28 April 2025

This week was quiet and normal, until it wasn’t!

As I write this, I really don’t know when I’ll be able to post it. As of right now (27 April, 9 pm local time), I have power, but no Internet and no cellular service. I’ll keep writing and hope that I can share this post sooner, rather than later.

This past week was very routine. However, it ended with lots of fun and excitement. 

On Friday night, my Spanish school colleagues Marc and Laurel (a retired couple from San Francisco), hosted a party for our class and school staff. Vicente was able to join me. It was a fun party. Marc and Laurel are awesome hosts, with great food and drink.

Today (Monday) is a holiday in Valencia, the feast day of Saint Vicente Ferrer. That means business and schools were closed. With a three day weekend, Vicente, Cooper andI were invited by his childhood friend, Javier to Xabia (in Valenciano) (aka Jabea, in Castelleno /Spanish). So we took off on Saturday for a three day weekend. 

You may remember we went to Xabia in December, when my friend Mike was visiting from Denver. It’s a picturesque small resort town on the Mediterranean about an hour south of Valencia. 

The plan was to go to an “Orange” party to celebrate the birthday of the King of Netherlands. So on Friday, I bought an orange t-shirt and a pair of orange sunglasses. 

When we arrived on Saturday, Javi welcomed us warmly, along with his friend Sonia who was also visiting from Valencia. 

Before the Orange Party for the King of Netherlands, we went to a bar to watch the final of the King’s Cup (King of Spain) soccer match. Barcelona vs Real Madrid.  

In my experience, Real Madrid is despised by most folks in Valencia. Real Madrid is recognized as one of the most successful, richest teams in the Premier League…and one of the most arrogant teams. So the crowd was definitely rooting for Barcelona. 

It was a close match, with Real Madrid pulling ahead late in the second half. But then with minutes to go, Barcelona scored two more goals, winning 3-2.  

While we were watching the match, we were joined for dinner by Charlie, the club DJ, a friend of Javier. When Charlie learned of my background in radio, and being from the US, he became my new best friend…and I’m pretty sure, his enthusiasm was chemically enhanced. Even so, we laughed and had a great time. 

When the match ended, he played a remix of Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”  And we danced for a brief while. 

This being Spain, the match didn’t end until around 12:30 am. 

So when things died down at the bar (around 1:30), Javier and Charlie continued with plans to go to the Orange Party. Vicente, Sonia and I went home and to bed. 

On Sunday, Javi slept in. Vicente and I decided to go to the beach. We went to Cala Blanca (White Cove).

We decided to hike past the crowds. So, with a cooler of food, an enthusiastic border collie and wearing just beach flip flops, we started climbing over rocks, through natural tunnels, and past the crowds. 

It was a lovely hike!

We found a rocky place to chill. But as the day continued, the crowds kept growing. So, we hiked farther. 

And then my flip flop broke! Trying to hike with one good piece of foot wear wasn’t ideal.  But we quickly found a better spot and got comfortable. 

We enjoyed a relaxing day in the sun. We got in the cold April waters…briefly!…and even Cooper got into the spirit of it all. 

Just when we started back, the other flip flop broke! 

Is it bragging to share that I crossed all of those rocks and trails barefoot? 

When we got back to the car, we made the first stop a store to buy new flip flops. I walked in barefoot, and walked out properly attired!

(I interrupt this broadcast to tell you that my Internet just came back on! 10:00 pm. I’ll be posting when all of this is written.)

Later, we met Javier and his friends at a club that plays Flamenco music on Sunday afternoons. Most places that feature Flamenco are geared towards tourists. This one seemed to have a lot of locals there. 

Before dark, we went back to the club where Charlie was working. The view as the sunset was brilliant. 

After a drink, we went out for Thai dinner. And we concluded the evening with horchata and fartons for dessert. Horchata in Valencia is made with Tiger Nuts. Fartons are a pastry designed to dunk in the horchata without falling apart. 

Today was the holiday. Vicente and I went to the top of Javier’s building for some great views.

Then to the lighthouse for more great views. 

Just as we arrived, Cooper went running up on to the rocks. One more step and he would have fallen hundreds of feet to his death. Vicente and I almost died of fright! 

But the views were stunning. 

Then we went to a different beach. Cala La Granadella (Granadella Cove) is one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. 

Today, wearing tennis shoes, not flip flops, we hiked over the rocks and past the crowds, where we enjoyed our own private cove. A few folks came and left throughout the day. But for the most part, we enjoyed a very quiet and relaxing day. 

At some point, (about 1 pm?), we noticed that our cellular service wasn’t working. Among the rocks, in a remote place, the didn’t seem unusual.  

We left the beach around 2:30 and got into the car. But we still didn’t have cellular service. 

At some point, we had brief connectivity and a few messages from social media appeared. We learned that the entire country was without power!

We got back to the apartment and showered. We went for lunch…but of course, all of the restaurants were closed. As we walked seeing the main beach area, we saw one that was open. A Viennese bakery! They had an smorgasbord of pastries and a few sandwiches. We sat down, ordered two sandwiches, had them brought to the table, and within minutes, they were out of sandwiches. It turns out this bakery has solar power. When we went to pay, they could only take cash! Of course! Without power across the country, there was no Internet and no banking.  Our bill for two sandwiches, two Cokes, two pastries and two coffees came to €24,20. I had €25 in my pocket! Whew!

We came back to the apartment, said thank you and farewell to Javier, who was just getting up from his siesta. 

We drove home, with cell phones almost out of power, through streets with no traffic lights, and agreed that if there was no power and no way to communicate, we’d meet in the park at 2 pm tomorrow.  And I readied myself to carry my bag and stuff up seven flights of stairs. 

Vicente dropped me off. I entered my building and the first thing I noticed was that the elevator light was on. Was it working?!

I pushed the button, it came down to the ground floor, the door opened and I rode all the way to my floor! 

Once home, I started laundry, let Vicente know I had power. He didn’t! So after a couple hours, he and Cooper came here to spend the night. 

As the country slowly regains power and connectivity, it’s time to go to bed. I’m expecting tomorrow to be a normal day. But if not, I’ll tell you all about it next week. 

Stay connected. Keep your light shining bright. 

Hugs from an apartment with power in Spain. 

• At this point, I went to upload this post and the Internet went out again. And there was still no cell service. So I went to bed.
• Tuesday, 29 April. I have Internet and Spain is still recovering. Many schools are closed. Trains aren’t running. Much is still closed. I’ll post this now.