Quest for NFL
Sunday was a good day. We relaxed for a bit, I got a book out of the resort Biblioteca, which was not as impressive as it sounds. I grabbed the best book that wasn't a western or a romance novel. Ok, I admit, it's a romance novel. Around siesta time we went to a bar up the block and chatted up some locals, who happened to be an Irish gentleman and a Dutch fellow who managed a bicycle rental place. We got to talk about Dublin, one of our October destinations, and scored a contact for a weekly bike rental. To top it off, Benicarló is hosting a German Beer Festival starting Wednesday. For the first time in over a week we get to make plans.
Evening rolls around. So far we're four for four in finding NFL. Tonight all we had was a hand drawn map from the bartender the night before (top picture), and a Google search saying the owner of Iguana opened up a second English bar next door to cater to Futball fans, The Price Albert. Futball isn't Football, but at least they should have Sky Sports, the British Sports network that airs the games. About 1.5 kilometers from our place is the bike rental. We gear up and we're on our way, much faster than last night. We get to where we were told, but nothing in sight. We ask an armed officer of the law, but no luck. We head along the main drag, and sure enough we find it. They have Sky Sports, but close at 8. Sigh. The bartender recommends Cheers, the place we were very lucky to stumble upon last weekend. But, that's a 35 kilometer bike ride away. We drown our sorrows in a pint before jumping back on our bikes. While riding back I see a guy our age who was at the bar riding along, shout out hola and we start chatting while weaving in and out of pedestrians. We decide to head to Benicarló for more cervesa. We find a busy place and grab seats at the bar. The guy is really cool, the Prince Albert is hosting trivia on Thursday and we're planning a team to dominate the free beer competition.
After the Futball match is over I ask about changing the chanel. The waitress and I don't understand each other, but I convince her to give me the remote. I flip through the channels and find some Football on Canal 9, the ninth channel of España's sports network, and find some NFL commentated in Spanish. Eli Manning throws a touchtown pass to further the lead in demolishing the Seattle Seahawks, routinely the most overhyped team in the league. Not that they get a lot of hype, just that they get a lot more than they deserve. Within 5 minutes some new customers come in and want to watch Futball. Locals have seniority, and we loose our Football privileges. Technically we're 5 for 5, but counting this week feels like cheating. So we're calling it 4 for 5. Not bad for being in a country where I'm surounded by people I can't understand. We went back to the hotel, watched the end of the Futball match betwen the Real Madrid and España, a 2-2 tie, and called it a night.