A Few Days in Borriana
For some time now I’ve had a standing invitation to Sagrario’s family home in Borriana, which I may have mentioned in an earlier post. It looked for a long time as if a visit just wasn’t going to happen; somehow life got busy with stuff and the stars weren’t lining up. Well, I am happy to report that the stars did, in fact, align, and I was able to join Sagrario for a few days while it was her turn to care for her father. I came along to keep her company and, at the same time, enable some tennis watching with my magic VPN. I also got to experience a small(ish) town by the sea.
We left València on Wednesday night, just as the sun was setting. Borriana (or Burriana in Spanish) is just south of Castellón de la Plana, the capital of the Castellón province. It isn’t terribly far, not quite an hour from València and about 20 minutes from Castellón. It is split between Borriana Platja (Beach) and Borriana Poble (Town) and connected by a two kilometre road and walkway, a walkway that is usually quite busy with people doing their daily exercise or walking their dogs. Sagrario’s family home is, very conveniently, in the Playa part and only steps from the marina. By the way, when I say “Sagrario’s family home” I do man the whole building: it’s a three-storey, three-unit structure, with each floor belonging to: 1-Sagrario’s Dad; 2-Sagrario’s sister, Julia; and 3-Sagrario’s brother whose name always escapes me though it’s probably Jose because that’s his dad’s name, though I could be wrong. The brother doesn’t live there, however, his ex-wife does.
Because Don Jose has Alzheimer’s, he needs 24-hour care which he used to get, at least partially, at a day centre, but Covid changed all that and now Sagrario and Julia split time caring for their father equally, a week at a time, and the sister-in-law helps out occasionally. The task isn’t easy, that’s for sure, but both sisters are very dedicated to their dad and it shows.
On the first day we decided to head to the marina for breakfast, to which Don Jose did quite well walking while pushing his wheelchair. I was very impressed with the distance he walked and clearly enjoyed. I’m told he really likes walking and often goes great distances, something that should tire him out to help him sleep. Alas, that is not the case most nights. The man has energy to spare, that’s for sure, to the chagrin of his caretakers. But I digress. The place we went to is the Restaurante Naútico Burriana, and, it appears, the meeting place of everyone and anyone in the neighbourhood, including Julia and her friends. I’m not terribly surprised that the place is popular: they have very good food, not to mention a great view.
This view is what we went to explore, or, more to the point, the port of Borriana. Besides all the other boats there, one that stood out was the Sea-Watch 4, a Médecins Sans Frontières rescue ship. I wasn’t sure what she was doing there, in for repairs, perhaps, but, as it turns out, Borriana is her home base in the Mediterranean. The MSF folks may have been the only other foreigners in Borriana at the time; according to Sagrario, the town isn’t very touristy at all, and I may have been one of a handful of tourists (because that was what I was for a change) visiting now. I’m not sure if that made me feel special or odd 😎.
After the port tour, we headed back towards the house since tennis was going to start soon. Roberto Bautista Agut, a very close friend of Sagrario’s (actually, the son of her best friend) was going to be playing in the ATP250 Doha tournament. However, on the way back we noticed a For Sale sign on an apartment facing the port and on a whim Sagrario decided we should call and find out if we could see it. Turns out we could, so about half an hour later, there we were, going up to the 6th floor to take a look at a very affordable place with a magnificent view. Actually, the most magnificent thing about it was the balcony, which was very large in front and wrapping around the whole side of the building as well. Unfortunately, the inside wasn’t nearly as exciting, which was a disappointment: the layout was very long and skinny, with low ceilings, and even after a total renovation, I just don’t think it would work well. At least not if one had to pay the price asked. Later we found out that the apartment has been on a market for a long time so I’m sure a better deal could be struck … including the really cool garage that wasn’t part of the price but could be bundled in. If I ever think of moving to Borriana, I may have to keep this place in mind. I’m sure it’ll be even cheaper in a year or two. And at the rate places here sell, it could very well be still available in a year or two.
The next day, Friday, we again went on a long walk, this time to the north part of Borriana Platja, along the Avenida Mediterranía, along which sit many interesting homes, some traditional-style for the area, and some quite modern. There is also an amazing house that really stands out: it has a huge lot, and I’m sure an even huger history. And you can stroll around inside it, thanks to modern technology, right here. That is also a way cheaper way to get a glimpse inside without having to look like you can afford the 2.5M€ you’d need to buy this beauty (2024 update: now you can have this beauty for only 1.9M€). There are a few of these homes for sale, and it is interesting to see the range: some are beautifully kept up and look lived in, many are in that “hard to tell” state (i.e. looks somewhat lived in but needs TLC), some are definitely summer homes and since this is not summer yet, they are shuttered and closed for the season, and there are a few that just need a bulldozer to finish the job nature has started.
The next day, Saturday, we decided to tackle the south side of the waterfront. It was interesting to see the difference between this side and the north, where all the fancy homes were. The south side is definitely the “other,” though I actually like it way more, mainly because the sea is right there, across the street, even if, technically, it’s not beachfront. The lots here, too, are mostly very narrow and long, some very long, though many of the houses are right up at the street front, and most are a bit more run down and/or architecturally uninteresting. On the other hand, they are way more affordable as we found out later in the afternoon when Sagrario called a couple of the phone numbers I grabbed from the For Sale signs we saw. Purely out of curiosity, of course, but the results proved to be quite eye-opening. Get this, you can buy an older house with a long narrow lot for a mere 100,000€! The house/lot next door was a bit more expensive but it was also in better condition and larger. Either house you could probably live in if you had to but really I would just tear them down and build something new and cool. Did I mention both these properties are waterfront? It was mind-blowing and I have now spent countless hours in the middle of the night designing the perfect houses to build there. No wonder I sleep so little lately.
We also made a huge mistake not making a reservation for dinner (or, what North Americans consider a late lunch) and came oh so close to having to cook at home again which seems to be anathema to Spaniards, at least on Saturdays. Every single place we tried was already full or fully booked. I also found out that there is this really weird thing about making reservations here: when a restaurant takes your reservation for, say, 3pm, and you arrive at 1:30, there is no way you can use the table reserved for 3pm because what if those people who made a reservation arrived early? They would complain their table isn’t available and get mad. Even though that table wasn’t really theirs yet, was it? So tables just sit there, empty, for hours, while hungry people walk around looking for a quick meal. I don’t get it. It’s not like everyone needs two hours to have a meal 🤨. Fortunately for us, we managed our hunger and patience well, and did get a table at the Restaurante Naútico Burriana, where we ate a couple of times before. This time we tried a couple of very delicious appetizers (mussels and pan-fried artichokes) and the specialty here, fideua de mariscos, which is basically a seafood paella with noodles instead of rice. It was delicious and totally worth the wait. Afterwards we rushed home because Roberto was playing in the semifinals and we had to be there to give him all the virtual support possible. I have to admit watching tennis with Sagrario (and she only watches when Roberto plays) is a hoot; she would probably get thrown out of a live match for all the loud exclamations not only at the end of points, but also in the middle, and, as we all know, that’s a big no-no in the game of tennis, 😉. I had been thinking of returning to València that evening but since Roberto did win, I couldn’t possibly abandon his biggest fan so I stayed one more night.
Sunday is market day in Borriana Platja so we headed there. There is a large open area between the beach and the main road (visible on the left side of the “view from the apartment” photo above) where, every Sunday, the market comes to town. This type of travelling market, where you can buy anything and everything, old and new, is very typical not only in large cities but, perhaps more so, in the smaller towns. There is a fixed schedule and each town or neighbourhood (in a big city) gets visited on a specific day. Borriana gets two days, one for the beach part and another for the main town centre, but I get a feeling that people form all around come here on Sundays because it’s the day everyone has more free time and it’s also a fun thing to do. I was very impressed with the size of this particular feria. Not being interested in buying anything (other than artichokes which cost something like 1.50€/Kg! and not $2.99 each), I had plenty of time to stroll around checking out the offerings and also the people, who were almost as interesting. I spent a lot of time spotting one particular puppy that must have been a Great Dane/something cross (the colouring was wrong for a pure Dane or Mastiff so perhaps a cross with Dogo Argentino?) without looking like I was stalking him. Isn’t he absolutely gorgeous? And he will definitely be a very good big boi one day.
We got back from another long walk just in time for the Doha final but, unfortunately Roberto lost. It wasn’t the finish we both had hoped for but that is tennis for you, some days your guy wins and sometimes your guy loses, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. I am a very pragmatic sports aficionado, what can I say. All in all I had a great time with Sagrario and her Dad, who is a sweetheart, and I enjoyed meeting some of her family who are wonderful too. I really liked Borriana, it is a very inviting town, even if it does think very highly of itself, though I dare say city pride isn’t something to sneeze at, it means that its residents care about it very much and work hard to preserve a way of being that works for them. I also like the total lack of “expats” … unlike many other beach towns, Borriana seems quite free of the species. I’m very grateful for getting a peek at this cool town with such cool people.
In the evening, it was time to go home. The train station is in the next town of Les Alqueries, so Sagrario gave me a lift there and before I knew it I was back in València. Walking back from the train station through Plaza de Ayuntamento at night I realized that both the Ateneo building and the grand water fountain in front of it light up at night in many colours, though why it took me this long to notice that, I do not know. There was also a strange new sculpture in the plaza, a huge hand holding a tiny hat that had a flame coming out of it. This, I found out, was a monument to the yet-again cancelled Fallas, the famous Valencian fire festival. #Tornerem means “we will come back” in Valenciá and I bloody well hope they will come back, because I’m getting a little mad at missing them twice now.
