Ghost town

It's no secret that Spain has been experiencing some economic difficulties lately with stories of their financial situation all over the news. Despite this (or perhaps the cause of this), Spain sure knows how to relax during the week.

 

Whilst at training camp, it is extremely difficult to get to shops or even buy a coffee because the sun takes forever to come up or everyone is on 'siesta'.

At 8am the sun begins to rise and most people are just starting breakfast. This is extremely odd to someone that is usually up and on the bike by 5am. At 10am most shops open up but 3hrs later, at 1pm they close again for 'siesta'!!

During this time people get lunch, relax and can even have time to take a nap. The town turns into a ghost town with no one around on the streets and barely any cars driving around. At 4pm, siesta ends and shops reopen for 3 more hours of trading until 7pm. So that's a 6hr working day with a 3hr lunch. Not bad. To top it off, on Mondays, some places have a longer siesta to 'recover' from the weekend!!

Whilst walking around town and riding around, it as if there are more buildings and businesses in Spain than there are people. During the week, I barely saw people on the streets and at night, only a handful of lights can be seen in huge apartment blocks. It is almost as if it is one giant ghost town.