Moments in Xàbia

Reflecting on life is part of this third third. We are so fortunate. In the moment, we are enjoying the fruits of years of labors. We never fail to appreciate and be grateful for our good fortune. We do not have much, but we have enough.

We must keep our grounding in this gratitude, because the events of these last few weeks, the culmination of decades of work by the greedy, have certainly given us opportunity to exercise what the Stoic thinkers call negative visualization. Imagining a world where we do not have what we enjoy today is part of everyday life now. But for today, we have life, health, and enough resources to do simple things.

Simple things like a trip to Xàbia to take in this ancient fishing town that is today more about retirement and vacationing. Our friend Les very generously offered to drive us down with Agatha and Harper. As many of you know, Agatha is not a fan of traveling. We thought to spend a few days with the dogs in Melissa’s home so they could be more used to it when we depart for a few weeks. They love Melissa, so this should all work out well.

This also gave us an opportunity to get to know this town in the ancient kingdom of Valencia. Xàbia is an ancient town with archeological remains from the Roman period, then Arab governance from the 8th century, and finally absorbed into the Christian rule after the conquest of Jaume I of Aragon in the 13th century. The church of Saint Bartholomew was a particularly interesting one for its use of fortifications as it was used both as a fort and a place of worship as the town regularly defended itself from pirates.

Today, it is three sections. The Arenal is where the arena or sand is found. This section of artificial beach is clearly very focused on holidays and retirement. The Port is the second section and this is still an active fishing port. The best part, for this writer, is the old pueblo on the hill with its twisting streets, ancient buildings, and beautiful plazas. We were particularly taken with the lovely people we encountered. The pueblo is very local and while the Arenal could be lifted out of any seaside holiday destination, the old pueblo of Xàbia is clearly very Valencian Spanish.