Our First Morning in Apartment Vista Alegre – December, 2016

“This is Paradise”
By George Pieper
December 12, 2016

This is paradise, our first morning view as we step onto the 4th floor balcony of our comfy apartment overlooking the sea and sunrise. This is the gulf of Sant Jordi on the Mediterranean Sea with all of its rustic splendor. With an inhale of cool fresh air, your chest widens. You can feel the tide, as if you were riding bow of a boat. You sense its ripples into the natural harbor fronting our village, swelling over the remote mussel beds, and swirling around the bay – across to the river delta. You become a sentient part of the environment as sleepy L’Ampolla begins to wake.

This is paradise, as we hear the beautiful ruckus of the bird song choir welcoming the morning from the quiet of their cozy slumber in the trees of the little park below. They catch the breeze and take flight undulating in a whirl of hundreds sharing a synchronized bend, sway, dive, and then up again into the violet and gold morning haze.

This is paradise! We can hear the faint ring of the quayside buoy bells rocking in the surf. The hum of a single engine prop motors on, as the fisherman begin casting their fishing nets, while trolling the inlet at dawn to conger the daily catch. A lone seagull is circling in the sky above, hoping to spot a hand out to grab an easy meal. The lighthouse in the distance with its harmonic pulse is guiding their way from the sandy shoal.

This is paradise, as the sound of the water gently rolls to shore lapping upon the rocks of the jetty. A neighbor walks his dog strolling along the shoreline taking in this same wonder that we see. The village lights flicker, making way for the morning shadows the pale sun casts. A low fog layer is surrounding the base of our majestic mountain, tall and wide, as it watches over our pastoral province like a caring parent. We sip our coffee and bite into our local Spanish pastry enjoying the moment realizing this is ours. This is paradise!