CAMINOS ORGÁNICOS / ORGANIC PATHS

BENICARLÓ - IES Ramon Cid - IES La Salle

I live in the suburbs, in Peñíscola but quite far from the town, so I go to school by car. Every morning I am taken to school by my mother and we usually leave in a bit of a hurry, since I don't like being late. The drive makes me feel very relaxed and I have time to talk to her along the way. Little by little I see the sunrise with its orange tones, while I listen to music on the radio, we like the same songs.

My organic path runs through the entrance and outskirts of Benicarló and all along the way some places call my attention. The first one is an abandoned karting track, time ago I thought it was a fair since there was a small train that ran throughout the place. When I was a child I asked my parents “when do the fair open?” But since I remember it has been abandoned. The most interesting for me is a checkered flag, typical of karts, which I see from the road.

Then we turn off onto a path, this has a rather sad appearance, since the grass that surround it is very overgrown because it is not taken care of. I also see a motorhome factory and a strange abandoned white house, which I don't know what it is or who it belongs to.

Afterwards I pass by the shopping center, I have barely seen it in use, since it closed when I was very young. Now it seems that they are trying to put it back into use, but I don't know if they will be able to revive it. All this area was the old Palau furniture factory. Where the parking lot is now, there used to be swimming pools and tennis courts that the Palau family built for their workers and their families, almost the entire town used to come here.

Next to the shopping center we have the Palau residence. A nun was murdered there a long time ago and many people in Benicarló know this story. She was probably murdered for a robbery, and that's why they closed the pools forever. I have been told this story many times and it has always caught my attention since I am intrigued by murders. Nowadays some people live in the house, since you can see clothes and there is light at night.

A shopping center would bring back life to Benicarló, as it was in the past, when there were many stores and restaurants open. I would like to live in a big city and that's why I would like to study in Barcelona or Valencia. Benicarló is not a small town but there are no shops or activities for teens. Everything is focused on the Fallas festivity and the peñas, mostly for people over 16 years old.

Lorna Martínez