Let’s be honest: European heatwaves are no joke right now. After spending all these weeks bracing against the blistering sunshine and trying to work while beating back the hot weather, it feels refreshing and invigorating to be back on the seaside of Catalunya.

Three years ago, I walked on this exact stretch of beach in Cubelles — same boardwalk, same view of the Mediterranean stretching flat and blue toward the horizon. I remember staring at the water and reflecting on where I was and where I was going.

Coming back now, the town hasn’t changed much. The same beach restaurants are still serving the same food at lunch. My favorite ice cream parlor has been successful, and now it’s even bigger.

And of course, when ordering some splendid “Arroz negro” and chatting with a friendly waiter, I remembered why I always feel closest to home when I visit this country.

Today, I’m grateful I have the opportunity to visit this spot once more.

An arepa is a traditional flatbread made from ground maize dough, enjoyed across northern South America since pre-Columbian times. Interestingly, the word arepa actually comes from Cumanagoto, an extinct Cariban language once spoken by indigenous peoples in what is now Venezuela; it's believed to derive specifically from the word erepa, meaning "corn."

One of my favorite versions is the Reina Pepiada. It’s a simple, but delicious, savory filling made with guacamole, shredded chicken breast, and fresh coriander.

I made them at home last week alongside air-fried yuca and *mazorca* (more corn! 😂), and they were a huge hit!

Last week I was strolling through the center of Basel in a torrid climate, and when I looked at the clock located at the intersection between Blühmerein and Spielgasse, I suddenly noticed that it read 37 degrees Celsius! It was then that I thought that never in all these years that I have lived or been in Basel had I seen such high temperatures, and analyzing historical values, that figure is certainly outside of normal.

This blistering reality in Basel is far from an isolated incident; it places Switzerland right at the epicenter of a historic, continent-wide climate anomaly. Across France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, temperatures have skyrocketed to levels between 5 and 12 degrees Celsius above seasonal averages.

This extreme event is being fueled by a powerful, static high-pressure system known as a "heat dome." Acting like a giant lid, it has trapped scorching air over Western Europe while simultaneously pulling an intense plume of hot air directly from the Sahara Desert. Under a relentless, cloudless sky, the ground has baked rapidly, supercharging local temperatures.

Climate scientists pointing to this record-breaking week have noted that while the wind patterns themselves are a natural summer occurrence, the sheer intensity of the heat has been massively amplified by the long-term baseline effects of global warming, turning a standard summer hot spell into an unprecedented, dangerous furnace.

Last weekend I got up early and rode my bike for a ride—something I do fairly often when the weather starts warming up. I crossed Basel in the morning when absolutely no one was around, and you hear all the birds singing along, arrived at Burgfelderhof, and headed over to buy bread in the french town of St. Louis. After crossing through the city, I went to Huningue, and then passed over the famouse "Pasarelle des trois pays" bridge you can see in the photo above, to get into Weil am Rhein and pick up some extra groceries before heading back to Switzerland.

This structure, called Dreiländerbrücke in German, is a beatiful bridge that cross the Rhine between Huningue (France) and Weil-am-Rhein (Germany), and according to wikipedia, it holds the world record for the longest pedestrian and bicycle-only walkway

I once read that Spalentor is one of Basel’s most interesting iconic buildings—it's almost a whole history lesson in a single building! It truly does stand out against the city's old town with its unique architecture. The tower's history is very interesting because it is linked to one of the main events that shaped the city: the earthquake of 1356

That dramatic seismic event reduced the city to ruins, and when it had to be rebuilt, the city was enclosed by a bigger ring of walls. This included multiple defensive structures, such as seven gate towers, and one of them was indeed Spalentor. Today, the tower stands as a symbol of the city's history, surrounded by other historic landmarks like St. Johann’s Tower and St. Alban's Tower.

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