My Life in Valencia

The last three weeks since I have been back in Valencia have been quite busy and mostly work-focused. We welcomed just under 300 students-a little more than half as study abroad/undergraduate students, the rest graduate students. With more students than we have had since before the pandemic and a slew of new people (including myself) it has been a big learning curve for all of us and not without its bumps in the road. It’s also been very energizing and fun, hosting our first Lago de Conciertos of the season and taking the undergraduates out on their first excursion-a sunset catamaran cruise. Still, long days of work have not given me a lot of opportunity to get out and do things or meet people. Hopefully things will die down soon and I’ll be able to get out a lot more. In the meantime though, this weekend I was determined to get outside the city for a little beach time and R & R. It was a nice and needed getaway, even for just a few hours.

My destinations? El Saler and El Palmar…two small “towns” just outside of Valencia reachable by the city bus. I originally was just going to go to el Saler, but I missed my bus stop so decided to make the most of it and see el Palmar. Both towns are part of the Albufera de Valencia-a natural park that is a fresh water lagoon and estuary known for its growing of rice. El Saler is known for its beach…just outside Valencia it has wide extensive sandy beaches, similar to the ones in Valencia but much more natural and less developed.

El Palmar is in the heart of the Albufera surrounded by canals and filled with restaurants known for their seafood and Paella and is actually the origins of Vallencian cuisine. You can take a boat ride through the canals (we took one back in May for a staff/faculty retreat) and enjoy the natural beauty. I didn’t do a boat ride this time but I did have lunch and walk around the town. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to try the Paella….Paella and most of the rice dishes and menus are geared for 2 + people so I wasn’t able to partake. But I was able to enjoy some shrimp and garlic and wander around the beautiful lagoons/canals. I did meet a couple from Madrid who pointed out the little crabs in the rice fields. Apparently these crabs (cangrejos) are endangered and you are not allowed to fish for them. I also learned that due to the weather this year, the rice which is usually harvested in September won’t be harvested until probably October. Although I did enjoy my time here I definitely want to explore more the fields and canals by bike and come back with friends and family to really experience the delicious food. But for a short afternoon this was a nice introduction to a beautiful area.

I ended the day in El Saler, taking a lovely afternoon nap while I listened to the crashing waves and a nice walk along the water. No swimming this time though…as you will see through my pictures there were also jellyfish so although people were swimming I decided to avoid the water this time. Still, a relaxing day and just enough to recharge my batteries. Next weekend I will be going with the study abroad students to a Paella cooking workshop so I will be sure to take pics and tell you all about it!