Día de Nieve

There was something totally unique about the excitement you felt as a kid when you found out that school was canceled due to bad weather. This feeling was especially gratifying when the potential of a Snow Day was known in advance, everyone was speculating, and you couldn’t bear the disappointment of having to go if it mother nature didn't deliver. I know this feeling like only a small population of people do as I grew up in the most oppressive school district in terms of weather cancellations. In Minnesota, it’s normal to have anywhere between two to six "snow days" per year, and school districts even build these into the calendar in advance. However, the Brainerd school district prided itself in keeping the schools open even if the rest of the state had thrown in the towel. I’m not sure why we were so dedicated to risking our lives through blizzards and ice in order to get to school. Nobody was able to focus once they got there anyway. However, I suspect has something to do with our Nordic heritage and the fact that it gave justification to all the giant four-wheel-drive truck owners, who became heroes for a day, plowing driveways and pulling sedans out of ditches.

Arenal Beach

Flash forward to 2017 and I’ve finally escaped the depressing midwest climate!!! I'm living the dream of many in coastal Spain with the Mediterranean sea blocks from my door - and we're having a SNOW DAY. ¡Me cago en el mar!

We knew that an “ola de frío” (cold wave) from Siberia was headed our direction this week and that the temps would drop from averages around 13-15 degrees celsius to around 4 degrees celsius. If anyone here was hoping to see snow, the forecast delivered. We woke up to heavy sleet where we are situated in the northeast of Javea, but white, fluffy snow was falling and staying on the ground across the valley in the Arenal and Cap de La Nau. This I knew from friend's posting pictures on facebook of their kids making snowmen next to the pool.

The last time it is snowed in Javea was in 1983, so this is obviously a very rare event. Watching it unfold surfaced mixed feelings of excitement and disappointment. It is always exciting to witness something historic happen, but snow? Really?!? We came here for the sand, sunshine, and sea, not winter wonderland.

Cabo San Antonio

Inspired by the kids' enthusiasm, we decided to go to the Arenal beach to see the snow and take pictures before we dropped them off at 9 am for school. I sat in the car feeling nostalgic as I watched my husband scraping the snow/sleet from our windshield - almost excessively - and I realized he got lost in a moment of MN snow-removal pride and was showing off his skills. Then it was my turn to show off my years of experience driving in slushy, slippery conditions, which I did with confidence and grace I might add. We arrived in the Arenal and gawked at the snow-covered sandy beach amongst others, then we drove the kids to school. But it was closed...with no prior notification. Well, I guess it's a snow day kids. They celebrated and cheered in the car on the way home while I told them about how it was "When I was young" for there to be a snow day.

Arenal "Sandy" Beach

Eventually, there was a formal notification of the school cancellation - well after school would have started. Happy snow day Javea! Live it up! And then let's get back to normal because snow-covered palm trees are just wrong.

Montgo

Photo shared on FB- The one snow plow in the area?