My Life in Valencia

Every semester at Berklee we offer to take the undergraduate students on two different day excursions in the area; the purpose being to get them to get out of their normal day-to-day and visit something in or around Valencia that they wouldn’t otherwise do on their own. It also is an opportunity for them to bond with each other, creating a sense of community and allowing them to meet some new friends. Our first excursion this semester was to the Albufera, the home of Paella (see an earlier post from a year and a half ago). We had a nice day together exploring the Albufera and even got to see some flamingos who were migrating south (it was hard to get good photos which is why I didn’t post). Yesterday was our second excursion-we visited the Caves of San José and the town of Sagunto. I think it has been my favourite one we have done so far with our students. While I have been to Sagunto before, I never have been to the Caves and I have to say that was a very special treat. Both lie northeast along the coast of Valencia and are a short bus ride away.

The Caves of San Jose are home to the longest navigable underground river in all of Europe. The only way to access them is by boat. The whole river is 2,750 meters (about 1.7 miles) long of which about only a little over 1000 meters (approximately a little less than .75 miles) is open to tourists-800 meters are accessed by boat and then 250 meters are on foot. The water is fresh water and, once treated, is drinkable. I believe it is also the water source for the surrounding town/community. While I have visited other caves before, I have to say, visiting the Caves of San Jose was quite unique and special-even magical. The tour takes about 40 minutes. We started in small row boats of about a dozen people navigated by professionals working for the caves. Most of the trip goes through long narrow tunnels in which you need to bend low to make sure you don’t hit your head on one of the low hanging rock formations or stalactites. It’s actually the reason you can’t take photos for a good portion of the cave because doing so would either result in a head injury or loss of a phone/camera to get that must have selfie. It’s unbelievably peaceful and the water is a beautiful chalky yet crystal clear blue. Bats used to inhabit the cave but now the only life that lives in the water is a very small shrimp-like crustacean which you can’t see. The temperature of the caves is a comfortable 20 degrees celsius (68 Fahrenheit) all year round which makes coming to see the caves all year round quite pleasant. After about a half hour of touring these snake like tunnels we end up in a beautiful open lagoon where you are treated to a beautiful light show and, if you are lucky, some beautiful singing as well. The acoustics are such that we are encouraged to sing and enjoy the beautiful sounds. Below are photos and video clips of our trip through the caves, including a video clip of about 30 Berklee students singing John Legend’s All of Me. Gotta love being with music students!

After the caves, we went to Sagunto, a town about 30 mins up the coast from Valencia. I have been there twice before-the first time with my mom, Godson Will, and Jane De Guzman, a close family friend. It is a really interesting town dating as far back as the 5th century BC. Walking through the old part of the city you can see Iberian, roman, muslim, and medieval influences. There is a Roman theater that is still used today for Sagunto’s summer theatre festival, and at the top of the hill there is the Sagunto castle, the remains of a vast fortress dating back 2000 years. Although it is quite a climb to the top, the views of Sagunto, the port of Sagunto and beyond are breathtaking. We didn’t have much time to roam around a lot-one could spend all day wandering around the fortress. Regardless I was still able to get some amazing photos. Since I never blogged about my first visit with my mom, I have included some photos from our visit then as well.

All in all a great day with the students and a wonderful reminder to me that it really is worth venturing out beyond Valencia!