7/30/2023 0 Comments Strolling along the seashore![]() ![]() A key feature of eating in contemporary Spain, indeed, is that everything is a little late (lunch would be 2pm and dinner can be served at 9pm or after that) and a little slow at once. Or so says the country’s official tourism promo-video, launched in 2010. “No necesito fast, necesito food” (“I do not need fast, I need food”). Join me in this stroll, then, along the Iberian shorelines - at our own pace. Rather than debriefing everything in dry, academic writing (please don’t get me wrong here: I enjoy academic writing as well, but thanks to the nature of the Iberian Grant, I can choose the creative option here), I will be alluding to the ocean scene as a visual symbol that will guide us through this brief journey of rumination: one that reconstructs, deconstructs, and re-reconstructs the day-to-day findings that could otherwise become fleeting memories so readily. Sounds like quite a mouthful? Well, literally, I was there to get a ‘taste’ of Spain.Īs I reflect on this trip and piece together memories of my three main sites (Cádiz, San Sebastián, and Barcelona: despite how different these places surely are, they share one commonality at least - the ocean) along with places I passed by but did not get to explore in more depth this time (including Valencia, Cáceres, Salamanca, and Bilbao), I saw some interesting parallels between the ocean image and my findings. Cádiz was the starting point for one of my college-funded independent academic research projects, for which I investigated the country’s gastronomic evolution in relation to its shifting regional and national identities as well as external influences such as globalisation. ![]() After all, I was not in Spain purely for the sake of admiring its magnificent seashores this summer. Simultaneously, beaches provide a perfect setting to ruminate. ![]() Beaches are summer escapes, meant to be relaxing and fun: to that I concur whole-heartedly as a fan of building sand volcanoes, floating in the water while the waves push and pull me up and down with the magic of gravity, reading a book with a pair of sunglasses on, etc. Yet, the picture that lingers on in my mind is a little more complex, and symbolic to a certain degree. That precious Andalusian beach scene that I just painted for you is yearned for by many: in fact, the very image of it is gold. Playful yet graceful as she is, the ocean never forgets to alters her colours, getting lighter and lighter from the brilliant shades of blues to a mild form of whiteness, as she approaches the land. This kiss must have been planted with much anticipation, for they say that the water is relatively cold here because across the ocean, you will not find land again until you reach all the way to Antarctica. In fact, my favourite route is parallel to the ever-shifting intersection points - parabolas, though often much more unruly in a way that would be mathematically difficult to model, perhaps - where the ocean kisses the land. I enjoy these early morning strolls across Victoria Beach. The sandy beaches extend their extremities there, flat, smooth, free from footprints or any other tell-tale traces of prior visitors who had claimed their own presence in the most ancient town of Western Europe over the course of centuries - as if unexplored… You tilt your head slightly, feel your long hair lifting and swinging in harmony with the 7:00 AM breeze, and admire the tranquil Cádiz seashores. Another step forward with your right foot, and you experience a marvelous balance. Feel that delicate texture embracing your foot with such warmth and subtle sounds of acceptance. ![]() Oh, no flip flops from this point on, please. Take one step forward with your left foot - a small step suffices. ![]()
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