Sand, Sea, Sun

Now that its springtime I am trying to take full advantage of living in a beach town, especially since I will be back in the U.S. very shortly. Since today was my day off, I decided to spend some time at the beach.

Following my usual Friday routine, I woke up, cooked myself breakfast, got dressed and went to Mercadona to buy groceries. After making it back to my piso I packed my bag and headed to the arenal, one of Jávea’s beaches.

The purpose of my trip was for both recreation and exercise. I decided that, since the beach was a nice long walk away from my piso, I would put on my tennis shoes and sporty clothes and make it a workout.

My Favorite Chiringuito

As I was walking from the port to the beach I couldn’t help but noticed the chiringuitos situated along the sea that are now all up and running. These are beach bars that are built in the spring for summer and are torn down in the fall. They go through this being built/torn down cycle every year. As I was walking I noticed many people (mostly all British) eating, drinking and hanging out at the chiringuitos.

When I finally made it to the arenal I was a little tired and hungry. I decided to sit down at a restaurant and eat lunch. I really love going to the arenal because it’s promenade is lined with many restaurants overlooking the beach. Most of the restaurants also have really great food options. I decided to eat at one of my favourite restaurants there called Carnaval. Although I was really craving a hamburger and fries (hey, I haven’t had one in a long time), I decided to order from the menú del dia because it was more economical. For my first plate I had a salad, for my second plate I had curry chicken with rice and I also had a glass of wine, coffee and dessert. I’m really going to miss the menú del dia when I return to the states.

Sitting at the restaurant and eating alone was the most enjoyable part of the day. I believe that I went at the perfect time, the restaurant was not at all crowded but there were a couple of British families there.

The ambience was perfect. I sat at a table with a view of the sea, sipped on my wine, ate the delicious food and relaxed to the music that was playing. At the end of the meal I had coffee and ice cream which was such a delicious hot-cold combination.

El Arenal

When I was finished eating I decided to lie out on the beach for a little while. Although I wore a swimsuit under my clothing with the intention of getting into the water, I decided that it would be nicer to lie out and enjoy the day. I relaxed, did some people watching and did some reflective thinking. I decided not to spend more than an hour at the beach because I didn’t want to get a tan, so after spending some time in the sun I decided to make my way back.

Before walking back to my part of town, I walked along the sea a little bit more and sat down for a while on Javea´s rocky beach. This is the part of town that separates the port from the arenal. It isn’t as popular as the sandy beach, of course, and I like it that way. I like to go there and sit on the rocks when I just want to think and spend some time in solitude or if I just don’t feel like being bothered with sand. I spent a couple of minutes there and decided to continue walking.

Javea's Rocky Beach

As I was walking back I stopped by the British supermarket, Iceland, since it was on my way back home. I bought two bags of bagels and headed back to my piso. I spent the rest of the day getting things done, relaxing and preparing for my hiking trip to Calpe the next day.

I’m glad that I decided to go to the beach on my day off. Because I’m taking a couple of school days off to go to Morocco soon, I will have to work the next two Fridays; which could possibly mean that this is my last Friday off in Jávea before I leave Spain for good. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my day.