Sketches from my travel journal – the first days

What an easy assignment it was to “find things beautiful” in Spain.

I didn’t have to look very far to seek inspiration for my travel sketchbook. Just walking along the beach and selecting colourful seashells amongst the thousands that had washed up onshore, drawing hearts in the sand, finding quaint little signs along the Paseo Maritimo, these were enough to get me started in my journal.

These simple scenes from Benálmadena remind me of that sunny day spent at the marina where we had luch at Metro Ristorante. I glued a piece of their coaster in the top corner of one page.

Just a little further from the sailboat marina, people were sunning themselves on the rocks near the lighthouse. I chose one woman to add to my sketch of that area.

These sketches, completed rather quickly by my standards, and with all their imperfections, help me to remember things which photos just can’t do.

They remind me of the hot sun on my back as we searched for the little tobacco shop in Benalmádena where we could buy a bus pass, of the smells and all the sounds in and around the main marina.

The sketches also bring to mind a little outdoor patio restaurant wedged among other restaurants and shops where we had lunch in the hot sun.  And finally, they make me remember the long trek back to our hotel in Torremolinos where some of us discovered oozing blisters on feet not used to wearing sandals.

Of course, at the end of each day, we sat on our balcony overlooking the ocean, and reminisced about the events of the day while enjoying a good bottle or two of local wine.

(My sketchbook has also travelled with me to Havana, Cuba.  Visit my website to see sketches of vintage cars, local people, and other scenes in Havana.)