Feria, Fiestas y Trabajo

Summer is almost over, but hot weather and humidity still do not want to go away. Climate has not been mild this year even in this area where it is naturally warmer than normal. In fact we reached some very hight temperatures and even if I love the heat I have to admit I have suffered from this too.

By now you should know that since the end of May I have been involved in two different jobs. The first, which I started in June 2021, as an assistant cook in the Italian restaurant GINOS, and now I have also been hired with an 8 hours contract a week at "La Cuarta Planta", a place in the center of Almeria where I prepare cakes to sell in their café.

Organizing my hours of work is not easy. At the restaurant the shifts change every week and based on these I decide when and what to prepare at the other place. For this reason I find it hard to take my mind off work and I can hardly manage to leave out more than one day off a week. The exceptional heat of this summer did not help me, and I admit I had a difficult couple of months. I miss a vacation. And although I live almost in front of the beach, I have often felt so tired in my free half days that I don't even want to go there. Two weeks ago I also suffered from severe sinusitis which blocked me for a couple of days and it took me over a week to recover.

Maybe because in the last few days we finally had a break from the heat, maybe because of the supplements I took, or because summer is ending and slowly people's lives are going back to its regular routine, but I am finally starting to feel better and more full of energy. I know I haven't talked about my new job yet. Initially I had a lot of expectations but they didn't come true. I had to collide with the reality of the new restaurant and rework things a little. Maybe that's also why I feel more serene now, because I'm starting to understand what I'm really dealing with. For this reason I reserve the right to talk about this topic later in another post.

Instead, I wanted to spend a few words to tell you about the last week's event, the Feria! La Feria (which could be translated as fair) is a typical festivity in Andalusia, it is like a big town festival, every city has one but often they are also found in smaller villages. Here in Almeria the Feria takes place every third week of August in honor of its saint patron of the city, the Virgin of the Sea, and has its original characteristics that distinguish it from those of other cities. During this week most of the companies and businesses in the center close and people get down to the streets and clubs to have fun and celebrate. There are events for everyone!

The fair is divided into two main parts: the "Feria del Mediodía" which takes place in the "Paseo" in the center and on the main street during the day, and then the night party that begins between 20 and 21 in the evening and continues until 4 or 5 in the morning in a large open space located just outside the city center, near the stadium, which is called "Recinto Ferial". During the day, the most cultural events take place and it is much more likely to see women and girls dressed in the typical “traje de flamenca”, among colors, flowers, large flounces, ruffles and showy earrings. You can eat and drink, but above all you can dance and celebrate together with relatives and friends. And then there are many other events that are organized by all the various clubs and restaurants. Concerts, but also gastronomic showcooking, play activities for children, processions and other religious meetings or exhibitions such as the large exhibition of handcrafted ceramics. The Feria is also an important moment on a musical level. In fact, every year a famous festival is held that lasts a few days, the "Cooltural Fest" which brings together illustrious names of contemporary music but also of the past to meet everyone's musical tastes. In short, there are so many things to do and see that you could hardly name them all. I wrote down a few that I missed this year...at least next year I will have something new to tell!

But let's go on talking about the last day of celebration. Kathyuska and I met at the bus station to reach the festival area through a special dedicated line. When we arrived at our destination, a world of lights and music opened up before our eyes. There are various entrances, but at the main one there is the "portada" or a gigantic portal with three arches all surrounded and illuminated by lights. Each Feria has one. The most famous is the portada of the “Feria de Abril” in Seville, which changes its design every year based on who wins a special competition. In Almeria, however, as in most other cities, it is always the same. The first evening of the fair it is inaugurated with a ceremony called "alumbrao" where it is turned on and remain so until the end of the week.

Once you get there, the first thing to do is obviously eat. There are food places at every corner, the classic ones of festivals with sandwiches, kebabs, chips, fried things, but also more traditional food stations where they sell grilled meat and fish, rice and paella, tapas and so on. I chose the "patata asada", a whole big potato cooked in the grill, cut in half, hollowed out and filled with sauces, tuna, vegetables, carrot salad and pickled turnips, olives, corn...and this is more or less what I remember. Eating potatoes like this here is a tradition that began when you are a child and I absolutely wanted to try it. It is very good, less heavy than I imagined, but for next year I promised myself that I will choose a mixed grill platter because I saw one that seemed incredibly good!

After dinner we keep on walking. In addition to food stations there are two other important things: the "casetas" and the rides! The casetas are nothing more than installations where you can eat, dance or attend different types of events and concerts inside. Some are public, sponsored by the city Hall, political parties or cultural associations, but most are just places to drink and dance. In short, mini discos. To warm up the atmosphere a little, Kathy and I went to the "caseta de los mayores" as we have renamed it, that is the municipal one for the old people. In a more traditional Andalusian style, on stage a band played songs from the past. Even a lady dressed as Raffaella Carrà performed one of her most famous songs and we obviously dance together with the couples of grandparents and the middle-aged ladies. And we had a lot of fun! Shortly after, another friend joined us so we changed genres and entered one of the casetas where admission was free. We grabbed a Coke at the counter and sat in a corner dancing. We stayed there for more than ne hour. It was fun but at one point the raggaeton always had the same rhythm and we got bored.

So we went out and I proposed to take a ride on a carousel. I grew up going to Gardaland and got used to it but since the others weren't as brave we ended up choosing a roller coaster that didn't look too scary. Kathy and I went up for 6 euros each. Very, very much. After all, it is known that the pandemic has had a very negative impact on the amusement rides who in recent years must have lost a lot of earnings. So we allowed ourselves a lap, but I didn't expect such an abrupt ride. Blue Tornado in comparison runs smooth as oil and now I have two nice bruises on my thighs but oh well...we had to try!

To end the night we took a walk, took some photos and bought some churros. It was nearly three in the morning and the area was still full of people. And I'm not talking about drunk young people, but about people of all kinds. Families with small children who still went on the rides at that time, old people, groups of kids. It might have seemed like four in the afternoon! And this is the beauty of the Feria! It is a party for everyone, where you no longer pay attention to your watch (or wallet) and go there just to have fun and have a good time.

I had a very good time too, in a moment where I really needed to take my mind off work and all the other things that worry me. Indeed, the whole day was perfect because in the morning we went also to the beach. The sea was so clear and crystalline that it looked like a swimming pool. I got a little tan again under the hot sun of the end of August, which in the afternoon made me take a nap for more than one hour!! And then the Feria in the evening. Eating, dancing and having fun without worries until four in the morning, when I went to sleep as the church meetings were waiting for us the next day! I really needed to have fun and last Saturday was a perfect day, almost a real vacation!

Today is already September and I feel more relaxed. Here it is said that summer in Almeria ends when the Feria ends. A little bit true; people get back to their routine and they already start to think first about Halloween and then about Christmas. I wish to still be able to take advantage of these next hot weeks to go to the beach, visit something and who knows maybe even do a few weekends out of town before autumn takes over. (Although warm weather here lasts almost until the end of October). There are new challenges and new adventures ahead of me and now I feel calmer and ready to face them with the right attitude!