Valencia, Spain - walk into the village

 Yesterday I basically went for a short walk and then stayed at home and read. So, no photos, no blog post. My walk was to the bank closest to me which turned out just to be an ATM that had to be accessed via taping your debit card. Of course it didn't recognize my card. Therefore the only thing on my agenda today was to get some money out of a bank.

I have paid for the first month in this apartment on Airbnb, on my credit card. I am paying for the other 6 weeks directly to the landlord, Alex. Therefore I have to get quite a bit of cash for that purpose. I googled "bank nearest me", ignored the ATM one that I went to yesterday and got directions to the next one, in the village of Canet den Berenguer. I am staying in the beach part of the community. The village itself is further inland.

 Canet comes from Latin canetum ("reed bed"), referring to the surrounding swampy area with extensive reed beds which stretched from Puzol to Almenara. The Berenguer part is named after the lord Francisco Berenguer who owned the territory during feudalism in the 16th century from Wikipedia.

The GPS indicated it was 1.5km to the bank and it was open until 2pm then open again at 4pm (siesta). So I had my phone direct me and started out.

The first part took me past the Mercadona (grocery shop), round a couple of roundabouts and then said turn right.

 

Wasn't too sure about this but then I saw someone else walking a dog along the track so followed instructions.

There's a bit of an agricultural buffer between the beach/tourist part and the older/permanent community.

It wasn't far and I turned back onto a proper road and into the village.

Where I am staying most of the homes have their metal shutters closed over the windows and doors and nothing on the balconies but here everything looked "lived in". The were lots of cars, shrubs in gardens, flowers on window sills and steps.

It was such a contrast. Had a very different feel. There are certainly a few people living in my building and those around me but most places are empty, waiting for their summer visitors.

The street names were on tiles at each corner.

Small shops. If there are small shops in my area they are certainly not open in the winter. I have a couple of supermarkets, a "buck store" and a pharmacy. In the summer there must be a huge population and it probably supports more retail, but not right now.

Still following the instructions from the GPS on my phone, I spotted the church. Luckily it was in the direction I was going but I would have checked it out anyway.

And on the church square, there was the bank.

An employee showed me how to use the ATM (it was not obvious where to put your card in) and I took out some cash, I wandered around the village a bit. Found the school, indoor pool and city hall. I will have to find the museum as there is no indication on the internet as to the hours it is open. Another walk for another day.

The old section with its narrow streets is not very big. It must have been quite a small village before tourism invaded the beach area.

The back of the church.

I started back the way I had come but realized that it was 12:30 and I needed something to eat.

I had passed this little bar on the way and noticed locals there. As I approached one gentleman started clearing his dishes away and I asked if I could sit at the table (mostly with gestures) as the other tables were occupied. He moved his coat and went in to the bar, came out with a beer and joined me. We communicated with my halting Spanish and his halting English. He was from Germany, had a house there and one here. He knew everyone who walked past having coached kids football here. He found the waiter who spoke "the best" English (not that great) and I ordered a salad, "we have not", so I ordered Calamare as I had seen some at one of the other tables, and an agua con gas. I squeezed on the lemon but it needed something so I ordered aoli,, then it was delicious. Then another couple asked if they could move the spare chairs and we invited them to sit with us. A Dutch couple traveling by camper van. She is a tour guide and said January is slow so this is when she takes her vacation. She speaks Dutch, English, French and Italian. Wow. She said that things had changed since Corona Virus - people can work from wherever they are so winter rentals are now much more expensive (something I have found) and even finding free places to park the camper has become very difficult. I couldn't finish all that calamare so left it with them (they also ordered drinks and cuttlefish).

I walked back the way I had come.

 

They will inherit the earth - dandelions, thistles, cormorants, pigeons - I have seen them everywhere that I have traveled.

Nursery cat. I stopped in at a garden centre I had noticed on the way. Looking for Basil to grow on the balcony but the woman there said it was too cold. They had mint and thyme.

Christine had asked me about fresh squeezed orange juice when we were texting about her visit so I checked out the machine in the Mercadona. You choose the size of bottle you want, place it under the machine and pull the lever, viola, fresh squeezed orange juice. Sun in a bottle.

In stark contrast Rick sent me this from home.

Valencia, Spain - slow day

 Not a lot to write about today.

This is the Dolce Gusto coffee maker. Makes one cup at a time like my Tassimo and Rick's Nespresso.

 

I am not a fan. I prefer drip coffee. 

This is expensive and uses these environmentally unsound coffee pods. But it is what I have here so have to make the best of it. 

At the grocery store today I noticed that they take back the used pods. Alleviates one of my concerns. So I am now collecting them in a bowl beside the coffee maker, to return.

There are a lot of grocery store trips while I set myself up without carrying too much back each time. 

After grocery shopping in the morning I spent most of the afternoon reading and then decided I really should go for a walk. I turned right on the Passieg (south) this time and walked to the marina.

Quite large and, unlike Port Dover,

the boats are still in the water.

Beyond the marina, the path continues across a river and to the next community. A walk on another day.

I came back along a pedestrian path and then a road one block back from the beach.

I guess there was no chimney, Santa had to climb in from the balcony.

I did find a bus stop and plan to start exploring public transit next week.

Back at home I decided to have a glass of wine on the balcony where I could hear the waves on the beach.

I sat there and chatted to Nicola (who was just finishing her morning tea in Kelowna while I was drinking evening wine in Spain) as the sun went down and the lights came on.

Valencia, Spain - much quieter on a Monday

 Slept a bit better and DIDN'T see the sunrise! Yay. Still not tons of energy so after my usual morning routine (described previously) I headed out to find the other grocery store.

Right outside the gate to the apartment building are the garbage and recycling bins. On the positive side, I don't have to go far to dump it. On the negative side, loud collection trucks early in the morning.

 

I followed the gps instructions to walk a couple of blocks and deeked into a park on the way. Although this is not a particularly attractive area with so many apartment buildings, there are little parks scattered around...green space, shade trees, benches and

they all, even the smallest ones, have a children's play area. Each of the apartment blocks also have an area that was probably originally a tennis court but now set up for basketball and soccer, and some play equipment. Perhaps it is in the building code here and it really should be everywhere.

If there are days, in March, that I find it too hot for the beach, I may come and sketch here, in the shade.

This grocery store I have heard of, I have shopped at Mercadona in other places. It's large, clean and well stocked and if you are prepared to look around I believe it is cheaper than the other one.

Different foods are popular here. Huge selection of tinned sardines. I had only come for some fresh veg to make a stir fry so only bought my backpack with me. Of course I bought more than I intended and had to carry some back in my arms. Here they don't offer to sell you a bag, you bring your own or you carry it out.

The main roads are quite wide, parking on each side and lots of large shade trees. They break up the "concrete jungle" vibe.

This is the first place I have rented that has beach chairs and an umbrella so after lunch I took a chair down to the beach to sit in the sun and read. Having tried to paint the palm trees I thought I needed to get to know them a bit better and did a quick sketch.

There are clumps of them, every so often, all the way along the beach. It was warmish (still had a t-shirt and fleece on) and lovely sitting in the sun with the sound of the waves, very few people about. I only stayed there for about an hour as even with sunscreen on I have to take it a bit easy, not wanting to start out with a burn.

This is a pretty light post, photo wise, so I will end with a couple of photos that Rick has sent me as he is looking after Rasta.

They seem to consistently be of Rasta giving him the eye.

 

The accusing stare - "I am starving. When are you going to feed me!"