End of the season…
Warnings of a ‘Gota Fría’ were issued and we all waited expectantly and in trepidation on Monday night. I must say I was somewhat surprised as it seemed far too early in the year. Normally it would be mid-September going into October when they hit – is this the consequences of global warming I wonder.
The rumbles of thunder and incredible displays of electric lightening lit up the sky… but the anticipated torrential rain did not follow – well not near me at least. I did see video footage of the aftermath in Madrid but fortunately, we somehow managed to miss it here. In all the years of living here I have only witnessed it twice – heavy rain lots of times, but not a full on ‘Gota Fría’. It did rain somewhat in Benidorm, with grey clouds hanging over and everywhere looking pretty deserted – obviously except the bars, but by Wednesday it was as if nothing had happened and the beach was back to normal.
The beaches here are probably the resort’s biggest asset and why so many chose to come here. They are meticulously cleaned every night but it amazes me how much rubbish is left behind by lazy so and so’s. There are plenty of bins but is it really that difficult to take your rubbish back home? This year Benidorm town hall have issue free plastic containers for smokers to discard their cigarettes butts in rather than bury them in the sand. Why don’t they take a leaf out of northern Spain I wonder? A friend who was on holiday in Galicia recently sent me a picture of the signs stating that they are entering a smoke free beach – something for Benidorm to take on board, especially when you consider that it can take anywhere between two - 10 years for them to decompose as the filters are made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic.
It’s amazing how quickly the resort seems to recover but this weekend will see the mass exodus of the domestic Spanish holidaymakers, who flock here from Madrid every year for the entire month of August. There will be a slight lull then the Brits start to return -be interesting if the B word will make an impact come November though! It always surprises me that August, the traditional time of family holidays hardly see’s any British holidaymakers here in comparison. On the plus side, we will now be able to park without having to drive around the block numerous times – the entertainers in particular have a real task when going from venue to venue to perform each evening, finding a space nearby, so will be especially happy. Most of the visiting Spaniards have always tried to park their cars in one of the free white bays, then leave them there for the entire duration of their stay. This year they would have been in for a shock though, with many streets dug up and so parking bays suspended. However, some cheeky ones intentionally park in a spot where they will be towed away by the police. The Town hall issued a statement last week stating that the number of cars impounded increased significantly during August and the reason being that it was cheaper for owners to have their cars towed and kept safely in a pound than paying the sometimes-extortionate hotel car park fees, which can be more than €20 a day. The municipal car pound charges just €4.50 per day –the first 24 hours are even free! The owner has to pay the €60 tow charge, but it is still a bargain in comparison, and you know it is safe and secure! In order to address this the Town Hall has put in a proposal to increase the storage charge significantly, raising it from the flat daily fee to €1 per hour…. that’ll cause a few shocked responses and raised tempers I bet, but then again, they said the same for the last two years and nothing has changed!
But as of Sunday, the first day of September, it will officially be Autumn. I have already noticed the days getting shorter and that at 9:00pm it is starting to get dark. Soon the lightweight duvets will be coming out of hibernation, fans and aircon units will be clicking off until next year and flip flops and shorts replaced by shoes and jeans – although I hope the latter may wait for a few more weeks. Oh it is such a British thing to talk about the weather – either too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry… never happy! The forecast often gets it wrong so I will keep hold of my sunglasses, for now at least.