Morts Musings

I hate the winter, I mean, really hate it! It’s dark, it’s cold & it’s damp- I honestly don’t see very much to like about it at all!
So, with the financial sting of Xmas, and the January tax bill, beginning to become a hazy memory, & no significant drains on my income in the foreseeable, I’ve been cheering myself up with thoughts of where I’d like to head for my Summer Holidays. Yep, it might only be daydreaming at the moment, but it’s a pretty good distraction from the drudge of work and the cold, dark winter days.
Being unsure how my finances are going to be doing come high summer, I’m just throwing some ideas around at the moment, doing some of the research and ground work, so that I have some informed ideas when it comes to decision time. Anyway, I figure I may as well throw my thoughts up here; If nothing else I’ll know where to find my notes when I need them, and there’s always the chance that they may be of use to someone else. *shrug*

So, first up, I’m going to aim my sights pretty low price-wise, and think about grabbing a week or two out in Spain.

It has a number of advantages as a holiday destination for Brits. It’s in Europe, which cuts out any kind of worries about visas or the like. Also, EU countries are part of the “European Health Insurance Card” Scheme; essentially, once you’ve applied for (& received) your free card, you’re entitled to free emergency care throughout the EU, and some other European countries. It’s not a complete replacement for travel insurance, something which might still be worth looking into at a later date, but if you’re travelling on a shoe string, are disorganised, or don’t mind taking a chance, it’s a pretty good safety net to have in place.

Being part of Europe also makes driving a lot less of a hassle, ok, so they drive on the wrong side of the road, but once again, as part of the EU, it’s possible to drive on a full UK licence in Spain. Over all I’d say the way to go is car hire- Spain isn’t renowned for it’s public transport system. I mean I’m sure it would get you where you wanted to go eventually, but I resent my time being wasted by tardy trains at the best of times, & on holiday I’d probably find it frustratingly infuriating.

Another advantage is that, being more or less due south from the UK, it is pretty much the closest country with decent weather. There are also a load of the low cost carriers who fly out to Spain, which should make deals pretty easy to find; being over 6 foot I’m not too keen on the lack of leg space which inevitably comes with a budget flight, but at least it’s not a long flight.
The prevalence of English in the country is also an attraction for me, it’s not that I mind trying to learn other languages, it’s just that I’m woefully bad at it; I’m all for making the effort, but my spoken Spanish breaks down after the most basic greetings and food/beer orders, so it’s nice to have a back up plan.
Having said that I’m not one for expecting countries I visit to totally pander to Brits, and I actually like getting off the beaten tourist track. I’m all for the odd lazy day in the sunshine, but it seems like a waste to spend too much of a foreign holiday basking on the beach; after all there’s all the other sites to see as well, and being a big fan of history it would seem almost criminal to me to go to all the effort of travelling to a foreign country and then not spend a little time taking in some of the culture.

As far as where to go in Spain is concerned I’m really not sure at this stage. Between the Costa Verde and the Pyrenees the north of the country has some beautiful scenery, and is definitely less touristy than a lot of the south, but weather on the Atlantic coastline is always a little more unpredictable than the Mediterranean coast. It is tempting, but good weather is a big draw for me, so I may well go for the south of the country instead.
I’m certain there must be un-touristy places in the south, and I know for a fact that there’s a lot of very interesting history going back to the time of the Moorish kingdom of Al Andalus, & the Reconquista.
If I’m heading to the south then Malaga airport is looking like a pretty good bet, and if that’s the case then getting car hire from Malaga Airport seems to make sense.

As I said at the top, these are all pretty rough ideas at the moment; I’ll have to do some more looking around at some point to narrow down potential locations a little more…