Location: Valencia to Alfas del Pi, Spain
Good Day – Monday, September 29th
When you get 40 kilometers away from Valencia, in this case it was a little town called Real. And then outside it you get to drive really narrow roads where you can’t oversee the traffic. It’s not wide enough without compromise to pass someone. So it’s really enjoyable driving. But they are generally good enough to not have too many bumps in the road.
Arriving in Valencia
Made it to the edge of Valencia and that’s where there are about 12-story apartment buildings, condominiums, etc. And that’s where I was able to meet up with Scott Perry and his family, which was lots and lots of fun. I’ve known Scott for, I think, more than 15 years from Seattle, where we met through a shared interest in real estate. We used to have meetings for many years where people would just talk about real estate and connect in various ways — and people did.
It was so much fun to catch up again and meet the youngest of his family, who was only a few months old, together with his wife, who is from Colombia. They met in Italy and now live in Spain — that’s just how the world works! We were able to walk around and go for a coffee on this “snow day.”
Snow Day in Valencia
I call it a snow day because, after last year’s floods around Valencia, they had basically closed schools and many other things due to more expected heavy rain. Last night there had been thunder, lightning, and rain, and today — Monday — they were expecting even more. So I was able to meet with Scott’s family, have a great time, and then depart. But for at least the first hour, I was driving in heavy rain that wasn’t expected. It turns out some cars got flooded again. Thankfully, nobody died this time, but it’s still not a comfortable thing to deal with when it happens.
Heading to Alfas del Pi
Anyway, I made my way to Alfas del Pi — only about an hour and a half away from Valencia — to meet up with my old friend, Johan Steenks, who’s joining me for about a month on this journey. Johan and I go way back, all the way to our teenage years. We spent a lot of time together back then and, after a long break, reconnected recently. He showed interest in joining me for part of this trip.
Johan ended up meeting his future wife in Greece and moving to Norway, where he’s spent most of his time since, working in the supply chain of plastics — the materials used to make different kinds of plastic products. It was great to finally arrive there. He and Marianne own a little apartment in a big complex in Alfas del Pi that’s home to many retirees from Norway, the Netherlands, the U.S., and other countries. They have their own community, their own activities, and it felt really good to arrive and reconnect.
Settling In
The plan was to stay there for two nights so we could get organized for the next stretch of the journey. Johan needed to get acquainted with what was in the car and how everything worked. It was an easy, short driving day — but a meaningful one. Thank you so much for being along. We’ll catch up again tomorrow.
