Invasion of the Blobs

It is no secret that Spain witnesses a mass exodus (or 'Operacion Salida', as the traffic cops call it) every August as most of the population leaves one place for another. Up in Asturias, we've watched with amazement as lines form at our tiny grocery store, and campers fill the parking lots. But of course most Spaniards head to the Mediterranean coast, the better to bake themselves on a beach during the day, and spend their nights drinking in tacky bars by night. Ah, vacation.

There is not much that could tempt us to visit Benidorm or its ilk in August. Between the traffic, the heat, and the hordes of British and German tourists toasting to a bright lobster red on the sand, I, for one, would just as soon forgo the vacation all together. And now, in case we needed it, we have one more reason to avoid the lemming-like trek to the sea.