Occupations and reputations.

When we were kids, my siblings and I used to pester our father to tell us what his first jobs had been. Well, there was the job on a farm, where he had special responsibility: taking the lame ducks to the toilet. Noooo! Really? OK, there was the factory where he had to carry the smoke out in wheelbarrows. Aaaaagh! And a whole string of other ridiculous answers until we gave in, defeated! (In fact he began an apprenticeship at a local printing company, went off to spend the second world war as a sailor, returned to complete his apprenticeship and worked for the same firm until he retired. That's a story you don't here often nowadays!) 

I was reminded of my dad's silly jobs this morning when I saw a bloke on the beach with one of those blowers that people use to blow leaves off their drive and into their neighbours' gardens. He was blowing sand off the boardwalks! It looked like one of those occupations that could go on for ever, apparently pointlessly. 

On reflection it's almost certainly an essential job. Otherwise the boardwalks might just disappear under the sand and became mini sand dunes. And on the really hot days those boardwalks are vital. The sand gets so hot you simply cannot walk on it. On the whole they do a good job of keeping the beach pretty pristine. No litter to speak of. And the road cleaners are out early along the prom. Tourism is a big business and needs maintaining. On the beach they are gearing up. The pop-up beach football stadium is almost complete: a kind of slot together set of scaffolding that is turning into ranks of seats. The rows of sun loungers, complete with sun umbrellas, for rent have not yet appeared but I fully expect them to do so by tomorrow or Sunday. It's almost July. Time to get ready for the high season! 

We once overheard somebody describing Sanxenxo as the "Marbella of the North". Not a bad comparison. Certainly it's not Benidorm or Torremolinos, thank heavens! It may not have quite so many expensive boats as there are in Marbella but there is still a prodigious amount of money moored down in the harbour. The working port with the fish market hall, the "lonja" or "lonxa", depending on whether you favour Castilian or Galician Spanish spelling, is located along the coast in Porto Novo. Which, nonetheless, is also a very nice place and has a lovely beach. 

Of course, the Marbella of the North doesn't always have the weather of its Southern cousin. Today, like yesterday, began a little grey. People were telling me the water in the pool was freezing - !está helada" - but I disagreed. 

And the sun came out properly not long after lunch!