This isn’t Spain; it’s Andalucia.

The grass is always greener on the other side. Ever since I moved to St. Maarten four years ago I can’t help but long for Andalucia, Spain’s southernmost province, the place where I was born and my family still resides. Don’t get me wrong, I love the island of St. Maarten, but there’s just something about Andalucia that sets the blood boiling.

Andalucians believe in living life to its abso­lute limit. And I don’t mean trying to stay alive as long as possible. People eat all day long and stay up late at the drop of a hat. During the summer months, the streets are packed till three or four in the mornings, with some people even going straight to work and making up for lots of sleep later in the day with a siesta.

From the fervour of bullfights to the frenzy of flamenco mu­sic and dancing, everything is approached with extreme passion. Life is celebrated, not strictly controlled, which makes for an intoxicating at­mosphere. You may go home exhausted, but you will never forget it.
After four years I was going back ‘home’ for a family reunion and I was looking forward to roam the Span­ish Costa del Sol again. This southern coast runs from Nerja to my birth place La Linea, which borders the British territory Gibraltar.

While nearing the airport of Malaga, I could see the untroubled Spanish moun­tains beckoning. Tiny white villages blistering in the sun were scattered in patches of warm brown and green hues. I couldn’t wait to set foot on my land again and satisfy my nostalgic yearnings.

We drove off in our rental car and headed to­wards east of Malaga up into the mountains, where my parents own a piece of land. The village is called Sayalonga, located in the much sought after La Rabita area. Although the foreign population has doubled in half a decade, it’s still a place where you can enjoy utter peace and tranquillity.

The hills of Sayalonga’s fertile valley are dotted with vineyards, almond and olive groves as well as neat ter­races of avocado trees. The village is one of the typical ‘pueblos blancos’ (white villages), a heritage of the Moorish invasion. White-washed houses are standing like bright little boxes, glued to the mountain slopes. Don­key width passageways lead up to shady plazas where bright bouquets of flowers spill from iron wrought bal­conies.

In Sayalonga you can squeeze through the narrow­est street in Spain which is only 56 centimetres wide. Not only is this village still locked in time, the EURO inflation has hardly left its mark here. Much of southern Spain, particularly near the coasts, is as expensive as St. Maarten, but there are still a few places away from the commercialisation where the prices haven’t changed.

After enjoying 4 sodas, a beer and two mixed drinks at a Sayalonga bar the check came up to only 8 dollars. It was tempting to stay over for dinner, which is served from 1:00 to 3:00pm, but we still needed to adjust to the Span­ish way of eating.

We drove back to Malaga and then up the new Mediterranean highway along the coast. Costa del Sol has always been a popular tourist destination and it is the area in Spain with the highest concentration of foreign residents. My father had already warned me about the abundant new developments going on in the Andalucian real estate market, but what I saw went beyond my imagination.

The last time I was here in 2001, the most developed and tourist-crowded areas were cities like Torremolinos, Fuengirola and Marbella, but the villages in between were still mostly surrounded by large patches of campo. Four years later, I was witnessing what looked like an endless strip of resorts and apartments and a line of billboards inviting you to buy them. Has the real estate market gotten out of hand?It almost did, as I found out. Fortunately the Junta de Andalucia intervened just in time. What I was told is that before, any developer was able to buy a piece of land, build on it and then sell it. There was no limit on it and a lot of corruption of Andalucian mayors was involved.

To prevent the nature environment from diminishing the Junta of Andalucia has now put a restriction on further developments. Today, it’s only possible to buy land of minimum 5000m2 and you can’t build on it for the first 10 years, while it’s not that easy any more to obtain a building permit. So it’s not so attractive for developers anymore…fortunately.

We quickly drove on to Caleta de Mar, almost at the end of our journey, where we enjoyed our first tapas and tinto de verano (wine with soda and lemon). Portions of Queso Manchego, Jamon Serrano (cured ham), Albondigas en salsa (meatballs in a tomato sauce), Pollo al Ajillo (garlic chicken) and tortilla (egg-potato omelette) were brought to the table and savoured in minutes. I believe the total cost came up to 40 dollars for five persons, which is not the cheapest, but still reasonable.

After our stomach was filled with Spanish delights, we continued our journey to my hometown La Linea. The entrance is always magical. At the end of the long concrete strip that leads along the sandy beaches of the Mediterranean Sea stands the massive Rock of Gibraltar looming over the town. Its size always makes impression, no matter how often you see it. It’s a true nature’s treasure and my welcome home sign.

Of course abuela (my grandmother) was waiting with a home cooked meal, cause that’s all that matters to her and everyone here in Spain: comer (eating). Her greatest pleasure is if other people enjoy her cooking. It’s almost an insult to say you’re not hungry, which I hardly do, because her cooking is my greatest pleasure. My mother comes close, but nobody cooks like my grandmother.

The days to follow were filled with abundant food (almost non-stop!), tintos de verano, family visits and day trips into the country. The first morning we were already munching on churros (fried strips of dough) for breakfast, which is very yummy, and a good foundation for our trip ahead: the weekly market.

La Linea has a daily market where they sell fresh fish and meats, vegetables, olives and other goods, but every Wednesday the market is bigger and set up in a different spot. You can find anything in here except for the fresh fish and meat. Over 60 stands are filled with clothes, fabrics, shoes, ceramics, accessories, leather goods, olives, candy and so on. It’s the best spot to find your souvenirs and presents for back home. Especially if you come from St. Maarten, a market like that is a feast to your eyes and an assault on your wallet.

After abuela’s midday menu, which included sopa de almejas (shellfish soup), we were fuelled up again for a trip into town. Although La Línea is one of the sunniest towns in Spain its constant cool breezes prevent you from suffering of extreme heat. La Línea is a comparatively modern town and has its origins in the line of fortifications built by Philip V after the loss of Gibraltar to the English. The town has undergone much development
in recent years and is starting to take its place as one of the region’s most popular tourism centres.

My favourite part of the day in La Linea is at night, when everyone dresses up to go for a tapa or drink in town. During summer the streets and plazas are always filled with families. While kids are playing around, fathers are having their glass of vino and mothers are chatting, finding out the latest rumours. As we were savouring our glass of tinto and a few montaitos (tapa size sandwiches with all sorts of fillings) on a sideway terrace, I was thinking ‘life is good’. We chat and drank and eat well into the wee hours, enjoying the simple pleasures of life. No hurry, nowhere to go, cause there’s always manana.

Bill Bellamy takes his slice of Paradise

(published on 01-12-2005)

“St. Maarten is real good piece of pie!”

Don't get it twisted. Just because you might not have heard from actor/comedian Bill Bellamy in a while does not mean he's been idle. He's had plenty on his plate since co-starring in the 2001 hit "The Brothers," such as starring in the hip, action-packed drama "Fastlane," which aired on Fox during their 2002-03 season. He just finished his new movie “Getting Played” with Carmen Electra, Vivica A. Fox and Stacey Dash and he’s now raking up frequent flier miles, before getting back to the set of another new production called “Neverwas.” While enjoying a well-needed vacation with his family in St. Maarten, Out ’n About got a chance to chat with the multi-talented actor/ comedian.

How are you enjoying your stay in St. Maarten so far?
It has been beautiful. I’ve been coming here for about 5 years. I really love the island, the people, the restaurants, the beaches, everything.

What made you decide to come to St. Maarten in the first place?
I came to St. Maarten in 1999 with FUBU. They have brought in a lot of celebrities here and I had never been to the island before. When I came here I was like, wow, this island is hot! I wanted to come back here and stay because I was only here for two and half days and I didn’t get a chance to do a lot. The following year I came back and stayed for two weeks and that’s when I was like, oh god! I love it!

Was it the party or the beaches?
It was everything. The beaches are beautiful, you can party, you can gamble, you can eat great food, you can chill, and you can also skip over to another island real fast if you want.

Have you been to any surrounding islands this time?
I’ve visited Anguilla and St. Barths. I still have to go to Saba.

Let’s talk about your new movie. First you taught us “How to be a player.” Are you “getting played” this time in your new movie?
Yyyes. It’s a good movie. It’s about a guy who’s going out with three girls and he’s thinking that these girls are really feeling him and he’s having a great day. Although he thinks everything is good and he has got all that female attention, these three ladies are playing him. They are making him think there’s more to it, but it’s just really about the sex. So it’s the girls being the player this time.

Did you ever get played in real life?
Yeah…It’s not a good thing. But in the movie it’s really funny. It’s funny to see a guy doing the stuff that girls would typically do and these girls are very strong women and trying to make sure they play me, but there’s a twist going on. It gets a little bit crazy in the end, but I don’t want to give away too much.

What can you tell me about your character in the movie?
My guy is a pretty fun guy. He’s a young successful real estate agent and he’s single. He’s on his way up in the world, but he just hasn’t found the right girl as yet. While landing a great deal on a property he goes out to celebrate and on the day that everything is going right, he gets a date with this girl and then another one with another girl and so on. He thinks he hit the lottery. He has a charm and a sense of humour about him. For me, he’s not like a bad dude and that’s cool. He’s not trying to be a playboy. He just happens to be put in that situation with these women, where he thinks they like him, put these girls have another agenda.

What was the best thing about working with Carmen Electra?
She was really a cool girl. A lot of guys probably look at her as sexy, which she is, but in real life she’s also really cool. She’s really down to earth. Vivica is also awesome. People are going to be blown away how beautiful Stacey Dash is, who a lot of people haven’t seen in a while. The guys are going to love the movie because of these women, and girls are gonna love it too, as they will go like “Yeah! It’s about time!”

A lot of comics and comic actors go into straight drama. Is your new movie project “Neverwas” a step into that direction?
Yeah, that one is dramatic. It’s an independent movie and it deals with Schizophrenia.

What is your role in it?
I play an intern at the hospital. He’s one of the only people outside of the doctor that sincerely cares about the welfare of the patients. He’s like their friend, he talks to them, he brings them little snacks, he reaches out to them, and he’s that kind of a guy, like an angel. I never had an opportunity to play a role where a person loves people so unconditionally, knowing that they are crazy to most people. He sees the good in each patient.

Was it difficult to go from a comedy into a serious drama?
It wouldn’t say it’s difficult. I connected with the character. I don’t care if it is comedy or dramatic, if you feel close to that character it’s not hard. I think I’m one of the few actors that can be very funny and then turn around and do something completely different, like Robin Williams, Tom Hanks and those guys have been able to do.

Is there any other movie genre you would like to try?
I want to do another action. I want to take it to the next level from my last show “Fastlane.” I’m going to do something that is exciting, like Bad Boys kinda thing. I want something with a lot of action and kick some booty and do at least three stunts by myself. I think that would be a lot of fun.

What do you prefer, movies or stand-ups?
Well, it depends. To be honest I love both of them, but my favourite thing in the world is to make people laugh. I think the stand-up is my heart and soul. Stand-up is how I got started and how everything just sort of came together from being funny. That’s why I went back to the stage. This year I have my comedy special coming out too. The year 2005 is going to be a fun year. I think I’ve been away for a year and a half, where people haven’t seen me, and they’re probably wondering what’s going on. Well, I got some really good stuff that I’m proud of that I think people would really enjoy.

Someone said that your comedy makes people think, is that also what you’re trying to achieve?
Yeah, but not in a preachy way. Through my comedy I feel it’s the most personal insight into who I am as a person. Because through my humour and the things that I say you get a chance to know what Bill Bellamy is really like, what he thinks about, what his feelings are and that kind of thing. It’s hard to do that when you’re doing a movie, because you’re playing a role. But in a stand-up it’s 100 per cent real. It’s the most honest thing that I’m doing.

What would you like to do with your career from this point forward?
I’m gonna keep building. I’m gonna produce some stuff and make some big movies. I just wanna make funny and entertaining projects. When people are going to the movies, I want them to be exciting and go “Oh my god, he’s so funny!” When you see “Getting played” I think everybody is going to talk about it. I got a chance to do so many things I like to do. I got to be really funny, I got to do physical stuff, and I got to do a love scene.

How much are we going to see of that scene?
It’s going to be good. I get to do some stuff in there. I do all my stunts in my love scene, so let everybody know, there’s no body double, it’s all me.

Can you give some advice to our young people here in the Caribbean who are dreaming of a career like yours?
You have to dream and when you dream, dream big. But ultimately you have to believe in your dreams and not just talk about it. You really got to believe in the things that you want to do and you can make them happen. If there’s any sole purpose of my life and my career, it’s that I’m here to inspire other people to dream or to wake them up. Somebody inspired me and that’s what I try to do, in that way that’s the God in what I do.

If you go back to the States, what would you say about St. Maarten if people ask you?
You have to visit. You have to drink it, eat it and live it. St Maarten has its own energy. I suggest everybody should take a trip down here and check out this island. It’s so small, but is has so much flavour. It’s like a real good piece of pie!

Bill Bellamy’s new movie will be released in springtime. For more information you can visit Bill’s website www.billbellamy.com.