BUT we thought it would start cooling off in September.....so far it has only gotten hotter. Do you think the weather pattern is changing? Here summer started later and is lasting longer.
This week it has averaged about 33 or 92 with 40% humidity...hot. We went to our local beach both Saturday (9.3) and Sunday (9.4). On Sunday it was projected to be 37 or 99. The air conditioner only cools our back bedrooms down to about 21 or 70, this is with the help of 2 standing fans. When it is too hot it is impossible for us to sleep.
On Sunday night (9.4) we took a Spanish only tour called La XVIIa Jornada Europea de la Cultura Judía or The XVIIth European Day of Jewish Culture with the subject matter being Jewish languages. I'm sure it would have been more interesting had we been able to understand more than a word or two from each paragraph, but just touring around the city of Valencia, starting at 9:30pm was pretty cool in and of itself.
Since today, Sunday was SO VERY HOT we could no longer take it and we choose to get out of town for a few days. We booked a car and the Parador Hotel in Jávea to leave tomorrow (Monday 9..5) morning.
Monday, September 5th when I was leaving our building to pick up the car I told our concierge (doorman) Javier that we were going to Jávea. He told me incendios, which I did not understand. I knew the word for fire, which is fuego, but incendios is fires....ah Spanish. We don't watch the local news so we knew nothing. We called the hotel and they said it was in the National forest and we should still come, so we did. This link has the details of the fires. Once we checked in we saw some fires and smelled the smoke. It was quite sad to see, especially to learn that they were intentionally set. This is a YouTube video of the fires
Here is a photo overlooking our beach, with the smoke from the fires in the background.
We decided there was nothing we could do so we decided to go snorkeling in front of the hotel. Photo's from our snorkel
Even a tiny pink jellyfish. I think it is the Pelagia noctiluca
On Tuesday, (9.6) we spent the day between laying on the beach Playa El Arenal, swimming in the sea and laying around our hotel pool and dipping in and out of the pool. It is SO much cooler in Jávea vs. Valencia.
Wednesday (9.7) we booked a 3 hour kayaking trip along the coast of Dénia, the next town north of Jávea. Its was through a company called Antias to Cova Tallada .
Their brochure states " We will leave from the Playa de las Rotas in Dénia. Under the cliffs of the Marine Reserve of Cape San Antonio, we find an open sea cave, Cova Tallada. We disembark visit inside the cave with flashlights. The marks of generations of stone cutters (sandstone), be moved to another time, the fishing trips of King Philip III and marine use as a hiding place during World War II."
The Marine Reserve of Cape San Antonio has pristine waters and is just gorgeous. We were told there are still some German boats sunk off this cove. However Spain is not permitted to go into them as they are sovereign territory of Germany.
Such a great experience. After lunch and on the drive (9 kilometers) back to Jávea we visited the Cap de Sant Antoni lighthouse. Some of our photo's
Next, just a kilometer down the road was Els Molins. Perched on the ridge of the natural park Montgo mountain sit the old windmills looking out to sea. The view is breathtaking, overlooking the town of Javea, Cap Prim on the coastline in the far distance an as far as the eye can see towards Ibiza, which is visible on a clear day.
The windmills were built in the 15th century, had large wooden sails and were used to grind the grain into flour. Today they stand naked and in various states of renovation, but are still to look at.
Thursday (9.8) departure day, with a noon check out. But the hotel allows you to store your bags, use the pool, with towels, take showers, etc. So we took advantage of this by driving to the of a few different beaches that we had not experienced. First was Cala Blanca, we did a short snorkel, but today the sea was choppy and the sea was not as crystal clear as it has been.
Cala Blanca
As we drove to our next spot, we saw and heard day time fireworks in the downtown of Jávea. I guess when you love fireworks so much you don't just wait for it to get dark, you shoot them off in the middle of the day.
Then a nice lunch on the sea
More snorkeling and tanning and finish with a shower at the hotel before our drive home.
We planned to stop at Ikea, since we had the car, to purchase a bed frame as our landlady only had a mattress. Since our good friends Holly & Peter, and their daughter Jenna are visiting us for two nights, this Saturday we needed it. Well guess what the ONLY day in the month of September that Ikea was closed was Thursday, September 8th go figure. Jenna will have to sleep on the mattress on the floor.
We LOVE JÁVEA!!!!!
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