{"id":205,"date":"2015-07-21T19:48:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T19:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jessicaeblack.wordpress.com\/?p=205"},"modified":"2020-01-25T10:49:27","modified_gmt":"2020-01-25T18:49:27","slug":"sunrise-off-the-coast-of-valencia-spain-july-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jessicaeblack.org\/everythingelse\/2015\/07\/21\/sunrise-off-the-coast-of-valencia-spain-july-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunrise over the Mediterranean: Valencia, Spain, July 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"WP_20150719_07_17_28_Pro\"<\/a>
Sun rising through the clouds over la playa de la Pobla de Farnals, Valencia, 17 July 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


The first time I saw the sunrise over the Mediterranean was in 1989 (possibly 1988). (About me<\/a>) I’m pretty sure it was March of 1989; I had come to my Spanish host family’s beach house with my oldest host brother and two of his friends. \u00a0We’d drive into Valencia every evening and stay until the early hours of the morning, from bar to bar to disco to bar, until ending up, as per tradition, drinking chocolate around 6am. \u00a0Then we’d drive back to Pobla de Farnals<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"predawn<\/a>
predawn horizon 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We’d get up with a lot of talking\u00a0about last night,<\/em> put on bathing suits, and head for the beach. \u00a0It was freezing. \u00a0I’d dig a hole to try to stay out of the wind. \u00a0I’ve got pictures of that too \ud83d\ude09 \u00a0After the beach, we’d go home and cook. \u00a0We had made one run to the supermarket and bought 5 kilos of potatoes, many boxes of pasta, milk (for breakfast), cream, ham, and probably alcohol, because there is wine in my pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lunch was French fries and pasta. \u00a0The pasta was (always) spaghetti a la carbonara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"postdawn<\/a>
postdawn horizon 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


After lunch, nap, and then we’d meet friends from la Pobla; this was even more common once the Palencia friends had gone, and it was just family. \u00a0Lots of Trivial Pursuit happened. \u00a0One of the reasons my Spanish became so good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, back to dawn photography. \u00a0I’ve made a point of dragging myself out of bed to watch the sun rise every time I’ve been here in summer since then. \u00a0Sometimes I’d make it before dawn, and wait until the sun made a long shiny path across the sea towards where I was sitting. \u00a0Other times I’d catch a moment of sunrise and stagger back to bed. \u00a0There are some photos, somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first sunrise over the Mediterranean<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of those days, after everyone else had collapsed into bed (OK I’d collapsed into bed too, but I got up again), I wrapped a blanket around my pajamas, grabbed my camera, and walked to the beach to await the sunrise. \u00a0I took many pictures with 35mm 400ISO film (remember those days?). \u00a0Then I went back to bed and slept until two-ish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still have those pictures, somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My latest sunrise over the Mediterranean<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

On Friday I got up early and walked to the beach with my Lumia 920… A good camera, for a mobile phone, but not nearly as good as that old 35mm camera I used in 1989. \u00a0On the other hand, it has a video camera, and I made a video as the sun came over the horizon, in between shooting stills with various camera settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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