"Coche" etiquette in Spain

Even though Europe is extremely well connected by public transportation, you must rent a car at least once.  The freedom to go where you want, when you want, without worrying about train or bus schedules is a luxury.  Not to mention, it's extremely easy and relatively inexpensive so long as you can drive stick and have experience driving in cities with narrow streets.  Luckily for us, we had a fearless driver with nerves of steel who had experience maneuvering the relatively gridlocked streets of New York City.  Thank you, Andrew.


















If you are a true thrill-seeker, test your driving abilities on the A-366 or A-397 to or from Ronda.  If that doesn't turn your stomach, try sitting in the passenger seat on the way down the mountain.  Let's just say the floorboard where I, white knuckled and all, was sitting is worn from me attempting to slam on the breaks.

Attention, remember that this is a mountain road

When it comes to parking, everything is legal and expect the unexpected.  The general consent in Spain is that if you can imagine your car parked in an area, whether it been in a crosswalk, on the curb, or in front of a driveway, it's probably a space.  Also, when you park on the street, you have to be flexible when it comes to waiting anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours for someone to move their car.  People will park directly behind you on the street or in a parking lot.  If you are truly under a time constraint, you should consider parking on the street with your flashers on.  It's OK.  Seriously, just take your time.

Now, less than a month ago I was watching the news and the top story was that the government decided to lower the speed limit on the highways from 120 kph (74.5 mph) to 110 kph (68 mph).  People were livid at this injustice and practically at an uproar that their travels from Madrid would be a half an hour longer IF they abided by the new law.  "IF" would be the key word in that sentence.  For the most part, if you were driving at 110 kph, police officers would be riding your ass, honking their horns, and screaming profanities at you.

As a few of you might already know, prostitution is legal in Spain, thanks of course to Franco's ruthless censorship chokehold on the Spanish people. Which of course catapults me onto yet another of Spain's main driving concerns beyond the 6 mph decrease dilemma.  Specifically, the government was concerned because the prostitutes that pick up clients on the highway weren't wearing their yellow safety vests.  If the Spanish are freaks about one thing, it's these yellow safety vest that every car seems to contain.  In the United States, you were lucky if you had a car jack or even a spare tire in your trunk, let alone a yellow reflective jacket.  I can still remember calling friends in winter if anyone had a set of jumper cables to jump my battery.

If you happen to drive down in the southern part of Spain, get ready for some assholes.  Case in point, we pulled into a gas station just outside of Seville to fill up on gas and use the restroom.  We had to wait in line ourselves to fill up on gas, so when it was time we thought we would use the restroom and pay for the gas while our friend pumped the gas.  We use the restroom and get in line to pay.  There are two people in front of us and the gas station attendant is talking to the driver of the gasoline tanker that is delivering gas when our friend finishes pumping and enters the gas station to pay.  Now more than 30 seconds after he enters the station people behind us begin to honk their horns.  The honking continues for the entire 2 minutes that we're inside waiting to pay.

Our driver exits 5 seconds ahead of us and on our way to the car the guy behind continues to honk his horn but with more frequency.  So, as respectively as I can be, I flip him the bird, to which he takes offense to of course.  He now begins to get out of his car with his window rolled down, seeming as though he wants words, but puts himself in an awkward "I stuck so I'm not going to bother" position with one foot in the car, the other on the ground, one arm on the steering wheel, and the other through the window.  It is at this moment that I, once again, in a very respectable manner ask him "Qué no seas capuyo" (which literally means 'cocoon', but in this sense means dick, jerk, etc.).  Allow it seems like was being anti-diplomatic in my word choice, I was merely asking the man "that he not be a dick", not calling him one.  Then I got into the car before he could come up with a rebuttal.

A word of advice before driving in Spain, be prepared for zebras (the British word for crosswalk).  Although we have them in the States, we hardly yield to pedestrians unless there's a light and rarely see it enforced (unless you live in a town with a large number of senior citizens that boasts a prominent downtown area).  In Spain, however, the drivers are obliged to stop for their citizens due to the large number of people whose primary form of transportation is their feet.  For those of us used to large roads with ample driving room and limited use of one-way streets, the obligatory stopping for pedestrians adds yet another obstacle to be aware of.


Despite numerous black marks against driving in Spain, I would highly recommend the experience as I know I would like to rent a car more often to see the had to reach areas in Europe.  Stay tuned.

Spanish Beginners
Cena : dinner

Advanced Spanish
Me mira como una vaca a un tren: Like a deer in headlights ; literal translation (Look at me like a cow at a train)

British English
Tea : dinner

Beginning Basque
Ni Ikaslea Naiz : I am a student