Siesta?….Si por favor!

I am beginning to wonder if you were to look deep into my family background, far beyond the Yorkshire clan and deep into the past, that there might be a trace of Spanish in my genetic make-up. Is it possible?

I left New Zealand a few weeks ago for a trip around Europe and after a quick call into Canada and the UK headed to Spain - a country that I have only fleetingly visited in the past. I’ve been here for almost a week and I have well and truly settled into the rhythm of life here. The food, the wine and most of all the Siesta. Oh what a wonderful thing that is. No doubt helped by the heat and the lunchtime drinks, but how great it is to switch off for a few hours and grab some regenerative sleep. 

Admittedly, I have always tended to have an afternoon kip, especially on a weekend when it wouldn’t interfere with work, but I can take it to a whole new level here. Olympic standard even. 

Firstly, it is encouraged and by being so, the guilt of sloping off for an hour or two when there are other things that need doing is gone. Doze away.

Then there are the wonderful wooden shutters on the windows. Who needs curtains when you can cover the windows with what are essentially planks of wood? Plunging the room into near total darkness literally invites sleep.

Oh and of course there is the air conditioning. Blissful cool air to chill the room and keep away the outside heat. It might be nearly 40 degrees outside, but it’s a soothing and sleep inducing 22 degrees in the room. Sure it might not be that environmentally friendly but so are a lot of other things. And besides it’s probably a price worth paying to avoid a sleep deprived grumpy Graeme being loose on the streets.

Yes I have truly embraced this particular part of Spanish life. I’m even considering make a suggestion to my company when I return to New Zealand to allow staff some time in the afternoon for a sneaky doze. I’m sure it will enhance productivity and make for a happier workplace environment. I could even build in the coats into my project budgets. Task code zzz. Everyone is a winner. Surely it’s worth a go?

There is an art to a successful Siesta and that is timing. It could be very easy to overdo it - with the room being so dark it’s easy to forget that there is still a part of the day to complete. And what a waste that would be - there are beautiful streets outside to wander through, and that vino won’t drink itself!