Christmas Eve

... feels very un-Christmas-Eve like. Apologies for another beach blip, but today the sea was silver rather than silky blue. Or at least it was before I fartnarkled it.This group of people were having lunch on the beach. A long lunch, since when we passed by again well after 9 pm, they were still there round a bonfire, with no other source of light except the moon.

We'd been into town in the early afternoon; it was very quiet, until we heard a roar of conversation from a side street, and found the bar Los Higuitos absolutely heaving with merry customers -- it took 15 minutes to get served. We sat outside to drink our vermú de la casa and resolved that we would come back sometime when it is quieter. I think we were the only non-Spanish people there and we also bumped up the average age considerably.

We hadn't quite figured out what shape Nochebuena takes in Spain ... on our second trip into town at 8 pm, we drew a blank, everywhere closed, and ended up having a drink in the bar of a beachfront hotel with a lot of British pensioners (we reduced the average age by our presence this time). Admittedly one of the things that is charming about Almuñecar is the way completely Spanish places like Los Higuitos and our previous barrio of San Miguel coexist happily with bland international tourism as seen at the Helios hotel.

It was actually chilly out after dark, for the first time since we arrived. After our drinks, we retreated to our casita to share blini and smoked salmon with Mystère. He had a very exciting morning, disappearing entirely for a couple of hours (thus ensuring a copious helping of smoked salmon once he returned), and still discovering new ways of escape from the garden onto roofs and strangers' balconies afterwards. He's now chilling on "his" chair, apparently not too concerned by the fireworks that are starting to pop. And I'm blipping while S throws together a simple supper to compensate for lack of tapas (literally peanuts in the Helios Hotel despite the price of the drinks).

Happy Christmas Eve blipmates!