almería & the coast.

spain series │ episode four

hey there & welcome back to my spain series! travel with me to spain through seven posts, launching on tuesdays. i hope you can experience a bit of the beauty of spain & the wonder of travel as i go day-by-day through my trip. more pictures than words (click on the pictures to expand), i’m really excited to honor this opportunity as i share my adventure through my eyes, and of course, all my thoughts <3

going to the southern coast of spain was so cool. one of my favorite memories from the trip was swimming in the mediterranean sea. as you can tell, the sunset was absolutely beautiful and the whole night was so dreamy.

the drive south down to almería was so interesting! there were lots of bridges, canyons, and these huge white things, which apparently are greenhouses. we all slept a lot on the drive :)

on the way, we stopped at a trail and went on a hike. there was this abandoned bridge or building or something, i'm not sure. it was covered in ivy and plants, and it was so whimsical! i love to see ruins like these in the forest and wonder what they used to be. architecture is so cool that way--it's as if the stones and bricks hold stories and culture and history. what do you think it was?

seeing old ruins puts things in perspective. eventually, all the buildings where i experience my life might be old, empty, broken, and maybe even grown over. it makes me think about my life. is it more than just living? yesterday in a podcast i heard this line: "you are more than this moment in time" and i love that for so many reasons.

it's also crazy how much going on a walk out in the woods changes my state of being. it helps me breathe, smile, and not get caught up in how i'm feeling or everything i'm worried about, etc. it's so easy to forget, but i really need to go on a walk every day. and you should try it, too :)

this picture is from our airbnb. the blinds made the coolest lighting, and the way it came through the lightbulb was awesome. it's probably one of my favorite indoor design pictures i've taken.

at seminary this morning, my teacher was telling us about how finding the light in the room helped her deal with a recurring negative thought. i want to keep that in mind.

the interior design of bathrooms are always so interesting :) this airbnb was no exception! the green tile >>>

i always admire when houses have color that's used aesthetically. it's easy to use color, but hard to make it go well with the design and style of the room. i feel like using color successfully in this way is what separates crunchy older design to more modern and aesthetic design. if you know what shades of the color to use, how to style it with the designs of the room, and what colors to match it with, you're probably going to have some really cute rooms.

lighting in bathrooms is also SO important. it's silly when you look worse in the mirror just bc the lighting is bad, esp in stores. i just smile bc it's really not that hard to improve.

once we got to almería, we hung out with friends! these were people my dad met on his mission to spain over twenty years ago. they are seriously the sweetest people ever and made us feel right at home. they speak amazing english which was super nice as well :) it was so fun to see their cute kids, pretty house, and eat their amazing argentinian bbq (the dad lived in argentina). it was definitely the best ribs i've ever had.

one thing that really set spain apart was the scheduling of the day. we woke up late, went to their house at like six in the evening, and didn't eat dinner until after ten thirty at night. it was nice for a night owl but i was too tired to be happy to be awake that late at night :))

they have the cutest baby, she's literally like a doll. their kids are adorable and speak english SO well. their mom is awesome and teaches them english, and you can tell. i want my kids to speak spanish as well as they speak english when i'm a mom :)

i love stories, and hearing about how the mom and dad met was so amazing. some stories like that are just so miraculous there's no way they could ever be a coincidence. it was inspiring to see the impact their family had made on the area over time, and what this lovely family is doing now. what we do matters & impacts so many people.

they took us to the beach, which was so great. they knew which one was the best, when to go, what the wind was, etc. that's why it is SO nice to be friends with locals :))

the sun was shining, and the sea was shimmering. i'm always curious why there's clusters of people in one area, and then when you drive a little farther, there's empty areas, etc. does anyone know?

we stayed until it was dark -- you could see the moon glittering off the waves. i talked with a girl my age (!) in spanish as best i could manage. it was rough, but it was such an amazing experience to be able to communicate in another language :)

and just sitting there, soaking in the view of the ocean, the sunset, the people playing, it was magical. it was like hundreds of prayers and dreams were being fulfilled. i was so grateful to be there in those moments <3

almería was special because it was less of sight-seeing historic cities and more "living." we got to experience meals, hikes, drives, and time with people who live there. pretty awesome.

see you next tuesday in san agustín del guadalix :D

xo, kate