Maximum expectation in Sanxenxo before the imminent arrival of the King Emeritus, Juan Carlos I, who will arrive this afternoon at Peinador airport, in Vigo, directly from Abu Dhabi to spend his first weekend in Spain in this Galician town. Dozens of media await his arrival, an expected return loaded with political controversy that his innermost circle awaits with a different mood, that of the emotion of reunion.
They are “delighted” in this tourist town, as confirmed by Pedro Campos, a close friend of the monarch and his host in the house where he will stay during his stay in Galicia. The also president of the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo since 1999 acknowledges that they are “a little overwhelmed” by this expectation, but considers that it is a “normal” reaction and that “it has more good things than bad.
Pedro Campos will go to the airport to pick you up and, from there, he will transfer you by car to Sanxenxo. It will be around 7:00 p.m., according to what he revealed, although he acknowledges that delays can occur on such long flights. The private plane, registered in Aruba with the P4-BFL distinctive, will have almost eight hours of flight from the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
From there, he plans to stay until next Monday, when he will travel to Madrid first thing in the morning to meet at the Zarzuela Palace with Felipe VI, Queen Sofía and the other members of his family before returning to Abu Dhabi.
This Thursday they will spend it at the Casa de Campos in Nanín and they will take the opportunity to “meet” and “rest”, because this Friday the regattas begin. They will also be accompanied by their eldest daughter, the Infanta Elena, who also arrives in Galicia this Thursday on a previous flight from Madrid.
The King Emeritus goes to Sanxenxo for the celebration this weekend of the InterRías trophy of the 6mR class 2022 Spanish Cup circuit, in which the monarch used to participate, although on this occasion he has not yet decided if he will do so.
“He hasn’t sailed for three years,” recalls the president of the Náutico, who points out that although the Emeritus “says he is in very good physical shape”, competing is something else. The final decision will be made by himself just before the regatta and will depend, fundamentally, on the wind in the Ría de Pontevedra during the three days of competition. “If the day is like this, I hope it cheers up,” he says, referring to the calm in the Rías Baixas sea this Thursday.
It will be, according to Campos, “a normal regatta that has come so many times and with some rivals who on those occasions are a little more”, since it is the last trophy before the world championship that will be held in June and of which the Rogue who captains the emeritus was champion in its last edition held, in 2019. Juan Carlos I is also expected in June.
Facing this return, Pedro Campos has been able to speak with him and has told him that he “very much” wants to return. He is “very excited to return to Spain,” he says, and also to meet up again with the crew of the Rogue, to return “to Sanxenxo and to the sea.”
His friends are a fundamental part of the decision to return and also the good reception that Sanxenxo always gives him. This Friday the Náutico has organized a special welcome with the presence of the members and other sailors, as well as the mayor of the town, Telmo Martín (PP). The skippers of the rest of the ships “have asked to greet him” because “he is a very important person in this class at an international level”.
On Saturday he would have planned a meeting with his innermost circle and on Sunday a “quiet” afternoon is sought before Monday’s special meeting with the King in Madrid. His exact agenda is unknown, but he does “have a lot of energy” and wants to meet up with his family, the last people he dined with in August 2020 before leaving Spain.
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