Vamos a la playa!

Let's go to the beach! One of my favorite phrases. One of the main reasons I chose Andalusia as my number one preference of regions in Spain was because A) it's in the south and B) there was a good chance of my being placed somewhere near the beach! Huelva is situated beside a river,  but a 20 minute bus ride will get you to the beach in Punta Umbria (Poon-tuh Oom-BREE-uh). I've been to the beach three times now, and because the weather is still so nice I was able to go this past Sunday! I even went in the water! I'll admit, the water was a bit too cold for my liking, but I wanted to get one last swim in before it starts getting cold. The beach is beautiful, and not TOO different from my beloved beaches in North Carolina. The sand is more yellow, there are no dunes, and the waves are a lot smaller, but besides that I could still imagine myself laying out on the beaches of Atlantic Beach like I did so often this summer. I've met a lot of friends there, because everyone seems to gather in the same place, and many of the people all know each other from previous years in Huelva. Where we go in Punta Umbria, there is a small little café called Chiringuito Cazorla (no idea what that means), but it's painted navy blue with lighter blue curtains that blow in the breeze with bright red chairs on the patio. Quite picturesque. One of the best tapas they offer is called "salpicón," which is a mixture of diced peppers, tomatoes and onions mixed with pieces of shrimp and crap covered in olive oil and vinegar. DELICIOUS. It's basically a summer seafood salad. I'm afraid that our days of going to the beach are numbered, but I'm sure I can still convince people to go with me when it gets colder...we'll just have to bundle up!