Seville. & goodbye to spain

I dropped the rental car off in Seville & Enterprise Rental cars were excellent to deal with.  I almost believed them when they said they’d refund the toll deposit, but I wasn’t utterly stupid either.

I called an Uber to take me into the heart of the city & my Airbnb apartment.  When the driver dropped me off, I had to walk down a backstreet, juggling my luggage over the horrifically bumpy rock road.  I lugged my bags up three flights of narrow steps & into my tiny room.  Sigh.  Quickly changing into something prettier than driving clothes, I set off to explore Seville.

This was the heart of Spain.  Very limited English, friendly but aloof people with cool restaurants & shops down narrow streets.  I loved every step.  I was taking the bus to Faro after spending one full day & two nights in Seville, so I walked to the bus station on my first day to get comfortable about where I was going.  The bus station was easy & right along Canal Seville Bonanaza, a long waterway that separated the good side from the sketchy.  The day was warm & sunny & I felt fabulous.

Seville is known for flamenco dancing & in the town square dancers met to put on a show for people that gathered around to watch.  The dance was so erotic & the dancers looked totally in love, while stepping perfectly in unison.  Seville is also known for bull fighting & while not everyone is on board with this ancient tradition, it is interesting that Seville has been un-relented in keeping the tradition alive.  Many cafes have bull heads on the walls &  vintage posters are sold in shops depicting advertisements for bull fights from long ago.    Again, with everyone dressing so lovely & taking great care with their appearances here.  The older women at night, walking arm in arm with their husbands that are dressed in suits, looking Vogue with beautiful dresses & impeccable grooming.  Not one person overweight or underdressed.

Saying goodbye to Spain was difficult.  I loved the culture here, it was vastly different, but I enjoyed it.  I could see it becoming dangerous though…crime rates have risen enormously the last couple of years & without much fanfare, I did have money stolen from a vagrant in Altea, which left me shaking.  I saw African men trying to break into cars in Valencia & I was accosted by the same nationality different times in Valencia.  It seemed the deeper I got into the country the safer it was.  The coastal centres seemed to be a hot-spot for more crime.

But, off I went…on a Fixbus…for Faro Portugal & more adventures.