaga airport was teeming with people - largely holidaymakers - last/first weekend of the month, I suppose. 

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller