The sea was bathed in a rosy blush; we dropped in and swam in and out of caves that were lit up by the early morning sun.
Tourism formed part of Fraga's brief, and in the 1960s it developed into a much-prized motor of the economy, to the point that when an American bomber crashed near the village of Palomares, jettisoning four hydrogen bombs into the sea, Fraga bathed on an adjacent beach to prove there was no danger.
It is deep, truly deep, more so than any well, more so than all the seas that bathe the world, deeper than the present spirit that creates it or the voice that sings it, because it is well nigh infinite.
The sea, where he bathes, is reached across soft pastures.
Recover with another southern specialty: a fleshy sea bream, generously bathed in turmeric, rubbed with garlic, and fried whole, that is mercifully spared of chilies.
For instance, a plump, sweet North Sea shrimp is wrapped in bright green sea lettuce and bathed in raw sweet-sour rhubarb juice with little chunks of raw rhubarb and wild coastal herbs.
Dr Charlie Bavington, from GlycoMar, a marine biotechnology company based at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, explained: "Starfish live in the sea, and are bathed in a solution of bacteria, larvae, viruses and all sorts of things that are looking for somewhere to live.
In some cases initiates are taken to the sea to be bathed immediately after cutting to prevent infection and aid wound healing.
Langoustines are paired with ultrafresh sea scallops, which are bathed in a swank, mulligatawny-spiced sauce.
If "uncrowded," "quiet" and "sedate" were not particularly inviting attributes a century ago, they are so now, desirous as we are for uncrowded promenades and undeveloped hills, for old towns with their odd smells and sights, for a calm sea, all of it bathed day after day in sunshine that is generous rather than relentless, soft and warm rather than searing and burning.
