HOLA!
Well, I officially survived my first natural disaster in Spain. I woke up this morning to palm trees blowing so much that the palm leaves were touching the ground... and these trees are taller than the eight story building I live in. I can see the sea from my house, and the water was crazy, rocking boats everywhere. There was a sandstorm and hurricane like conditions right outside my house. It was weird, I could feel the wind through the walls and windows of our apartment, even though nothing was open. It was so strong it was somehow coming through, but somehow things in the apartment were blowing around. I think that the conditions were probably the worst where we live, because we live basically on the ocean.

So, I decided to venture into the storm, being the adventurous girl that I am. I took a trip to the post office, and got lost, mostly because the air was blowing in my face so much and it was so windy I could not stop crying. Plus, I kept getting hit on my legs by palm tree leaves. I finally got to the post office and realized that it was a place where they handle money orders. It is called " Correos" which means "mail" but I went in and there were no stamps, no envelops, so sorry everyone, no postcards quite yet.

I headed back to our apartment, where I was supposed to leave with mi madre and head to her daughter and her husbands house, the people with the adorable kids, Kay and Claudia. I just recently found out that her name is not Gloria, but instead Claudia.. if you say them out loud with a thick spanish accent you will understand why I thought it was Gloria. Maria-Carmen was a little late to pick us up, due to the viento (wind) and all the debris everywhere. When we got to their house we had an awesome lunch of roasted chicken and potatoes, with pan (bread) and fresh veggies all put together in a salad. I spent the afternoon doing a 1000 piece puzzle with Maria-Carmen and Frank, while the kids and mi madre napped. It was very relaxing, especially because we were working on the puzzle next to a window with an outstanding view. We were able to see Benidorm, Villajoisa, Playa San Juan, and tallest mountain in all of Alicante. The kids eventually woke up from their naps, and Frank made us all crepes with nutella!! All of a sudden Claudia ran to the window and started saying (in Spanish of course), look at that mountain, it´s all red. So we all ran over to the window and looked outside. At this point, the sun had set and sure enough we saw a bright red, glowing mountain in the distance. We turned on the news and found out that the mountain was on fire, probably from someone throwing a cigarrette bud on the ground and the wind picking it up. Frank explained how Alicante has not had rain in a month, so these dry and windy conditions are just right for forest fires. We looked with binoculars and were able to see all the firetrucks and people at the bottom, who were obviously not able to do much to help the fire from spreading.
On the way home, I saw all the branches from the palm trees, and all the trash that had blown everywhere. It is kind of sad looking right now. I asked Frank if it is common to see this bad of wind storms here and he said in the past 12 years he has lived here, there has only been one worst than this, and a hurricane actually touched down.
At this point at night the winds have died down, and I am very thankful that I never felt unsafe. I miss and love everyone! Have a great day!

Sarah