La Playa del Postiquet

Every morning in Santa Fe I walk two miles on the RailTrail, the broad dirt path that runs through open land right by our house. I miss that long walk in the fresh air each morning I am away. Here, Dana planned a walking route for me through the neighborhood to Postiquet Beach. Postiquet is the big beach running along the coast of the city of Alicante.

The promenade is a broad stone walkway, paralleling the shore and lined with wooden benches facing the sea. About 30 feet across, it runs between a narrow green parkway and a wide, wide expanse of sand then the surf. From the prominade the view is open all the way to the horizon. The water is crystal clear and on a bluesky day the water grades from pale to deep, deep blue, sparkling in the sun’s reflection.

Every day I walk I see delightful stories. Today I see two men in their 70s sitting on a bench in bathing suits, one with a towel wrapped around his ample waist. Each has their own watering can, chatting away washing the sand off their feet. The years of friendship are palpable.

A little girl at the top of a 20 foot high jungle gym is standing in a rubber basket. I watch her confident climb down, swinging on ropes and crossbeams. I am apprehensive. She is not.

Five ladies in puffer jackets are walking fast in a tight gaggle, conversing with emphatic animation.

On a bench there is an old man with his old dog cradled in his arms. The dog is deeply asleep in the warm sun.

Women jog past, refreshing in the confidence of their bodies. A young man balances on his hands on two leather covered pedestals. People just walk around him.

I guess whether people are local or tourists. In general, locals wear more layers during the day and add or subtract depending on the temperature, wind and moisture. Tourists are in bathing suits, sundresses and muscle tees regardless of the temperature. Some are pushing their roller bags, squeezing in the last warm morning before getting on the plane.

And then there are the cafes lining the promenade. Espresso coffee drinkers with their ubiquitous glasses of water, in wicker beach chairs line up facing the sea. Some with eyes closed, others watching the strollers. And there two committed beer drinkers.

On the beach side of the walk a swimmer, way, way, way out is doing laps. Closer to shore are the toe dabblers. Older couples, darkly tan, are already in their regular folding chairs settling down for the day. Young families are here, their kids running around deliriously without bathing suits.

A large group of men and women are running in the sand doing cartwheels randomly. Some are experts, some are amateurs just collapsing and rolling around. People are watching, smiling at the joyful energy.

As I reach home I see the restaurant in front of the Basilica is putting out umbrellas and tables with little pots of yellow flowers. The beginning of the day in Alicante.