The Heat-Refuge Test: One Library, One Civic Building, 34°C, Four Basics (Marina Alta #7)
Yesterday wasn’t dramatic. No orange alerts. No headlines. Just one of those days where the air already feels tired before you are. My phone said 34°C in the shade. Which is basically Spain’s way of saying “don’t try to do three things in a row”. I had to go into town. Bank. Photocopy. Pharmacy. The […]
The City That Almost Worked (and What Stopped It)
There was a moment when everyone involved thought it was going to work. The renderings were convincing. The language was right. Walkable. Mixed-use. Inclusive. There were meetings where people nodded at the same time, which always feels like progress even when it isn’t. Someone said this could be a model for other cities, and nobody […]
The Bus Stop Dead Zone: One Morning, Two Stops, One Shade Fix
08:05. Already too bright. The bus is due at 08:20 but the stop has no shelter, no seat, no bin, and no sense that anyone planned it for humans. It’s on the corner of a roundabout, the sort of place where you stand back from the kerb and hope the lorry doesn’t take the mirror […]
School-Run Crossing Check: Three Crossings, Two Hours, One Low-Cost Fix
Goal: measure what parents and children meet on the ground during the morning run, then propose a single change that improves safety and flow quickly. Scope Method Site notes and timings Aggregate measures Context for families and buyersIf you are choosing between Old Town streets, Port apartments, or Arenal villas and you care about the […]
Digital Certificate in One Visit: Steps, Minutes, Gotchas
Goal: arrive without an appointment and leave with everything needed to install a working certificado digital at home the same day. Where and when What to bring Minute by minute Outcome Gotchas Costs Home install checklist One fix
Marina Alta #6 — School gate at 8:30
One pass. Tuesday. 08:20 start from the bus stop. Dry roads. Light breeze. Twenty parents already hovering by the railings. I go as if I’ve got a five-year-old on my left and a half-awake coffee hand on my right. 00:00 to 01:10. Pavement fine until the bakery corner where three scooters have colonised the dropped […]
Mum, the Trolley, and the Pharmacy Run (Marina Alta #5)
This one is personal. I walked the late-afternoon pharmacy run with my mum and wrote down what actually made it easy or hard. The goal was not theory; it was “can we get there, queue, and get home without fluster.” Route and set-up Stopwatch log (outbound) Return with trolley heavier by a box of paracetamol, […]
Minor Works Licence in One Visit — Paint, Shade, Small Fixes
Goal: see if a simple ‘obras menores licence’ is doable in one morning for small jobs (paint, a short privacy screen, window screens). Marina Alta council. Normal weekday. What I took Stopwatch log (today) Time inside: 49 minutes. Queue light; two people bounced for missing papers. What they actually checked Fee was based on the […]
Padrón in One Morning — Steps and Minutes
I ran a straight-through padrón (municipal register) visit on a normal weekday. The aim was simple: can you do it in one morning, and what actually happens if you bring the right paper. INE — Padrón municipal (official) What I Brought The Run (Today’s Timings) Time inside: 46 minutes. With walking and coffee, still a one-morning job. […]
Market Day Access — 30-Minute Test (Marina Alta #2)
A baseline from a typical parking pocket/bus stop to the market entrance, then through the first aisle. One pass at late morning. Small, measurable, fixable. Method (short) Run time: 30 minutes. Friday, 11:30. Weather: 29 °C, light breeze. Route summary Arrival to entrance: 340 m on mixed paving with one zebra crossing. First aisle heavily […]