Sunday, 5th February: moved to new digs in the El Carmen part of the old town. The check-in was handled remotely – a first for me: on arrival outside I called the AirBnB host who opened the door lock via a phone app, and the keys were waiting inside – very slick. Comfortable, equipped with all the essentials, strong heating – useful today as it’s colder and has rained – though rather gloomy inside, with the only view of the sky being from the kitchen, which overlooks some sort of abandoned archaeological site, and making it a stretch to describe it on AirBnB as a “Renaissance gem”. So, not a huge deal, but a bit of a disappointment.
It turned out that a well-known jazz club was very close by, and I went there with Javier to see the American tenor player Scott Hamilton who was performing with a local rhythm section. He’s been a presence on the international stage for many years and, while not a leading figure, has appeared on over a hundred recordings, both under his own name and with others. His style is mainstream, deriving more from Lester Young and Stan Getz, rather than the Charlie Parker or Coltrane tradition – melodic and lyrical, mainly playing standards: Autumn Leaves, Caravan, … Not ground-breaking but very accomplished. It was also a treat to enjoy a gig in a small venue, sitting close to the band.
17th February: Birding La Mancha
A trip inland towards Albacete with Virgilio. This is his Trip Report. We found two of the target birds, Little and Great Bustards, fairly quickly, thanks to his local knowledge. In spite of continuing issues with the new camera I managed to get some flight shots.
They arrived late on Friday and checked into their AirBnB, just around the corner from mine. On the Saturday morning they got bikes from one of the many rental shops, then we rode down to the Central Market, stopping for chocolate and churros on the way. The dozens of traders are mixed together, with the spectacular fish and seafood section along one side.
Sunday, 26th Feb: I called on them around 8:30 for a run along the Turia, 2.5km there, 2.5k back. After breakfast in the nearby back-street café we rode down the Turia as far as the harbour, marina, and beach. Their rental bikes were due back at 1pm, after which we planned to see the opening event of the month-long Fallas festival, called the mascletà (from the official tourist website: “The city vibrates every day with the traditional mascletà, a concert of explosions of gunpowder with a unique sound that takes place daily at 2.00 p.m. in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.”) However, as we were running a few minutes late we found ourselves wading through crowds of people coming the other way, as it turned out that the mascletà only lasts (a deafening) ten minutes!
Hastily recalibrating, we went instead to lunch in the small square in another part of the labyrinthine old town where I stayed last year and had a relaxed meal of calamares, papatas bravas, and chipirones tapas. Perhaps worth adding that here, tapas are plates rather than small portioned ns, so sharing works fine.
Monday, 27th February
Went over to meet Alan and his children Nael and Lola in Patreix, where the final finishing touches are being made to his impressive atelier. He and I go back a long way to Holland.
Tuesday, 28th February: Heaved my 19.5kg bag into a taxi for the airport for a late morning Ryanair flight. Michael met me at Bristol airport and, after lunch in a newly discovered greasy spoon in Knowle, he dropped me off at Temple Meads station for the train to Abergavenny, where Elaine picked me up for the last miles home.
RB's journal 