Eldership 2025 Spain - Conclusion And Evaluation

I adopted this custom of 'navel-gazing' post voyage reflection from #3 who back in the day before career and family threw the weight of middle class life on her, would make such reflection posts a conclusion to her travel experiences. I thought it was a great idea and borrowed it. So let's dig in.

Travel Is Still Great...I Mean Really Great

This was the first 'real' trip this year. Our visit to Sweden in the Spring was thrown together at the last minute as we were dealing with Wife's recovery from her blood clot. Then I went and broke her foot! 😩  This trip started slowly. We were gingerly seeing what Wife could do without hurting her foot. Plus she was dealing with the accumulated weakness that comes from not having done exercise for a long period. 

But by the time we got settled in El Campello, things started to change. From that point, it was like being back with a long-lost friend. When it was time to come home, I was definitely melancholy about going back regular life. 

High Point of the Trip? Wife Bouncing Back

As I alluded to above, the major theme of this trip was of Wife's being able to return to herself. We started the trip with her needing wheelchair service on all our flights to get to Spain. In our first stop, Bilbao, she was extremely circumspect on what she did. But once we got to El Campello, she now had the ability to take long walks on a perfectly flat waterfront walkway. She added doing core body exercises. She got stronger and stronger.

We did more day trips. This led to her joy for photography bursting anew. By the end of the trip, we were doing walking up hill as we had done before all the medical issues. 

El Campello, The One, At Least for Now

I mentioned in my first post upon returning to El Campello my concern that it would not live up to our last visit memory. But it has been every bit as good. I have written about all the various ways from the city itself, to the apartment that this situation suits us. As I also wrote, we were so confirmed that this is the place for us that we booked it again for 2026. It is such a new and different experience for us to have a place where we enjoy just being and want to come back to again. 

It took a LOT of searching to find it. We're still looking for other places, in other parts of the world where we can  

So, If You Are Going Back to the Same Place, Are You Still That 'Traveler' You So Arrogantly Wrote About In Your Last Post?

Well no, of course not. Call us 'retired' travelers. Yes RMG, we are now traveling to go somewhere specific. But we are still getting out and exploring our area in all kinds of ways from doing day trips, to digging into the background of the Moors and Christians Festival so trying to bring our traveler spirit to being in a single locale. Maybe think about it as exploring deep rather than broad.

Spain And Gastronomy 

This trip was not anything to write about in terms of gastronomy hence why you saw so few posts. Part of this was due to our frequently being in 'tourist' situations when we were looking to ate out and getting 'tourist' mediocrity. But some of it is than a lot of Spanish restaurant cooking (at least at the level we are willing to pay) is fairly bland. Our discoveries of local places and enjoying menu del dia is still a high point. But the best part, gastronomically, of being in Spain, is the overall high quality of food you buy to cook yourself. Meat, Veg, Bread, Cheese, Condiments, Flavorings, almost everything I've bought to cook with has been great. Combined with the great kitchen we have and my love of cooking, it was far more enjoyable to make our own meals.  

Is It Worth Saving Money If You Get Sick?

I suppose the simple answer is no one is going to opt willingly to get sick. But the real question is can I get the kind of savings I enjoyed on this trip and get routing that does not kill Wife and I. I think the answer is going to be yes. But we will find out with the 2026 version of the trip. I think we will because we have way more time to shop for our next year's airfare. 

This year, I was booking the flight to Europe at the last minute due to the medical uncertainty of our being able travel. So I grabbed the deal despite knowing the returning flights were far from ideal. With more time for next year, I am counting on being able to patient and find the kinds of deals that will save as much without the bad flight connection component.

And this is important. When we looked at the total cost of this trip, it was only $1,500 more than our trip to Sweden. Except this trip was almost 7 weeks long compared to 3 weeks for Sweden. The bulk of that differential was the airfare. And here is why that is important. If I can get our cost for 7 weeks of travel to be the same as this year, we can afford to do our two trips a year without any money from my working! That would mean I would be able to completely retire.  

What Does The Future Hold? 

That is a huge question because of our age and health. I think Wife and I are pretty honest with ourselves that we may not have many trips left. So for the moment we are going to focus on the the two we have planned for 2026 and take trip by trip from there.

More Ruminations On Travel - What Is Realistic And What Is Not

After getting responses both as blog comments and via other means related to the strains of our return flight despite all of our planning, I reflected. 

I reflected on all the detail and tradeoffs I'd discussed previously related to travel planning. Was I making light of the issues one would encounter. Then I did deeper reflection. I went into what does it meant to 'travel' and to be 'a traveler'. And here is what I have concluded. 

There is a deep seeded need in some people to travel. Whether you were Herodotus in ancient Greece, Ibn Battuta in medieval Islam, or Henry Swinburne in 18th century Europe, there has been a desire to go out and see, experience, learn. 

Travel by its very nature of taking one out of a settled, predictable life pattern, will put one into situations where is uncomfortable. Travel (as I have written earlier) is not 'taking a vacation'. It is not going to a place where one can relax and let their worries go. It is about seeking new experiences, or delving deeper into places one has already seen.

If one wants to 'look like one is traveling' but have all the uncertainty taken out, you have your cruise or tour. You will definitely see things. But they will be the curated things that cruise or tour organizer has arranged for you. They will be homogenized, safe, and require little effort or discomfort on your part. To me, personally, this is not travel. 

When you travel, you know you are going to have your good days and your bad days. Not everything you plan will pan out. You may run into a temple celebration you totally knew nothing about. Even your negatives may have a positive such as my getting stuck in the mud and all the Spaniards working to get me out! And you will have a voyage where things don't go quite as planned and you get tired and sick. 

I realize all this is subjective and there are many levels and nuances. One might say if you are not trekking, traveling with minimal creature comforts you are not really traveling. They would look at what Wife and I do with skepticism and I accept that. 

But I do accept that the possibility of things not going smoothly is a part of the true travel experience just as travelers have done for centuries and centuries. 

We Interrupt These Posts for Illness

As so very frequently happens to me with international travel, if I get mega tired, there is a very high chance I will get sick. And sure enough, here I am. Sick. It appears it is just a virus and I seem to be coming back reasonably fast. But this may delay the production of the end of trip reflections and analysis. 

On better health news, Wife went to the foot doctor, who said she could resume normal activities. It is not 100% healed but there is not enough residual damage to warrant other measures. Good news for Wife.

A reply to a comment left by RMG. She posited that an overnight stop on a long trip would be beneficial, deducing from our recent experience that it was not. I would respond that it depends. If you can get good quality sleep during the overnight stop, then definitely it will prove to be beneficial. I've had many a trip where my overnight stops have proved beneficial. However, if you don't get good sleep on that layover, then you have just added a bunch more travel time and fatigue.  

Eldership 2025 Spain - Campello Farewell

I know I have the time sequence a bit off since I just posted about our schlepp back home. We are safely ensconced in Albuquerque, enjoying our own beds, showers, kitchens, etc. But as I said, it was a bit melancholy leaving Campello this year. It is building this special place in our life. 

On our last morning, we had one of those incredible sunrises that can make the start of a day an emotional joy. We didn't have as many this year as last year. So, despite my proclamations to the contrary, I decided to do one more sunrise photo shoot as my goodbye to Campello for 2025.

Post-Trip Navel Gazing Post in the works. 

  

Eldership 2025 Spain - Slogging Our Way Home

There is the theory and there is the reality. 

I wrote extensively earlier in the year about how we go about planning travel and making our decisions. I will say, without reservation, no matter what decision and trade-off you make during the planning phase, you will be second guessing yourself after the fact. 

To review (remembering we are primarily referring to international, business class air travel) your basic tradeoffs are:

•  Time
• Money

 You can save money, often times a lot of money, if you are willing to put up with longer travel times, and inconvenience...sometimes a lot of money saved and a lot of extra time and inconvenience.

Conversely, you can save a lot of time and inconvenience if you are willing to spend more money, often way more money. 

This year we have been on both ends of the spectrum. Our Spring trip to Sweden, the first since Wife's blood clot incident, we were definitely going for convenience and we paid a lot for those tickets. (They were also bought rather late which reduced affordable options).

That colored our decision-making for this trip to Spain. We used our various planning skills and saved a lot of money. Now we are paying the price as we slog our way back to Albuquerque. (We are currently in Chicago, waiting for our two leg flight back to Albuquerque). The primary culprit was our Turkish Airlines flight back to the United States which had a 13 hour layover in Istanbul. That effectively added an overnight stay. Plus the timing of the flight across the Atlantic, meant we had to get up early in Istanbul but will be flying late into today to finally get home due to the contingencies of the self-transfer. 

We've already made our reservations for the Winter/Spring which will be on the money saving, time inconvenient side of the spectrum. However, there will be not long layovers within flights that really gum up the works. It will be interesting to see what we can find for next year fall when we return to Spain again.

Eldership 2025 Spain - Final Exam In Polop

I had the hardest time resisting titling this post something like 'Removing Polop' but something more important took place that demanded attention. And that is Wife's bouncing back from her multiple issues (blood clot & broken foot). (Disclaimer - this is my personal opinion. As you will note on her blog she merely says she had an enjoyable day. Given the massive amount of climbing compared to what she's been able to do for a long time, I would say that statement is itself a sign of the progress made.)

When we left for Europe back in early September, Wife was still moving very gingerly. Not only was there the problem of babying the broken foot. There was her loss of overall conditioning and strength from not being able to do anything. If you will remember she was using wheelchair service on our flights out.

The initial weeks in Bilbao and Madrid were marked by very gentle and careful expansion of the amount walked. When we finally arrived at El Campello was when she started to really build up her strength. Here she was able to get into a regular routine of daily walks and doing core body exercises. Slowly but surely she was moving better. 

The last four days were a major test even though it was not intended to be such. First we went to Torrevieja. Next, it was Finestrat where we did quite a bit of climbing. Then, instead of a rest day on Wednesday, we had the ordeal at the airport with running back and forth to get the grandkids on the plane. At last yesterday, we went to the town of Polop, another hill town. As you will see, it was a significant challenge. 

We arrive in...

 

 The challenge that awaits...a church and the ruins of a fortification up significant hills

 

 Entering into the town one of the prime sights is a fountain that has tile plaques of all the major municipalities in the Valencia Community.

 

Unfortunately there were only two of the many water spigots flowing

 

 However, the design and the day's light created a feast of shadow patterns

 

 

 

 

 Christmas decorations going up

 

By a sole worker

 

A good place for me to know should I find I need it!

 

Traditional Spanish Karaoke Bar

 

 Two workers watching two photographers photographing two workers

 

What you have all been waiting for...more church photos. You are in luck, however. The church was closed and we were denied interior shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 Our final destination. "We're really going to do this Wife?" "Yes we are de-I"

 

 The views were exceptional and the light was near perfect for capturing them.

 

Terraced planting areas dating back to Moorish times (with incongruous blue house)

 

Massive modern agriculture areas

 

 

Looking toward the Mediterranean 

 

 

Excavations of the old Moorish castle of the 11th century

 

 

 

Espouses Fotograficus 

 

Cats...when brainwashed by cat loving Vikings you become sensitized to them.

 

 

Wife made it all the way up and down. Don't get me wrong. She had to take it easy. She was beat at the end. But all of her held up. And (as I reminded her), this would have been a challenge just a year ago before all the issues. So hats off to you Wife. You are amazing.

 

Finally

 

SIGNS OF THE WORLD

 

 THE One Sign you need when traveling

 

 

Exit to All Directions

Eldership 2025 Spain - The Magical Unicorn Pony God of Travel Takes on de-I & the VEFS

Up on the very lowest slopes of Mount Olympus, barely acceptable to any deity, no matter how lowly, the Magical Unicorn Pony God of Travel (MUPGT) resides. She looks down on the world  of travel, seeking opportunities to sow mischief. She is a bit bored. She really didn't have much to do with the shutdown of the U.S. government though it has certainly caused plenty of chances for travel chaos. She is old school. She relishes the more personal travel disruption interaction. Call it the clash of heroes from the classic Greek literature. 

Ah! What is this she spies. It is one of her favorite foes, de-Intimidator. He's getting ready to go to the Alicante airport evidently to return some mercenaries he hired to do some dirty deed. Since he is not himself flying, he will never be suspecting a bit of torment from MUPGT. That will be his misfortune.

Wife and I, Wednesday morning had the VEFS crew up and ready to head to the airport. We set off with plenty of time. It is hard to believe that the fearsome Vikings 3.1 and 3.2 have to fly as unaccompanied minors. This is always a bit of a pain at the airport but something we have dealt with numerous times.

We know our way to the airport quite well now. Many of our day trips have gone right by it. As we get to the exit off the highway, however, the traffic is completely backed up. Fortunately, I see vehicles pulling out of line and determine there is a breakdown in front of us. We've lost some time but not that much.

Now we head into the airport. We know where to go to park. Well we should know. For some reason, Wife and I miss the turn (which is for arrivals and then to the parking garage) and go to departures. What the @!%$. This is terra incognita for us. There is a HUGE back up. Turns out the only way through is to go through an express parking area. You get a ticket. Enter. It is a single lane. THEN you have to wait as cars BACK INTO DIAGONAL PARKING PLACES. Crazy. This takes valuable time. I can hear a snickering from the ether. I have suspicion. We finally get through, Exit and go around the airport, reenter and park where we should. 

Now we go to our airline (Norwegian of course for Vikings) to check-in and do the unaccompanied minor thing. The line is long but not too long. But there are some people ahead who have some issues and are taking a lot of time. By the time we get to the agent it is 45 minutes before boarding. In fact, we are a few minutes later than that. We know this because the agent says we were to be there 45 minutes ahead of time and the Vikings' reservations have been deleted. (Uproarious laughter on lower slopes of Olympus.)

Wife calmly says we were in line in plenty of time and cannot control someone ahead of us having a problem. The agent reluctantly acquiesces. She calls her supervisor and they reinstate 3.1 & 3.2. (Humph of disapproval on Olympus). BUT, the agent says, "Do you have the special form for each Viking that has to be filled out in duplicate?" #3 never told us of any forms (she says she checked on their website and there is no mention of it). The agent gives us the forms that we now need all of us to fill out as it requires information only known to the Vikings as well as our own. (Equine smirking..."Time is running out de-I"). 

We finally get the forms completed. Boarding passes and passes for Wife and I are provided. They tell us they've called the gate but we need to not tarry. Well conditioned from following the Vikings around their conquests, Wife and I hustle with them to security. Wife puts down her pass on the reader to gain entry. In she goes. 3.1 does the same. Nothing. Multiple tries. Nothing. 3.2 tries. Nothing. The security person tells us we need to go back to the check in counter to see what the problem is with our the boarding passes. (Raucous demi-deity laughter wafts over the supernatural communication pathway. "You will never make it now de-I.)

Back to the check-in counter. Wife is having nothing to do with lines and just muscles her way back to the agent (even the Vikings are impressed with this martial prowess...MUPGT, not so happy). The agent realizes she gave 3.1. and 3.2 the old arriving boarding passes, not the new ones. Updated boarding passes in hand, it is back to security. In go 3.1 & 3.2. But now Wife's entry pass isn't working. Since she used it once to get in, it is no longer valid. Wife talks the security agent into letting us all through.

(What the &@#!$ MUGPT shouts with dismay!)

Boarding has already started. We have to go through a huge long shopping arcade (typical of international airports) before we get to the gates. But the Vikings gate is the very first one. And unaccompanied minors are the last to board. We even have time to quickly get a drink for the two warriors. 

 

"You haven't heard the last from us Magical Unicorn Pony God of Travel! We are Vikings and know plenty of good recipes for Grilled Unicorn."