Spain and Britain two similar yet vastly different countries ?
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It of course goes with out saying Britain and Spain are different(But two countries with long intertwined histories with each other for the good the bad and dare I say it interesting)  (not trying to click bate honest) but at the same time they do share things, they have cultural difference and similarity's and finding them can be fun , in fact it is one of the most rewarding parts of living aboard 

Now in no way am I trying to say Britain's better or Spain's better their different and similar and both full of charm, history etc 

This may take a while to write, as with any country the difference are easy to spot, but the similarity's can be harder to spot , but that's what is fun, interesting and rewarding about living in a different country.  
I will start with the differences as they are the logical jumping in point 
The Differences And of course it goes without saying this part could be pages and pages long if I wanted. 

A major noticeable difference between Britain and Spain is ( and the Rest of Europe and Spain for that Matter) is that in Spain the Ambulances use flashing orange beacons instead of the more usual blue Beacon, and of course they Speak Spanish (but you know that one of course )(and it is a rewarding challenge to learn a new language) 

And unlike Britain , Spain is mainly a Catholic country not a Protestant one (Which yes they are both branches of Christianity ) This difference in ways of Worshiping has lead to many of the difference between the two country's but of course not them all, Having a different climate , Geography and other factors create different cultures as well it is complex I guess 

One example (and this one also can be said for Germany to a certain degree and other European countries as well like France I think) of a difference is that Shops are closed on Sundays and there are more religious festivals 
(it is often said there is a festival everyday somewhere in Spain (which I think based on my experience may well be true or very close to True) 
And one I have noticed is the Spanish don't eat on the street when walking about, unlike people in some Britain do,  

Again a difference between Spain and Britain most people are fully aware of is the Spanish habit to take a siesta (Siesta is Spanish for Nap) from about 2pm to 4:30pm/5pm (different areas have slightly different lengths ) which as a Brit takes some getting use to but after a while it kinda made sense to me as during spring and Summer Spain is hot very hot so taking a break to recover from that heat makes sense ( after all some parts of Spain like the Almeria region and many more can top out in August around +45c) (Inland areas anyway the coast is a little cooler ) 

And there will be loads of difference that are subtle and harder to spot and as with any country the difference between regions will effect observations on how two country's differ 

Christmas well this might sound a strange one to be different but bear with me , because it is while in the UK we mark Christmas on the 25th December not in Spain they mark it on the day of three kings (the day the Wise men got to Jesus ) the 6th January 

A simple one or two Spain like all mainland Europe drives on the right unlike Britain on the left 
And again like most of Europe Spain is in the Central European time zone so always one hour ahead of the UK  

The Similarity's
Well lets start with a few quick fire ones that are easy before looking deeper 
Both in Nato
Both are in  Europe (Geographical ) 
Both have constitutional Monarchy's Spain has a king (Rey) and Britain a Queen 
While on the topic of royalty British monarch's have married Spanish royalty and nobility for example the Tudor monarch Henry the 8th married Catherine of Aragon (so did his brother Philip before him who died she is the one that Henry divorced and sparked the English reformation she is also mother of a British Queen Mary Tudor (no not Mary Queen of Scots she is a different women and they where cousins)  
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(orgional on europeanrelocationservicesspain.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_21.html )
Project aware the state of the seasWhile walking , wadding and snorkeling along the Costa De Alermia in Spain I have noticed just how much rubbish is on both the beach and in the water / on reefs and the likes. While it makes the beach and reef less attractive that by far is not the worst impact it has on the sea 
 The worst impact it has is on the fish the Turtles and other marina animals who can and do with devastating results mistake things like plastic bags for jelly fish 

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Which is why when I am on the beach and in a position to I collect some of the plastic and  other waste I come across . Including when wading and snorkeling and skin diving , But I don't do this alone I do it with my Brother Richard who as a Padi divemaster has his uses as he can get rubbish out the water I can't reach. 

• Did you know the only continent you can't find Turtles on is Antarctica 

While Snorkeling along the Costa De Almeria in Spain the most common type of rubbish I have noticed in the waters is various types of plastics including the plastic bag

A few ugly facts and figures about the damage rubbish and plastic does to the sea / oceans (various sources )

• In 2008, a sperm whale was found beached in California. It died due to the more than 22 kilos of plastic found in its stomach
• It takes 1000 years for polyethylene bags to break down.
• Approximately 1 billion seabirds and mammals die each year by ingesting plastic bags.  Not only that, these poor animals suffer a painful death.  The plastic wraps around their intestines or they choke to death.

# How safe are my items during transit ?
We carry on the van loads of removal blankets and straps to protect the items from movement in transit and reduce the risk of any marks
The van is also fitted with load securing points in the floor and roof to enable us to strap in multiple positions 

# How are glass items protected ?
All glass items are wrapped in removal blankets and padded to protect the glass from braking 

We use ratchet straps to keep wardrobe doors and draws closed while they are in transit and during loading and unloading 
How safe are the items from theft during travel ?

Recommendations on Facebook 
  Kari Atkins recommends European Relocation Services.

· 12 August · Absolutely fantastic service, and really go all the way to ensure needs are met....Brilliant team work as well, keep you updated even if running late by a few minutes....really highly recommended, Thankyou Lynn, Paul and Ashley you have done an amazing job

 Adrian Vahey recommends European Relocation Services.
 8 August ·
With a the rogue operators out there and not really knowing myself who could be trusted and not I just wanted to highly recommend European Relocation Services. They collected our stuff from Edinburgh and delivered it to Valencia extremely quickly, with great communication and with minimum fuss. They’re also very reasonably priced. We vastly underestimated how much stuff we had but nothing was an issue for Paul and Lynne and they helped us find a solution to get all of our stuff ​

Read the rest of our Feedback here: 
https://europeanrelocationservices.weebly.com/our-customer-recommendations.html

Next 4 routes for the #Van 
19/9 #Spain 2 #Essex 
25/09 #Spain to #Birmingham 
2/10 Spain to #Scotland 
13/10 Spain to #Germany 
https://europeanrelocationservices.weebly.com/upcomingroute…

Taken from our base in Turre Spain looking towards the mountains this evening  3rd September 

Covering the #Spain - #UK  route we cover a lot of miles on average 3000 plus on a round trip. But does mean we don't try to be green our van has a Euro 6 engine  (meeting latest emissions standards and averaging 35mpg) which is fitted with Adblue 

We also have plants at our base 18 plants in total of a few different types 

And when Ashley get chance when snorkeling he will remove rubbish from the water 

Every town and city in Spain has a market day for example Turre is Friday or Albox is Tuesday .
And markets are a great place to buy fresh fruit and vegetables or clothing