Balls from the sea

Day 39: What better way to start a day than with a visit to the market? This question went through my mind this morning after the alarm clock rang me out of my dreams - by Icke's standards - at an un-Christian hour. Market in El Campello. As soon as the first ringtone sounded, Icke sat upright in bed. Half asleep, I was groping in bed for my glasses when I heard a cheerful “Done!” Armed with a backpack and two shopping bags, my darling stood at the door, smiling and casually looking at the clock. That means: Now dalli dalli.

So we trotted to the market. Two kilometers. With the dogs. We usually rely on Google Maps in such cases, but for some reason that doesn't work for me in this city. And Icke has already used up her data volume (30 GB!) for days. The good lady didn't let that bother her. Practically all Spaniards go to the market with a “Hackenporsche”, a shopping trolley. Icke had spotted an older lady with her “Porsche” and followed her. “Always follow me,” she said. “Rely on me completely.”

We were on the road for about half an hour, the grandma in front of us accelerated hard. Suddenly she stopped and disappeared into a doorway. A sign near the door read: “Dentista.” I don't think I have to translate that. The woman went to the dentist, probably out of habit with her trolley.

Luckily it wasn't far to the market. We had to ask two or three times and then we were there. It was just a small market and dogs were not allowed in the food section. So on the way back we had time for coffee, crepes with Nutella and a scoop of ice cream. The stracciatella here tastes divine!

We walked back along the beach and this is where Emmi got her money's worth. There are thousands of balls on the pebbles. Our little wire-haired dachshund is crazy about balls. Throwing, searching, bringing – she could play that all day long. The balls here – they are officially called sea balls – are almost as big as tennis balls. They form from seaweed that is torn up by the movement of the water and then matted into balls by the waves and currents. Emmi loves these things, perhaps because they are so easy to tear apart. It should be fine with us. She is busy. And supplies are available every day.