Then and now

How it used to be. Then this happened. The council seized the opportunity of the first lockdown in March 2020 to raze the market to the ground, so now it's a hole in the ground repurposed as a car park at 6 euros a day (some of the receipts go to charity). Apparently they have selected some architects to construct a new one, but on the ground nothing is happening. Meanwhile it's been disastrous for surrounding businesses; well over 50% of the shops on nearby streets are shuttered and empty, the whole area blighted. But R told us yesterday evening that there are now at least seven new greengrocers scattered about town, and four or five fishmongers, all former market traders. But no longer the special ambiance of a Spanish food market. It still feels totally unacceptable to have an Andalusian town with no market. I don't have a problem with the council deciding it needed to be upgraded, but they've had a decade to come up with a plan and have done nothing.

Anyway. This morning we trawled estate agents with a small degree of success, in that we made appointments to see a couple of very expensive and luxurious places. Then we had pre-lunch drinks at Los Higuitos with J and S, who have a house here but are off to the UK tomorrow. We ended up lunching at the very traditional Mar de Plata. We were so hot by then that unlike most clients we elected to sit inside, with air conditioning, and had a relatively light lunch of a large salad of tomatoes, avocado and onions, followed by tuna tataki with seaweed. Followed by a short siesta.

Later, another estate agent visit, ice cream on the seafront, a glass or two of wine with jamón on our balcony, and a tapa in the bar next door.