natjtan June was hot hot this year. So hot The Simpsons created a meme. This summer is your coldest summer of the rest of you life. Climate change is here.
I like the heat so for me anything up to 33C I’m cool. A 33C humid hot. Humidity makes everything hotter than it feels and there’s not much you can do. I avoid AC but like it in shops (I’m not paying!). I avoid using it as polar bears need their cold winters. Air conditioning pumps out hot air warming up the atmosphere which leads to polar ice caps melting and sea ice not forming. This is bad news for polar bears, seals who rely on sea ice. At home I have a fan, sleep on towels (a Reddit tip I found. I was okay, lets try. I think it’s to soak up the sweat more sleeping. I also didn’t ruin the bedsheets with my after sun butter. I can’t sleep with any covers anyway in the summer). The only way to cool off is a dip in the sea. I looked forward to a dip so much each day my body was craving it if I was able to go. A cold shower doesn’t have the same effect.
Mid June I met a little lady who I was unsure if to adopt. Thanks to diving without equalising properly, having my snorkel strap too tight, I woke up in the middle of the night with a bad headache that lasted all of the next day. The pain was were the band was, my eyes hurt, I had no appetite. I was wiped out. If I don’t workout or run, I’m ill. I didn’t run and there was no way I was going even for a dip or doing anything. Late afternoon I felt better and up for a bike ride. I’m so glad I did ending up at a new pet shop in El Born deciding after to walk to another shop. Along the way I found a local cat rescue organisation that did (sadly now closed) a t-shirt shop dedicated to cat design t-shirts. The rest of the story is here, and that cat association put my mind at ease being vegan and having cats. I said yes to the kitten!
I failed growing balcony radishes. I planted them too close together to get any size. It’s okay. They were still tasty and I found out you can eat radish leaves so little was wasted.
I was back in the water the following day after being wiped out. Everything melts away in the sea.
Bakery shop display in El Born
Graffiti throughout the city
Plane tree flowers left carpets of yellow
Baby flamingo chicks at Barcelona Zoo were growing up
As were the prairie dogs
Looking for a new rucksack I discovered a Barcelona I didn’t know. El Corte Ingles, Portal de l’Àngel restaurant has the most amazing rooftop views of the older parts of the city. It’s completely free, no need to buy a drink or snack.
Primavera Sound finished leaving behind so much trash. To make up for 2 years of no Primavera Sound, it was spread over 2 weekends instead of 1 and spread onto the quieter beaches around Port Forum. If you live nearby you just have to accept it the noise pollution until about 06.00. Thankfully they positioned the stages toward the sea instead on inland like usual which helped reduce noise pollution. To accommodate the extra stages the admin, kitchens, security offices had to be placed elsewhere in a disused car park near Diagonal Mar. When those companies cleared out they left so much trash! Crates of soda bottles, rolls of cash desk receipts, plastic notices, the list goes on. The council cleaners were the ones that cleaned it up with several trucks that took all day (how do I know? I ran past and later cycled past!)
A family of sparrow took up resident on the beach I visit. I think their nest was in the lifeguard tower. This beach is quieter than other BCN beaches I think purely because of it’s access. It was nice hearing them every now and then during the summer.
Cray fish took up residence in Parc de la Ciutadella boating lake.
Visiting ibis at Barcelona Zoo. I think I go too often. No joke, seriously I do. It’s my escape place.
Ice lolly moulds were one of the best buys of the summer. I used store purchased fresh juice and happily saved pennies on ice lollies!
Bees and wasps were out
Rainy skies left puddles for birds to bath and drink from.
Old factory signs in El Born. I only noticed as the light was good. The alleys in the El Born can be so narrow you don’t notice shop signs.
Mullets. As much as possible I was in the sea! Visiting this world is so brief in the summer I tried to go as much as I could.
Thank your stopping by!