Travel Day: Thursday, Day #12 – It started raining in Fuengirola in the early morning hours and continued to rain all morning. I had the same breakfast at the hotel as yesterday (Spanish tostada and a hot tea). Due to the rain, I decided to take an earlier bus to Málaga where I would connect to a bus going to Almería.

I was prepared for the rain with the umbrella I brought along on this trip. And good thing, as I needed it while walking from the hotel to the bus station (about a 15 minute walk). I didn´t end up waiting too long. I was planning on taking the 11:05am bus, however, the earlier bus was running late and came by at 10:45am and I jumped on board. It rained the entire way to Málaga. The bus dropped me off about 2 blocks from the bus/train station, and in the rain! AY!

I had a 3 hour wait for my bus to Almería. I spent it in the nice Málaga train station that is inside a very nice mall. They have a ¨working hub¨ in the corner of the mall with high top tables and stools for setting up your electronic devices. Here´s the funny thing: there were no electrical outlets to charge your devices. What!!! Anyway, I set up my tablet and wrote a Blog story (not this one).

I had a nice lunch in the food court. It was a Spanish chain restaurant that serves grilled chicken bowls served 15 different ways. But instead of rice, they had pasta and a side salad. It was quite good actually. Here, take a look:

The bus ride to Almería was uneventful, and only made one stop. It stopped raining half way through the trip. I later found out that it had not rained at all in Almería, meanwhile in Málaga it was pouring down rain.

I got home around 6pm and just relaxed. I did laundry and wrote another Blog story.

Day 12: 8,639 steps

Friday, Day 13: I was back in Almería where the sun was shining and it was warm outside. I slept in late and went to the grocery store about 2 blocks away. I picked up a couple of essentials, took them back to the apartment and then set out for my daily walk. I was back on the Boardwalk and it was busy as ever. The sun was shining and it felt good to be out in the warm climate.

This was a relax day.I went back to the apartment, had some lunch and just relaxed. Later in the afternoon, I decided to visit the local shopping center (there are two). I went to the larger one which is about a 40 minute bus ride. Yes, I took a local city bus and it was clean and nice. The ride cost me ($1.15 USD or about $22 Mexican pesos). The mall was very big and very nice. I saw Santa taking pictures with little children, they had a food court that included McDonald´s, Taco Bell, KFC, Starbucks (the only one in town), Dunkin´ Donuts, a couple of Italian restaurants and other local casual restaurants. They also had a movie theatre.

I took the bus back to the city centre, walked the Christmas Market again and found a place to eat. I had dinner at a busy pub and sat at the bar. I ordered a glass of wine and a tapas of ¨mozzarella fingers.¨ Yes, they were called fingers (fried cheese sticks) and I also ordered grilled chicken with french fries. It was all very good. I also had a Coke Zero (I was just in the mood). And that was my day!

Day 13: 16,650 steps

Saturday, Day 14 – Another quiet day for me. Daily walk didn’t get started until 2:00pm. Prior to that I was at home working on making travel arrangements for next week. I also made it to mass at 7:30pm at a church very close to where I’m staying, San Antonio de Padua.

Afterwards, I went “home” and packed. Oh! I almost forgot, the Host made dinner, his daughter’s favorite and invited me to join them. I had been working on my Blog at the dining room table, so who was I to say no. So what did he make? Tacos, from scratch. Yes, he cooked up some chorizo, made pico de gallo, shredded some delicious white cheese and he also made a pumpkin sauce. It was all very delicous. But the best part? He made his own tortillas! Yes, flour tortillas! This man is amazing and quite a cook. He likes to make his own meals from scratch as he and his family eat very healthy meals. The sad part is, I didn’t get a picture. But believe me when I tell you, it was all very good.

Day 14: 9,615