Aahh, ahora mi cena era estupendo!

That's why since I've been here I've stuck to a strict exercise regime to stay fit and to keep the pot belly away. (Though I tend to struggle to hold it all in on the beach!) It wasn't much of a problem last summer as the heat can certainly diminish an appetite and the pounds fall off (in sweat alone!), but then a cooler winter with ambient weather and an endless supply of eateries can certainly take their toll.

As for me, I cycle around 100kms a week, the Campo scenery is beautiful and the Spanish are pretty considerate on the roads towards cyclists. Rose and I also work out on our small home gym outside and, with the work I choose to do with my company Safe as Houses' being of the more physical side, manage to stay a more well built than overweight fifty year old. As for Rose, she joins me on a number of the more sedate rides out but excels at the local tennis club where she plays at least once a week, so we both do our bit to fight the flab and stay in trim.

I have to say it feels good since moving out having lost a stone and improved in fitness, this is mainly because we now have the chance to take time out to exercise when and how we want. There is still a growing problem here with youth obesity and the schools are working hard with programmes to get youngsters out and sporting, but it's no way near as bad as Britain as once again traditional values which include eating regular healthy meals and as a family are testament to proper diet.

Money was tight enough, though for most people I suppose our standard of living was quite high. A grown up family of four as a lot of people know can get very expensive. We were fortunate enough that both our boys had steady income so were not dependent on us, but even then the rise in the cost of living and the inability of wages to keep pace with it was all too obvious. We like others had heard the stories of fellow emigrants selling up everything to start a new life abroad. It all seemed pretty straight forward, but one major fact appeared to be the main reason why those people we knew had returned. They had either run out of money or failed to secure earnings to sustain any sort of lifestyle.

I've never believed that moving to another country could ever be all milk and honey, in fact, I know now for it to be the opposite. Pensions today for most people fall far short of expectations in every walk of life, though for those receiving a now very rare final salary pension it has given the few an opportunity to realise a decent standard of living all be it in their latter years. But they're few and far between and for the majority like myself, I have had to work out, finalise and plan our incomes to facilitate even the notion of an enjoyable retirement, no matter what age. It's also true that the vast working majority including me, will probably not have the benefit of an old age pension as there'll be no money left in the pot to pay me one, so that's out! (Fact!)

But I must get off the political train again and stick to what we had to do. We had saved as much as possible in a short time and planned to save a lot more, or at least as much as we could running two houses. My plan was to sell up and cash in everything we owned in England as close to the optimum time as possible for the maximum price, invest in some kind of income bond, and hope with good will and a small military pension to at least be self sufficient and debt free in our new habitat in the sun. Even at this time we were not 100% certain we were moving, this was all just in the intermediate planning stage, but it looked to be all we were talking about. My overriding factor was to weigh up how the foreseeable future looked for us if we remained here, and how it looked if we moved to Spain. I mean, it's alright working and enjoying the trappings of part time living with things ticking along nicely, but having seen what's happened in the world lately, you never know when it's all going to fall away.

So, could we afford to leave? Could we afford not to? It was in the summer of 2006 that I came to a decision that in my opinion, we would be better off moving abroad so as to be able to realise a better way of life and perhaps to grasp an opportunity to do or try something else. But more importantly, It would either have to be within the next twelve months or not at all! I believed we could have the funds in place to eke out at least a comfortable existence while enjoying the essence and stress free ambience of continental life. It was still a fact however that the rest of the family though showing more than a spark of interest were less than totally convinced that it was anything but a pipe dream. But time was ticking and I was eager to get on with it rather than just sit and talk about it.

Was it selfish of me to think like that? Was I really considering everyone else and taking all consideration and options into account? Did I truly believe this was the best thing for my family and me? The answer for me has and always will be a resounding yes! It didn't matter how it was going to turn out, it didn't matter if things turned turtle and nose-dived, it didn't matter if we hated it and had to return like so many others. The fact was it was a chance! And it was the only other chance we were going to ever have of changing our lives in our current or future position outside of winning vast amounts on the lottery. (Which I still play actually).

They say money is the route of all evil, well, the actual saying is the love of money, but I'm sorry, it does make your world go round and the only people that hate it in my opinion are the people who have none. Both Rose and myself were sick of working harder just to stand still, and that last year in England we started to actually go backwards. We could afford to leave. I didn't see at that stage any other option. I knew then it wouldn't be easy but again I'll say it was a chance. When my wife and I finally worked out our own financial solutions for leaving, it was clear that we would certainly have less disposable income in the short term, hence the idea to perhaps take on something else as an earner' for the luxuries in life. But one thing was certain, no one could take our home away, we would never be hungry and as we've found out, a bad day at the beach is better than a good day at work!

Useful hint

With all that's good and healthy about the lifestyle on the Costa, the sun, the beaches, the swimming, the food, it's still a shame that the biggest killer here appears to be smoking related diseases. A great number of men and woman from a young age all through their life seem to smoke as part of the continental lifestyle. There are very few bars, ventas or restaurants that have segregated areas for non-smokers and I've seen none that have a total no smoking policy. This would then explain an article in one of the Spanish papers lately that stated dietary, colon, bowel and stomach cancers were relatively low whereas emphysema, pleurisy and other lung disease cases were high. (Cigarettes are very accessible and very cheap, a popular branded packet of 20 costs around 3.50 (£2.50)).

I'm not totally unsympathetic, I myself am born again non-smoker of nearly ten years now, I believe in a live and let live policy especially with smoking but there are times when it's a pain. Sometimes it can be a real problem if someone lights up at the next table between courses. We tend to either sit outside where nearly every eatery provides for al fresco dining, sit near an AC unit or a window. (Most places do have very efficient extractors, which can alleviate the problem to a greater degree but not altogether.)

So don't ask someone to stub that fag out or throw water over them, unfortunately here there is no such refinement as a no smoking ban during a meal. You, like myself, may think it disgusting and counter productive to good food, puffing away while annoying someone who would prefer to do without the smell of someone else's smoky exhaled breath during their meal. But you'll just have to do as I suggest and grin and bear it, for the time being anyway.

Useful tip

Get away from it all! Well, that's what most of the brochures will say this summer, promoting miles of golden sands and blue sea. The reality is that yes, in the popular areas of the sea front hotels and urbanised build ups there are miles of beaches, trouble is, they're usually pretty packed with revellers all out to enjoy the same thing. My tip is that if you want to truly get away and find your own little bit of relatively quiet beach, move out of the city or town a little bit.

Not more than three kilometres East of Malaga you'll find about 30klms of sand and sea with hardly anyone on it. Take a taxi. Or a hire car, or a coastal bus and stop or get off when you fancy. Take a bit of cash and all your beach paraphernalia and set up base camp next to the water and about twenty meters from one of the thousands of beachside ventas that dot that piece of coastline. This is where you'll find the locals and you'll soon realise that a day at the beach for the Spanish means just that. All the family go and they take everything and enjoy their natural heritage from morning until evening. You'll get a lot more down time here than in the towns and get more snacks and drinks for your euro.

Spanish facts

Okay, lets keep it cultural this week: By 1600 Spain controlled all of the Iberian Peninsula, parts of North America as well as a number of Caribbean islands, most of Central America and parts of South America. The Spanish Empire also included the Netherlands, Austria and parts of France, Germany and Italy. (But not Britain!)

Ernest Hemingway who reported on the Spanish Civil War wrote his famous novel For Whom The Bell Tolls about the war.

Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain married Henry VIII of England. She was the first of his six wives and the mother of Queen Mary I.

Oh, and for all you chocoholics out there, it was the Spanish who brought chocolate to Europe from Mexico.

Useful Spanish phrases

Hola, qué tal? Soy ingles, Usted, de dónde es?
Pronounced: ohlah, kay tahl? Soy ehnglehs, oostayd, day donday ays?
Meaning: hello, how are things with you, I am english, where are you from?

Next week: Lets put the house on the market and see what happens?