Málaga

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see

It all started at the Spanish Embassy on a Wednesday last August.

That was the day this retirement trip hit its first hurdle. We had gone there to apply for the European visa that would allow us to remain in Spain and Portugal for the duration of our trip. Armed with the required forms, our passports and the reams of paper required for the application, we were immediately told that there was no way our request would be processed in time for our departure and our stay would therefore be limited to only three months. Our options were to overstay our welcome (that could lead to fines and banishment from Europe for five years), go to the UK for three months (too cold), go to Morocco for three months (too dicey) or find another solution. Good fortune smiled on us with a cheap cruise to Brazil that would have us spending the coldest Northern Hemisphere's months south of the equator. Best of all, we found an equally cheap cruise back to Barcelona in March that would allow us to complete the European portion of the trip.

Ok, a minor setback turned into bonus travel to a country we've never visited before. Lemons to lemonade.

On September 26 we flew to Porto without incident and quite enjoyed our four days there. However, that's where Brenda started to have health issues. "Menorrhagia" hit with a vengeance. For those who don't know what it is, believe me, it's "bloody scary"! We went to emergency and ultrasound tests reassured us that everything was normal. Despite feeling weak from anemia, Brenda bravely soldiered on.

When we arrived at our third port of call, Coimbra, the weather took a turn for the worse and forced us to extend our stay there for a couple of days. Just as well, I suppose, as Brenda was feeling quite tired from her ongoing condition. Of course, rather than lie in bed resting, Brenda was eager to get out and explore the city, albeit at a relaxed pace.

Our grey cloud lifted temporarily on Wednesday morning as we left Coimbra on a beautiful sunny morning. It came back again six kilometers outside of Figueira da Foz when Brenda had her crash. The cloud once again lingered over us as Brenda slowly recovered from her injuries. Our anticipated one night stay in Figueira was extended to eight days while we waited for the road rashes to heal enough for us to continue onward. As the days passed, Brenda slowly began feeling better, and was eventually able to get out of the room to explore the town, but she was still in a lot of pain.

When it was time to leave, traveling by bike was simply not an option, so we rented a car to drive to Lisbon. I won't repeat the details of the debacle with the drop-off fee, but suffice to say, the grey cloud seemed to have followed us to Lisbon. Things did, however, improve, as did Brenda's health. We had funky accommodations in a great neighborhood in a vibrant city. Maybe we've turned a corner.

Nope. Then came the loss of consciousness in the print shop, a third trip to the emergency room within three weeks, an overnight stay in the hospital and a blood transfusion.

Uncle.

The doctors advised that Brenda's present condition would not allow her to continue this journey by bike so we decided to throw in the towel and return home on Christmas day. We'll still take our cruise to Brazil and spend some time there, but we need to get Brenda back to Canada to follow up on her medical care.

So there. We gave in. Stop with the torture already.

In keeping with our truncated travel plans, we skipped right over the Algarve region and most of the south of Spain and went straight from Lisbon to Malaga, where we plan to spend two weeks soaking up the warm Spanish sun and enjoying the sandy beach. Malaga has 300 days of sunshine annually, but we've arrived right in the middle of the other 65. We It was raining on Sunday when we pulled into town. It rained most of the day Monday and part of the day Tuesday. Big rain. Wednesday has been beautiful and the forecast calls for nice weather for a few days.

Dare I hope that our cloud has finally left us?

Yeah, I think so.

Despite all my whining, all the bad luck, all the nasty weather and Brenda's health concerns, the trip has been a treat. I'm blessed to be able to live this life with the woman I cherish by my side. I am grateful that the injuries she suffered in her accident will, in time, heal. It could have been far worse. Years from now when we look back on this, we'll recall the wonderful experiences far more readily than the bad ones.

In the end, this trip will look nothing like the one we had so carefully planned, but it'll nonetheless be one we'll always treasure.

Blue skies overhead from now on.Read more