Issue #9

Hanging in the ´hood

Groups of buildings are called urbanizations in Spain and the cluster of ten high-rise buildings that Inu-chan and I live in is Urb. Jardines del Gamonal (roughly gardens of the chief). It is located approximately, depending on whether you are going uphill or down, ten minutes from the train station and Paloma Park and fifteen minutes from the beach, on foot. There are 18 small restaurants and bars in the complex, 3 of them on the ground floor of our building. The other locales, commercial locations, on the ground floors of the buildings include a pharmacy, hardware store, pet store,and bakery. There are also a few beauty salons, travel agents, green grocers and internet cafes.
The next urbanization as you head downhill toward the sea is Zodiaco Corinto. There you will find more pubs but also a veterinarian clinic, a British health clinic, a British supermarket (where I get my monthly treat of instant macaroni and cheese) and Terri Fox´s Palace, billed as "the most glamourous place to be on the coast ...where fantasy becomes reality ". The show stars female impersonators Terri Fox and Shantell Michaels. This is where I ushered in 2010, sitting at the bar with Terri´s mother.