6 Months in Malaga and the Bus Across Spain

It's good to be back with another edition of the newsletter, I took some time off for various reasons and due to travel, but wanted to start these back up to share the behind the scenes of my videos and other happenings in Spain! Recently I just returned from the USA and am working on a video after some reflection during my time there! Stay tuned for that video later this week. In the meantime let's dive in!

Caminito Del Rey's Secret Town

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A few weeks ago I released this video discussing the past 6 months living in Spain, what the experience has been like, what has surprised me and what has been difficult. To be honest there was more I could have said, but this was a perfect moment to pause and think back on how I got here. If you had told me a year ago where I would be living or that I had adjusted to a new life overseas I might have laughed and called you crazy, but here I am.
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Moving abroad taught me a lot about myself and showed me that I am capable of handling challenges and new experiences and living in Spain has continued to grant me these new lessons with each passing day. The short of it is that I love living in Malaga and am grateful that I had the chance to move here, BUT (you might have guessed this was coming) it has come with challenges as well. It would be disingenuous to sit here and say life has been perfect and I'm happy all the time, I don't think anyone is like that.

What I wanted to share with each and everyone of you is that big changes are wonderful, but hard. We have to make sacrifices and our choices lead us down paths that we may not have expected. They teach us about what is important in our lives and allow us to examine our values and beliefs. For me moving to Spain helped me realize how important my loved ones are in my life and make effort to let them know and to spend quality time with them.

At the end of this video I talk about what comes next and I am excited because there is so much to learn and explore here in Spain and I am eager to share it with all of you. I have many vlogs and travel adventures planned and cannot wait to film and share them!

Bus Journey Across Spain

Recently I took the bus from Madrid to Malaga and honestly I had a blast, I haven't traveled like that in a while and I don't plan to make a video, at least on that trip (maybe one day) and wanted to share it with all of you. I fly into Madrid and unfortunately all the trains are booked/not available to Malaga due to the ongoing repairs after the tragic train crash in January.
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Thankfully Spain's busses are pretty great and I was able to get tickets to Malaga for less then $60 (it would have been cheaper if I had bought direct from the bus company...whooops). This time around I rode with alsa, I have had decent experiences with them as they operate in Andalucia as well! What was great about this is I got to see a different side of the country that I normally miss out on when taking the train or even flying.

The first leg of the journey was from Madrid to Granada and took just under 5 hours and that was with a 30 minute stop in the middle for the bathroom and lunch (sorry the busses, at least mine, don't have bathrooms onboard). The busses themselves were a bit cramped, but the seats were comfortable and ultimately the views were good. They do have undercarriage storage for larger luggage which is good if you are traveling with a suitcase.

What was a bit stressful is that our first bus left late so I only had 4 minutes at Granada to get off the bus, grab my luggage and get on my next bus, thankfully I made it, although I did have a backup ticket for a bus later that day just in case. The second leg of the trip took us through the mountains and we were in Malaga in less than 1.5 hours. The trains from Granada to Malaga operate on part of the same track that is in repair at the moment so the trips take nearly 4 hours!

Ultimately taking the bus so far was a great experience and I will certainly be using them to get to places that are harder to reach all over Spain!

Sabor de España

This time around I don't have food to share, but rather beer! This past week I went to a local brewpub that serves Spanish and European craft beer and it was a delight. The name of the place is Hopscotch and is a great spot in Malaga One thing I really miss about the US is the craft beer scene and the brewery's, so finding this spot was a delight and there is a bus that drops off right Infront of the pub!

The inside of the pub has so much character and was decorated with everything and anything beer related. You could tell the people there were beer lovers and the owners were so friendly, they even had a live DJ! After trying a few beers this place has cemented itself as a go to spot. If you enjoy craft beer this is a must see spot in Malaga.

That is going to wrap it up for this newsletter! Thank you to everyone who has signed up, if you want to follow along my journey check out my Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/evanthewayfarer/?hl=en I try to post there regularly on my daily adventures and will post updates on videos and such!
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Until then thanks so much for watching and reading and I'll see you on the trail!