Rota, Spain

Hey Everyone!!

We arrived in Rota, Spain, the gateway to the Mediterranean on the 20th. Took on some fuel and provisions the first day, then got some great liberty yesterday, and had duty today. The base here is owned by the Spanish Navy, but it has all the amenities of a US Naval base. Friday night, got to head to the Navy Exchange (a mall, grocery store and mini-mart all in one) and pic up some essentials, then headed to Champions sport bar (on base) for a few libations and a cheeseburger.

Yesterday, I headed to the “liberty” center where I got to make a cheap phone call home and even got to video chat w/ Aislinn via SKYPE (an online tool that lets you call computer to computer for free…and had a video chat feature), a wonderful treat!! The liberty center was chock full of crew members from USS ELROD, enjoying a variety of activities such as, pool tables, fooseball, ping pong, WII, PS3, and XBOX gaming consoles, numerous comfy couches to watch sports or movies on big screens, phones to call home on, a internet café, and even a band room (w/ a set of drums, and amps to hook up your guitar to). This is a great tool for young Sailors (not old enough for the bar scene in town yet) and for old ones like me who need to call home ;)

Later in the afternoon I headed into town w/ a fellow Department Head (Don Haley). We walked out the gate and right down town…about a ½ hour walk into a downtown Rota (probably why Europeans are so skinny), a city w/ all the charm and beauty of an old Mediterranean port. Rota is 6 hours ahead of US Eastern time and close to the equator, so the sun didn’t go down till 10pm!! Don and I headed to a nice restaurant right along the beach and had an amazing meal. Started w/ a couple glasses of homemade Sangria…magnifique!! Had “tappas” (small bowls of appetizers) consisting of olives in a tasty garlic olive oil, crusty Spanish bread, and a mariners salad (squid/onion/tomato mix) that went perfect on the bread! The main course was “Paella”, a local favorite. Paella is cooked in an iron skillet and consists of rice w/ saffron seasoning, bits of pork and chicken, and various peppers and tomatoes. All in all, it was a perfect meal. Just wish Azzy (my best travel partner) was with me ;)

After dinner we wandered into a wide open patio area surrounded by bars, restaurants and expresso bars. We found a bunch of the officers and crew enjoying the local beer at an irish bar called “Paddy’s”. Played some darts and enjoyed a few drinks in the open air veranda…European style. It was Saturday night and I expected to see many locals out for dinner and drinks, but it is Europe and the locals don’t go out for dinner until 10 or 11pm. When they do, they bring the whole family! Grandfathers/grandmothers, husbands and mothers, their kids and their dogs ;) It was so odd to see families out in the dark eating dinner and enjoying life just like it was 6 or 7pm!!! I guess it helps when you only work a 30-35 hour work week. I hear the locals go to work at 9am work till noon, head home for a large lunch and a nap (SIESTA as they call it), then head back to work from 3-6pm, then head to the beach for 4 hours (remember the sun doesn’t go down till 10pm), then home to clean up and out to dinner at 11pm, then who knows when they get home!! What a life. I think we should implement that in America!!