Sick in Valencia

 Wednesday, 7 February 2024: I’m coming back to this after a hiatus of several days to try and concentrate my brain on something other than how crappy I’m feeling. I’m pretty sure I have Covid, again. 

It started about a week ago as just a simple head cold, not that bad. But as with the last time I had Covid two years ago, the cold symptoms tailed off after a few days, but the fatigue, the low-grade headaches and chills - and some possibly related, possibly unrelated digestive issues - have lingered. It obviously could be a lot worse. There’s no sore throat or coughing. Nothing in the chest. I just sleep a lot. 

Karen seems to be fine, but then we’re pretty sure she had Covid in England before Christmas, so presumably has good immunity as a result.

In the meantime, we naturally haven’t been doing much. 

Last Friday, before the worst of the fatigue set in, we took the tube down to the City of Arts & Sciences in the evening for an advertised fireworks display. It was the kick-off of preparations for the Fallas Festival. The niñots, miniature versions of the fallas, the giant painted styrofoam and wood tableaus that are displayed at street corners during the festival and burned on the last night, went on display at the Science Museum. There was some kind of inauguration ceremony inside the museum. Then fireworks came afterwards. 

I texted the tourist office and asked what time the fireworks would start. The person who responded told me 7 pm. So we arrived just before 7 and took up a position across from the museum - along with hundreds of others who had evidently been told the same thing. We ended up waiting almost two hours! The inauguration ceremony must have gone on longer than planned. We attended a similar event a few years ago, and the local politicians and festival organisers droned on and on interminably. At least we didn’t have to listen to them this time. But it got colder and colder as we stood there. 

When the fireworks finally came a little before 9, they were pretty spectacular. Worth that  long a wait? Questionable. It’s scary to think how much this city must spend on fireworks, considering this is just the first of several night-time displays over the next month and a half, plus the lunchtime mascletás - organized firecracker volleys that, for reasons known only to the Spanish, draw huge crowds to city hall square daily during the festival week and the week before.

     Another day, we walked down to the Turia park and sat in the sun by the fountains in front of the Palau de la Música and read. I walked up to the music hall and around it and took some pictures, which I’ve tried blending - with limited success.

Palau de la Música

Palau de la Música

     Yesterday, after a good night’s sleep, I made the mistake of thinking I was well enough to do some exercise and went out for a fast walk. I slept much of the rest of the day. I sleep well at night too, but it seems I need even more. 

Today, we had planned to go out for lunch and then to the beach - it’s meant to get up to 22C with full sun. But I’m not sure I’ve got the energy. We’ll see.

Later: We didn’t go out for lunch - maybe tomorrow - but we did go down to the beach. We left it a little late, though, arriving after 4 with not much sun left. We took the tube and tram to get there - just to give the old, sick body a break. We walked the promenade and sat on the retaining wall for a while reading. But then it started to cloud over - it’s supposed to be cloudy tomorrow - and a chilly off-shore wind picked up. So we headed back by the same route. 

Not much of an outing, but something. And I seem to have tolerated it fine.