Ah Spain!

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[Music]
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Welcome to Aspain Poco Poco. Hey Tanya.
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Hey. How's it going?
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It's going bueno as they say. It's I'm
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Vienn. I am all those things.
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All those things. And a little cooler.
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The weather's dipping down a little,
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which is nice, right?
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It's dipping down. I mean, I will have
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to say two nights ago I was sleeping in
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a pool of sweat because our air
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conditioner's broken. And then last
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night I had the window open and I was
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piling covers on me and then went to my
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closet to get a sweatshirt because I was
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like, whoa, that just changed overnight.
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It It went from 83 at night to what I
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think 58 59 last night.
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No, it it's been delightful. Besides
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your too graphic story there, um it has
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been delightful and I will say we had a
0:53
bit of we had this tiny bit of rain a
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couple of days ago and it was like one
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of those things where it just added to
1:00
the humidity and I was like, "God, this
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is never going to end." And then the
1:03
next day it was this evening and this
1:05
night that you mentioned and I was like,
1:06
"Oh, this is nice. I love it."
1:08
And speaking of cooler things, we're
1:11
going to talk about the Spanish beaches
1:13
in the winter, which is one of my
1:14
favorite things. Well, which is where
1:16
we're headed to. And sadly to say, we
1:18
only went to the beach once at night
1:20
this whole summer. So now we're heading
1:22
into the autumn. And our beach, what I
1:24
want to do at the beach has is ending.
1:27
So I think I have like a week or two to
1:29
before what we're going to talk about
1:31
sets in. And
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well, I was going to say, did you ever
1:34
make You never made it. All those dreams
1:36
and desires, you never made it to a
1:38
beach day. I'm sorry.
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I am pasty white. I am the color that my
1:43
ancestors would be horrified to see that
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I am this this this pale right now.
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Well, I'd say you don't have to go to
1:49
the beach to get a tan, but there's we
1:50
enjoy the beach a lot just for
1:52
activities and hanging out. And I think
1:54
that is maybe something that is a bit
1:56
more accessible to those that live
1:58
outside of the city. Unless you live in
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the very beach side of the Valencian
2:03
city, I think would that be accurate?
2:04
For sure.
2:05
Yeah. Because it's we have to take the
2:07
bus like I'm not going to take a cab
2:08
there, right? You can get a take a cab
2:10
and be there in five 10 minutes, right?
2:12
But I'm not going to spend 15 euros
2:14
there and back all the time.
2:15
That's just crazy. So the bus the bus is
2:18
about 40 minutes. You know, it's a lot
2:19
of stops and you're like and and getting
2:21
there is not the issue. My kids brought
2:23
it up. They're like, "What we don't like
2:24
about it, Dad, is when you take the bus
2:27
back is they get just car sick. They're
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all hot and they're sticky and they're
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gross and the bus is stopping every 5t
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and it's it's like you get like emotion
2:38
sickness. You're like, I just want to be
2:39
home and showered and the end of the
2:42
day, you're done.
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Yeah. You may have drunk a little bit of
2:44
the Mediterranean Sea, which might be
2:46
settling in your belly a little wrong.
2:48
And Yeah, I can see that. Yeah.
2:51
But they do have a good argument. I
2:53
mean, they
2:54
do. But we we love the beach out here.
2:56
We didn't go as much as we wanted, but
2:58
we went a lot. And one of the things
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that we do year year round, they do have
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dog beaches, but in the winter it opens
3:07
up a bit more. So, we can talk a little
3:08
bit about taking your dogs to the beach
3:10
because that's something that I love to
3:11
do once we get into the winter,
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which is that in this part of Spain
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anyway, they
3:18
will open the beaches from sort of maybe
3:20
October to April, April, Mayish, where
3:24
you can take your dog to any of the
3:26
beaches and they can run around. And I
3:28
love that because they do have really
3:30
nice prominards on a lot of the beaches
3:32
here where you can walk your dog up and
3:34
down, you can walk, you can have your
3:36
kids can do a little maybe a little
3:38
roller skating or something. But
3:40
actually taking your dog onto the beach
3:42
obviously is something that is
3:43
prohibited except in certain dog beach
3:45
areas of which there are quite a few.
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So we love the winter because it's just
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there's no one at the beach. It's really
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nice. You can get all dressed up for the
3:54
cold weather and you just go and walk
3:57
your dog down there and you can I mean
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it's it's lovely and for me it's one of
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my favorite things because the beach in
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the sum in the summer is very busy
4:03
obviously and in the winter
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there's nobody there. A lot of the beach
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towns I don't know what it's like in the
4:09
city but a lot of the beach towns where
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we are north of the city there's not
4:13
much there. There's a few restaurants
4:14
maybe but overall it's it's holiday
4:17
homes and holiday apartments. And so in
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the winter it's it's pretty
4:22
um empty and it's really really nice.
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I love it.
4:28
It is like another world. It's like it's
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like what was that TV show the that
4:32
series they did 100 years a you know the
4:34
world without us or something like what
4:35
would happen to the world like it kind
4:37
of gives you that feeling while you're
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there right
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it is really nice and I will say people
4:41
are very good about from my experience
4:43
and I always do pick up after your dog.
4:45
So, please do because other people are
4:47
walking on the beach, people without
4:48
dogs, people with dogs. We don't need
4:50
that on the beach. So, there's trash
4:52
bins everywhere. Pick up after your dog.
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And please bring that etiquette into the
4:56
city, not you, but other people because
4:58
there you will step in dog doodoo in the
5:00
city year round.
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I found that not to be the case so much
5:03
outside of the city, but I don't spend a
5:06
lot of time that. But during the summer
5:08
and during the whole year, there are dog
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beaches. If you have a dog that's very
5:11
social and you wish to have your dog run
5:14
around with other dogs, there are dog
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beaches uh in all sorts of areas around
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here, you can find them online and and
5:20
that's really really fun. They're not
5:22
the best beaches obviously because
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they're the dog beaches. So, they're the
5:25
ones that have more algae and more
5:27
seaweed and more kind of rocks and
5:30
things like that. But they're absolutely
5:33
fine and nice for a dog to run around in
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and for you to go sunbathe in if you
5:37
want to. They're very very acceptable I
5:40
would say. So that's my that's my
5:43
experience with dogs and that's my
5:44
that's my winter one of my winter
5:45
activities
5:47
and that and that and brings you to the
5:48
beach in the winter which is nice right
5:50
and then you still get to see forever
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right you get to see the horizons and
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which is always good for your soul and
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that's what I miss about not going to
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the beach this summer is seeing forever
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right you just
6:00
yeah I think so and I do think also
6:02
there are apps for wind and if you're
6:05
somebody that likes to surf or kite surf
6:07
or any of these things there are apps
6:08
that will give you wind and and wave
6:10
waves and and things like that. And that
6:13
is something that you might want to
6:14
check before heading to the beach in the
6:16
winter because it if it gets windy, it's
6:18
incredibly unpleasant to have sand
6:20
blowing up at you. No, that's not fun.
6:22
Nobody Nobody wants that.
6:23
But if you're on one of those boards
6:25
with the sails, whatever those are
6:26
called,
6:26
kite surfing. Yes. Then you want the
6:28
wind
6:30
and kite boarding. Kite surfing and kite
6:31
boarding, right? Then you want all that.
6:32
Yes. And there are some very, very
6:35
popular kite surfing beaches just north
6:38
of Valencia where I always see them year
6:40
round. It is a very very big activity
6:41
here. So if that's something you love to
6:43
do, that is a legitimate sporting
6:45
activity here as well.
6:48
Amazing. I'm not going to do that. But
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and I do fear that the the water might
6:55
be a little cold for me to go paddle
6:57
boarding. So I do think our paddle
6:58
boarding activities may be done for the
7:00
year because I don't want to fall in it
7:02
and I'm not willing to peel myself into
7:03
a wet suit. So that might be the end of
7:06
that, too.
7:08
So, in the city in the winter, the city
7:10
beaches,
7:11
things don't close down as much as the
7:13
beaches you go to, right? Because it's
7:16
it's the city, so the paella shops and
7:18
all the stuff that's on the beach are
7:20
pretty much opened. I mean, we've gotten
7:22
people have come in February and said,
7:23
"We want paella on the beach." And I'm
7:25
like, "All right, kids, grab your
7:27
scarves." You know, we're going to the
7:28
beach.
7:28
And it's all still all the restaurants
7:30
down there and the shops and everything
7:31
are all still open.
7:33
Everything's open. And but, you know,
7:34
it's a very small, you know, it's that
7:36
small. I mean, we're a small section of
7:38
the beach and it's still lively in the
7:39
city and
7:40
here it is a real neighborhood of the
7:42
city that people live year round, right?
7:44
It's a real It's not It's not a beach
7:46
town.
7:46
Yeah, they're very different. Some part
7:48
of their Yeah, some of the beaches up
7:50
here will have some restaurants that
7:52
might be open. There's like Ket I think
7:55
has a much a much um more robust
7:58
restaurant and area, you know, ice cream
8:00
shops and coffee shops there. And I
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think some of those are open year round
8:04
at a much much shorter amount of time,
8:06
like maybe just on Saturdays and Sundays
8:08
and or something like that. But there
8:10
there is something going on there. But
8:12
most of the other ones, the smaller
8:13
towns, there's nothing going on. And
8:16
that's where these um chenitos come in,
8:19
which was what we have a lot of. And I
8:21
don't know if they put those on the
8:22
beaches at the city, but in our beaches
8:25
up north, you have these little huts
8:27
that pop up in the spring and they get
8:29
broken down in in the fall. And that is
8:32
when you see those coming down, you're
8:33
like, "Yeah, the summer's over." Because
8:35
they are
8:35
the summer's over.
8:36
I know. But there I mean because and
8:38
those are great because in beaches where
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they don't have a lot of restaurants,
8:41
ice cream shops, and things like that,
8:42
these little churingitos come up and
8:44
they have ice cream, coffee, drinks,
8:46
they blast music, and they and they put
8:49
maybe some umbrellas out and stuff, and
8:51
it's like really fun, and it creates a
8:54
really nice atmosphere on these beaches.
8:56
And then it all gets closed down, taken
8:59
away in the in the in the fall.
9:01
Right. We do have those in the city,
9:03
especially in the like the further like
9:05
the Patakona Beach, you'll see them
9:06
there because there's less services
9:08
there and those do pop up. And what I
9:10
think is so crazy about those is when
9:12
you see them closed up, the things like
9:14
no bigger than a porta potty, but when
9:16
they open it up, these walls come down
9:18
and it's suddenly a party. Like there's
9:20
there's they've got everything. They've
9:21
got tables. Yeah. The the lights strung
9:25
about. It's it's it's amazing
9:27
and that is my favorite thing. I mean,
9:29
you've been to the if you go to the
9:31
beach, especially out at out of the city
9:34
at night, these things are open until
9:36
till late at night. So, they're
9:38
4:00 in the morning sometimes.
9:40
So, they're open surfacing with drinks
9:42
and coffee and ice cream for the kids
9:44
and stuff until the middle of the night.
9:45
So, and and just to be clear, they don't
9:48
close up for the winter. They close up
9:50
and go away. I mean, completely
9:52
dismantled, gone, like they never
9:54
existed. And then in the spring you'll
9:56
see them coming in with the boards and
9:58
and starting to build them again. It's
10:00
it's really cool.
10:01
Right. Right. Yeah. I mean it is cool.
10:03
And it is Well, when they're the size of
10:05
the porta potty, it is very easy to just
10:07
haul all them away.
10:08
Well, I'd say I'm not doing it, but I
10:10
theoretically
10:11
And what I love about them is when
10:12
you're at a beach that has a prominade.
10:15
Mhm.
10:16
These are in between the shore and the
10:18
prominade. So, you don't have to walk
10:19
all the way back to the prominade.
10:20
Oh, yeah. No, they're on the beach.
10:23
They're literally on the beach near the
10:24
prominard. So, they're really, really
10:26
convenient. And then speaking of
10:28
portaotties, if you have a beach that's
10:32
not very populated in the winter, they
10:35
if they have public restrooms, which a
10:37
lot of them do,
10:38
sort of away from the beach, those will
10:40
be locked up and closed down most
10:42
likely. Really?
10:43
And also the water stations, which which
10:45
they have here, which I love. So, as
10:47
you're walking off the beach and they
10:49
have these little water stations where
10:50
you can wash your feet and stuff like
10:52
that, they will shut off the water to
10:54
those in the winter as well. So,
10:56
everything is like done.
10:58
Wow.
10:59
Done and out. And that's the
11:01
interesting.
11:03
Well, I mean, it makes sense, I guess,
11:05
because you're not
11:06
No one's doing anything. I mean, there
11:08
are people there are people polar bear
11:10
swimming. I mean, for sure, right? But
11:12
it's not there's not you might get the
11:14
hot day between now and the end of
11:16
November, maybe where everyone's like,
11:17
"Oh my god, we got lucky and it's a hot
11:19
day and and suddenly there's a lot of
11:21
people, but then you're bringing
11:22
everything with you. You're not
11:23
expecting that you're in Guita or
11:25
anything to be there to give you any
11:26
services." So,
11:28
speaking of that last hot day, cuz the
11:30
one thing we have talked about before is
11:32
the weather here in Valencia. And when
11:35
it's hot, it's hot. And when it's cold,
11:36
it's cold. And and they don't they don't
11:38
they don't they don't blend. You don't
11:40
get a random 80 degree day in in
11:42
December like I'm used to it in
11:44
California.
11:45
No, it's not quite like that. Yeah. But
11:47
up at this at this time you will. Yeah.
11:49
Right now you will get a bit of a blend.
11:51
Yeah.
11:52
Yeah. Right. We're in that transition
11:53
till mid October where it's comfortable
11:56
and and and still beach days. Yeah. I
11:58
can bristle it, you know, a little bit.
12:00
But, you know, in in the summer, it's
12:03
hot at the beach and the water is
12:07
ridiculously warm. As we've said before,
12:10
it can be just between up to almost 80
12:12
degrees Fahrenheit the water and but in
12:14
the winter it drops to like in the 50s.
12:16
So, the winter it is you are making ice
12:19
cubes. Do you know what?
12:20
That was a surprise to me. I have to say
12:22
before we moved here, I had only been to
12:24
the Mediterranean in the summer and I
12:26
just had this really ridiculous idea
12:27
that the water would be swimmable year
12:30
round. It is not.
12:31
It It's not a ridiculous idea because
12:34
that's exactly what I thought and that's
12:35
why we moved to Spain. That was part of
12:37
the thing of like we're going to be able
12:39
to go to the beach year round and we're
12:40
going to have crystal blue Mediterranean
12:42
waters and it's going to be lovely and
12:44
then I come here and realize it's either
12:46
too hot in the water to be refreshing or
12:48
too cold.
12:49
Right. I mean, it's a very interesting
12:52
combination, but it is it is what it is.
12:54
And some people love it because there,
12:55
like we said before, there are people
12:57
that do polar bear swims and it does get
12:59
cold enough. It's in that kind of
13:01
perfect polar bear swimming
13:04
temperature around January, February.
13:06
So, you I guess I guess if you're a type
13:08
of person, you have it all here,
13:10
right?
13:13
But
13:14
I do find that the sweet spot for
13:16
swimming in the water is September,
13:18
beginning of October and like May and
13:20
into June is the sweet spot where the
13:22
water
13:23
I would agree with that
13:24
is refreshing.
13:25
Yes, definitely. Because you want and
13:27
when you get there's a sweet spot I
13:29
think that happens in the spring which
13:31
is nice where the water's still cold
13:33
enough but the weather's getting hot and
13:35
you're really enjoying the heat coming
13:37
back. Whereas at this time of year,
13:39
we're like, we're so done with the heat
13:41
that we are not like, let's go swimming
13:43
because it's the perfect temperature.
13:45
Whereas in the spring, you're like, oh,
13:47
it's getting we had a really nice hot
13:48
day, but the water's still cold. And
13:50
you're so happy. It's that when that
13:52
happens.
13:53
I have to say, we all woke up this
13:55
morning because of the cold spell, and
13:58
everyone was in a really good mood this
14:00
morning. We all got like sleep and we
14:02
weren't dying. And so, everyone's like,
14:04
"It's happening." I'm like, "We're so
14:06
excited." But like in a month from now,
14:07
I'm going to be complaining that it's
14:09
too cold. So,
14:10
and we will we're just going to complain
14:12
all year round. So, speaking of the
14:14
temperature of the water and being in
14:15
the water, I just also want to point out
14:18
there are no lifeguards in the winter.
14:19
There's no safety flags. So, I think
14:21
that would be expected. I don't think
14:23
anyone would be expecting this to be
14:24
populated with lifeguards all winter,
14:26
but it isn't. So, if you are if you are
14:29
swimming and getting your, you know,
14:31
wets suit on, if you're doing any of
14:33
that in the winter, definitely make sure
14:35
that you have an app that kind of gives
14:37
you some information on the weather and
14:38
the tides and all that type of thing. I
14:41
would imagine some there's some cities
14:43
that have their apps for their beaches,
14:45
but there is an app, and I can't
14:47
remember the name of it, that there is
14:48
an app for people that like to surf. I
14:50
know this is not a super surfing area,
14:52
but we do have little waves and
14:54
sometimes slightly bigger ones. And
14:55
there are people that do like to surf
14:57
here. And there are apps that follow the
14:59
waves and and all of that that you can
15:01
get really good information about all
15:03
sorts of things at the beach. And if
15:04
you're kite surfing, that includes winds
15:07
and everything. And I would imagine if
15:09
you're kite surfing, you're probably not
15:10
that worried about your safety because
15:12
that is a very dangerous sport, I think.
15:14
But you probably still want you probably
15:17
still don't want to die. So you can
15:18
check winds and all these sorts of
15:19
things on these apps and take care of
15:21
yourself,
15:23
right?
15:24
There's no lifeguards there for you.
15:26
Bring a friend,
15:28
right? What I also think is interesting
15:31
about the beaches in winter, I mean, I
15:33
think this happens everywhere, but it is
15:35
it is fun to see when you do get down
15:37
there that the winter time is the time
15:39
to replenish it for the next summer,
15:41
right? Because the erosion of the beach,
15:44
you know, the the sand goes away, the
15:46
trash can. So this is the time they are
15:48
finding they're sourcing sand from
15:50
around the world. And which I thought
15:52
was weird is that they're even getting
15:53
it from the Sahara Desert. They're
15:55
bringing it in and
15:56
they're bringing it from everywhere.
15:57
Yeah. And it is it's the spring when
15:59
they actually start to bring that. So
16:01
that's something that when you get to
16:02
kind of the spring time and you start
16:05
seeing the new sand coming in and
16:06
they're they're raking the beaches and
16:08
putting the new sand on. That's when you
16:10
start feeling like ah the the summer is
16:12
coming. Right.
16:14
Right. So that's kind of an indication
16:15
of that because you will start to see
16:17
some of these beaches that you went to
16:19
in the summer and you they were like
16:20
these beautiful sandy beaches suddenly
16:23
have a few more rocks on them in the
16:25
winter and you're like what is going on?
16:26
How did this beach change? And it's not
16:28
turning into like a rocky beach but it's
16:30
suddenly got more rocks and it's like
16:32
where did they come from? Are people
16:33
throwing rocks on the beach? know the
16:34
the sand is just blowing out and getting
16:37
drifted out into sea and the the waves
16:39
are coming up and getting it and they do
16:40
replenish a lot of the beaches and some
16:43
of the beaches I think like in Barcelona
16:45
were not even beaches they were
16:47
completely manade right
16:49
yeah that was completely man-made for
16:50
the Olympics and now they like spend
16:52
millions every year and I think there's
16:53
even like a protest movement because
16:55
people are like you're wasting our funds
16:56
on something that we never had in the
16:57
first place but yet other Barcelonians
16:59
are like but we love having a beach
17:00
but we love having a beach so why
17:02
wouldn't you want a beach I can't
17:03
imagine that want that debate will ever
17:05
be finalized.
17:06
No.
17:06
But yeah, I mean they bring sand from
17:08
all different places, different
17:10
countries. They they do seabed dredging
17:13
for it, construction sites for reusable
17:15
sand, quaries, rivers, and then also
17:18
like you said, importing sand from other
17:20
countries. And theoretically, I don't
17:23
know if the tides take that sand back to
17:25
those countries and then they pick it up
17:27
again and bring it back. I'm not sure
17:29
exactly what's happening, but
17:30
wait, didn't I remember sitting with
17:32
Jawad and he was trying to have some
17:33
Moroccan pride moment and he was like,
17:35
"All that sand's from Morocco. You come
17:38
every year and you take it from our
17:40
shore and bring it back to yours and we
17:41
take it back through the winter."
17:42
Through the winter, probably. I think I
17:44
mean I think it's definitely a it's an
17:46
agreement that everybody has and it's
17:48
beautiful sand that comes. So, let's
17:50
just say since it's such beautiful sand,
17:51
I'm sure it does come from Morocco.
17:53
It it is be it is like powder. It's like
17:56
powdered sugar. It's I do I do love it.
18:00
And to be clear, they're not putting
18:02
sand on rocky beaches. I mean, there are
18:04
rocky beaches that people love and they
18:06
go to the rocky beaches, but there are
18:08
sandy beaches that just need a little
18:10
extra love and that's where this extra
18:12
sand gets put on top.
18:13
Agreed. Well, I think that wraps up our
18:15
beaches of winter. What do you think, D?
18:17
I think it does. I'm very excited to get
18:19
down there and enjoy it in the cooler
18:20
weather. So, until our next praco.
18:23
Until then, actually, until our next
18:25
long episode as well.
18:26
That too. Okay, bye.
18:28
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18:33
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19:14
[Music]