Valencia, Spain - more Sagunto

 I checked my calendar and realized that I had marked Chris and Kristin as arriving on the day they were actually leaving Canada. So they don't get here until tomorrow. Gave me a good excuse to put off the cleaning and go for a walk.

Last weeks wind and waves have done some damage to the previously pristine beach - erosion and far more pebbles along the edge of the water.

 

They are wise to be protecting and building up the dunes as otherwise the whole area would have been flooded.

I walked north beyond where I had walked before

to where the urban development was all houses, not high rises, one and two stories, old and new, traditional and modern, some right on the beach.

Blistered from the sun and unreadable.

Still dune protection.

It is a Saturday and behind the fences, hedges, walls and gates I could here the sounds of families gathering and smell meat being grilled and vegetables being sauteed with garlic.

I walked further than I had intended

Which became evident on my walk back!

Final Sagunto photos.

After the very welcome bathroom break, I walked back through the flea market

 

which I think was in the town square, but it was too full really to get a sense of the location.

As I walked past this school very loud orchestral music started playing and all the kids started running and forming lines to go inside. So much more pleasant than a bell/buzzer.

When I got down to the waterfront again I was at the far end of the beach

near the port.

Puerto de Sagunto is a major Spanish industrial hub driven by its multi-purpose port, focusing on steel, vehicle logistics (50+ hectares), and natural gas. The area features a mix of historic industrial heritage (former Altos Hornos) and modern, expanding industrial zones like Calle Tallers.  from the AI summary.

It was getting quite warm and I stripped off one layer of clothing.

I wouldn't have said it was this warm though - sports bra, shorts, t-shirts, oh my.

The restaurant I had breakfast at was full of lunch diners now.

Back across the stony beach to the path.

This time

entertained by a couple of wing foilers, taking advantage of the strong off shore wind to race back and forth, parallel to the beach.

There were some good views of the lighthouse

and I took lots of photos for a future painting.

A crew was still working at returning the sand to the beach.

This was a 7km walk in total and I was dragging as I walked along the passeig, sitting occasionally on the handy benches.

White Wagtail. It winters here. Can't blame it.

As I sat on one of the benches and contemplated this view I realized that Spain has a different commitment to recycling. In Canada we collect the different materials at home and put them out once a week to be picked up but we don't promote recycling at other places and certainly not at beaches, where, in the summer, there is a lot of garbage. Here the expectation is that you will recycle as you leave the beach.