Sun, Sombrilla and Sun Screen

Todays was the first day I really felt fresh when I got up. I had slept eight hours and got out of bed without the alarm. Until now I have been sleeping at least 10 hours everynight plus a couple of hours for siesta. I hope this means that I now have caught up and can return to a normal sleeping pattern.

Wednesday my girlfriend Susana and I met with classmate Juan Benitez [Columbia] and his girlfriend Tatiana. Tatiana is also Columbian, but is studying in Barcelona. We met in the nearby town of Sitges, which is renowned for its fine beaches. The heat wave that is covering the rest of Europe is also felt here, so it quickly became too warm for the 'Giri' (Spanish slang for a foreigner, in this case referring to me) on the beach. We strolled around the beautiful old town before we sat down and enjoyed a real Catalonian paella in one of the street restaurants.

Juan and Tatiana by the old church in Sitges.


Paella Marinera, the way it is done in its home country.
Heave stuff on a warm day, but very 'deliciosa' as they say around here.

Yesterday Susana and I went to the beach again. This time the 'giri' (still me) covered himself in a thick layer of factor 50+ sun screen (others would probably call it sun BLOCK) and hid in the shade under the 'Sombrilla' (beach umbrella) that we had brought along. Being on the beach and under the sun this far south (compared to Denmark, of course) is a somewhat delicate matter for me. I turn red like a boiled lobster in a matter of minutes, then I spend several nights sleeping on my stomach because my back is all sore. Then it all peals off and I am more pale than when I started. So better to overdo it a bit with the protection.

Siestas, not power naps

To be honest I have not done much over the past couple of days. I have just been enjoying the warm humid Mediterranean air that encourages you to just hang around in shorts and flip-flops and keep yourself in a vertical position to the extent possible. I have swapped power naps with siestas. Same concept, but very different execution! I am trying to fall into the rhythm of my little pueblo here. As they say in Spain, there are more people on the streets at 3 in the morning than at 3 in the afternoon. All the shops close during the middle of the day, so why not siesta your way through those hours. Great concept.

I went for a run today at 8pm when the temperature had dropped sufficiently for a Scandinavian to venture out. I went down to the river bed that runs at the outskirts of the town. It is completely dried out at this time of the year, so it is a great place to run. It took me out under the highway and into mountains on the other side. 'Mountains' may be a relative word here. The locals would probably just call them 'hills', but being from Denmark I insist that they indeed are mountains. I found a dirt trail that took me up-hill (because you cannot say 'up-mountain') and after about 20 minutes I found myself standing on a ridge looking into the next valley. Here was another little pueblo with white houses and what from the distance appeared to be a church. The sun was setting and it looked so quiet and peaceful. I had not met anyone on my way and there was not a single person to be seen anywhere. It became one of those few quiet moments, where you remind yourself that life is more than the fast lane on the information-superhighway. Next time I will make sure I bring a camera.