New News

Last summer, jellyfish (aka las medusas in Spanish or les meduses in Catalan) ruled the waters of the Mediterranean. It looks like this year will bring more of the same, because we saw huge schools (if this term applies to jellyfish as it does to fish) of them pulsing through the water. White ones, large translucent ones, ones that seemed to be made of amorphous black disks.

And how did we see these swimmer-torturers? Fortunately, from the safety of a boat. This weekend we did something new — my Dulcinea and I took a sailboat for a couple of days. Sailed up the coast from Barcelona some 20 (nautical) miles (~37km) to Arenys de Mar. There, we docked in the marina and explored the town, which was a bit sleepy as the summer madness (fortunately) hasn’t kicked in yet.

We “overnighted” (a fancy term for “slept” ;-) on the boat before returning back to Barcelona. In Arenys, we enjoyed drinks at sunset with Bob, a delightful Scottish man (whose sailboat was tied up next to ours) who is just wrapping up eight years (!) of sailing every nook and cranny of Mediterranean. He’s headed back to France to de-mast his sailboat and cruise it up the Canal du Midi, which he came down in 2001. Then finally, (mast back up and) across the Channel and the home stretch to Glasgow. When I commented admiringly that he must know every inch of his boat, he replied with a grin: “More like I hate every inch of it!”

The weather was beautiful: sunny but not hot. In fact, cool enough to require a jacket at night. It was a new adventure for both of us, and somehow those two days of sailing under a bright sun made it feel like we’d taken a week’s vacation! Back home, the solid floor of our flat seemed to rock and swell beneath us as we ate dinner, so I guess even in that short time we got our sea-legs.

Middle-Aged News

I discovered that my favourite (Montreal-based) singer Lhasa de Sela finally had a new album out, her third, after a six-year hiatus. Although it was available on the Spanish iTunes site, this was one case where I wanted the booklet and a tangible disc in my hands. I went down to FNAC the next day to pick up a copy. I’ve been enjoying it ever since, but I do wish she hadn’t chosen to write and sing exclusively in English this time — I loved the Spanish and French songs (as well as the English) on her wonderful earlier albums The Living Road and La Llorona. Nonetheless, I still really am moved by her voice and the poetry of her lyrics.

Having completed my Canadian taxes for the end of April (and, as an ex-resident, hopefully for the last time), I am now settling down to…enjoy doing another set: the Spanish income taxes, which are due at the end of June!

Meanwhile, my experience with Spanish bureaucracy took a wonderful turn for the better a few weeks back, when I went to get an international driver’s licence. I had fussed about filling the forms, photocopying documents, worrying about the fact that I didn’t yet have my new residency card (even though it’s approved and in the process of “being physically manufactured”)… When I got to the motor vehicles department, I somehow was able to bypass all lines, all number-taking and waiting. Even the pre-filled form wasn’t necessary — they had them there on-site for you to fill out if necessary. There was a special “line” (which, amazingly, was empty) for international licences. There was no need to go out to a bank with a modelo de tasas to pay — they had their own cashiers on-site. After that, I went upstairs where a woman asked if I had all the required elements (I had done my homework, thus had all my proverbial ducks in a row). The woman shrugged (doing the universal sign of: “whatever”) when I tried to explain about my in-progress residency renovation, and I actually left the building in less than fifteen minutes, with a freshly-made licence in hand!

Old News

A couple of weeks back, we stayed the long weekend in Arnes with a group of friends and their kids, hiking around Els Ports Natural Park. Ancient towns on hillsides. Honey, traditional farming, a 2000-year-old olive tree. Countless streams, bowls, waterfalls, all surrounded by vertical walls of limestone. And crystal clear water, which is more than can be said of the plastic-bag-(and-jellyfish-)riddled Mediterranean waters near Barcelona. Yet another beautiful break from the “drudgery” that is living in Barcelona…ha ha.