BRITS in Spain are being warned of a dangerous heat dome this week – and I was there in the middle of it.
Valencia, Spain's third city, was my destination of choice, expecting to enjoy some tapas in the centre followed by a day at the beach.
But temperatures are soaring as high as 45C across the country, with Spain's Met Office Aemet warning that the intense heatwave is "rare for the month of June".
Despite being someone who loved the hot weather, I found it was even too much for me.
On the first morning, waking up at 8am, I was informed that it was already nearing 30C that day, before I'd even had a chance for my morning coffee.
You'd think you could avoid the morning and wait for the evening to cool off but no – it was still a skin-meltingly hot 32C even at 7:30pm.
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Now, I don't want to be that Brit who complains of the hot weather, not when we so rarely have it in the UK – but it certainly does make a holiday abroad much harder, and I can only imagine how dangerous it could be for families with little kids.
Even as we tried to explore the city centre during the day, we were chasing the shady spots like every other tourist, desperately trying to escape the beating sun which made you sweaty in seconds.
Other tourist attractions like the City of Art and Science was empty in the middle of the day despite it being a weekend due to its open space failing to offer much respite.
By midday, I very almost passed out despite constantly stopping in bars for cool drinks (along with a few ice cold cocktails), thanks to a headache constantly plaguing me no matter how much water I chugged.
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Our plans to explore all day were scuppered by lunchtime, as we almost collapsed back at our hotel before having a siesta purely from heat exhaustion just hours after we left breakfast.
And that beach day we were hoping for? Didn't happen at all, as we could barely step foot onto the sand without burning our soles.
Without shade in sight – the beach umbrellas had long been rented out – we slunk away and retreated into the cool fans of a nearby cafe, miserly staring at the beachgoers.
I've been in much worse heat before, thinking back to 41C in Budapest and 44C in Dubai, but somewhere this was made much worse.
However, it wasn't all doom and gloom – we managed to make the most of the tourist attractions such as the old markets in the main centre, thanks to many of the buildings having air conditioning and fans.
And it also meant we spent more time relaxing at our hotel, which had very cold rooms and an outdoor swimming pool with shade as well as pleasantly cool water.
But Brits planning on heading to Spain should take note of the warning and take it just as seriously as the UK heatwave.
Valencia hit highs of 34C which were almost unbearable for most of the day – other parts of Spain such as Andalusia will hit highs of 44C ,so can only imagine the dangers tourists will face without some planning.
Spain heatwave advice
- Stay indoors
- Wear factor 50 suncream
- Stay hydrated
- Ring 112 in an emergency
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So my top heatwave advice? Make sure you have a hotel swimming pool to cool down in, lots of indoor activities planned and keep drinking lots of water – and you can forget the beach.
Here are some other ways to survive a heatwave.
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