Monthly Musings from my balcony – El Campello, Spain

What is it about Spaniards and music?  Yesterday, while I was waiting for my dinner to arrive, both waiters sang along to the music that was playing over the loudspeakers.  I particularly noticed, because this wasn’t the first time in a bar or restaurant where the waiter, or someone, was singing.  And singing beautifully.  Two things are obvious.  It was American music, which means they could speak English well enough to sing along.  And they felt comfortable enough to just sing, with no self-consciousness.

And at the non-demonstration at Colon Square in Madrid last weekend, everyone – literally everyone  (except me, of course) – sang along to every song. I say non-demonstration because it felt like a bunch of casual, relaxed people just showing up to listen to the speeches, and provide moral support.  And to sing and laugh and be together.

And not only did they sing, but they danced, too.  They all seem to have natural rhythm and to naturally dance.

Seriously, put on music and watch a Spaniard come alive.

And how is it that such a good pizza is available in the middle of nowhere?  Okay, not really the middle of nowhere, as I am 7 miles outside of El Campello which is 8 miles from Alicante, in a small “urbanizacion” reachable only by taxi.  But still – the quality of food in Spain is very high, and Spaniards expect it to be.

As for what is going on in Catalunya – declaration of independence and politicians getting arrested and imprisoned – Spaniards outside of Catalunya, and probably the majority inside, think it’s madness, wrought by communists or anti-capitalists or anti-establishment people, who are doing it for their own personal and/or political agenda without really caring about the majority of the people who live in Catalunya.  No one seems to begrudge Catalunya their economic success and good lifestyle, in fact they seem to be happy for them.  But everyone seems to be kind of tired of the game, and say “the law is the law and it applies to all Spaniards.”

And everyone agrees that Catalunya is part of Spain, which is why, in the Colon Square demonstration, they chanted “Vive Catalunya!  Vive Espana!”  It is one big family of Spaniards, with some misbehaving Catalans. Just my opinion, of course.

And yes, it really is sunny Spain.  Even this morning, as there were drops falling from the sky, it was sunny.  I thought I was imagining the rain drops, but there they were, on my table. I looked out towards the palm trees, and could see drops falling. I looked up at the few wispy clouds that were not directly overhead.   It remains a mystery to me, how raindrops fall from a blue sky, but maybe some meteorologist can explain it. What can I say, sunny Spain!

And with sunny Spain, the daytime temperatures are a lovely 22 Celsius/72 F, and the temperature of the sea is about the same, which means I am still swimming every day.

Now it’s time for sunset, and the cooler evening.

And just to show that I really am on my balcony, here’s the view just after sunrise this morning: