Week 4

 We have really noticed the slow down for the off season here, most notably our complex.  It looks like we are down to 3 occupied units in our building (there are two buildings in our complex).  There are some more in the other building but not many.  We have also noticed some of the local businesses have adjusted their hours, longer siestas and not staying open as late in the evening.  Also the number of beach goers is less, especially Monday to Friday.  

The weekend did pick up a bit and we had some people return to the complex who had left last week.  Not sure if they are just here for the weekend or longer, we'll see!

I continue to explore on my bike.  Went for a trip inland a bit.  There were some dedicated bike lanes along some of the major roadways that I took advantage of.  I rode by orchards, lemon, orange and pomegranate.  I did find a couple of off road trails that I explored as well.

On Saturday we went out in the morning and walked to the open market again.  The market was again packed!  Even with things slowing down all around, the market seems to remain popular and well attended.  Munchie was able to score with a pair of shoes (she is running out of shoes you know!) a top and a bathing suit.  There was also an awesome outfit for Peanut that we just couldn't leave behind!

After the market we walked into town.  We were on the hunt for a nail salon.  Munchie said she is in dire need of a fill!  We did find one, however it was closed until Monday.  So we now have a mission for Monday morning!

We walked on down to the marina area and found the Asia Tsukimi Restaurante.  It just happens to be above the Burger King!  The food was very good.  We tried some appies, and this green curry chicken dish that was very good (Munchie says she can re-create it, bonus for me!).

The terrace dining area.

(Zoom in to see the wind surfers)

We went to the  beach on Sunday around noon.  We like to sit and enjoy the sun, Munchie reads (she is on book #15 since getting here!) I read a bit and do crosswords and when I get too warm, I take a dip in the sea!  On this day, it was quite windy with some clouds, so when the sun was behind a cloud it was coolish!  In-fact, Munchie didn't take off her cover-up!  But it was a great day for wind and foil surfers.  There were a number of them who went out while we were there.  Some of them were obviously quite skilled at it, and some of the others, well they could use the practice!

A storm front moved in and we had to call our beach short!

Monday was another walk-about day!  We went into town to the salon we found on Saturday, Vicen Belleza y Salon and Munchie set up an appointment for the next day.  The downtown is about 2 km from our condo, so forays into town allow us to "get our steps in"!  On our way home, we cruised the market.  There were not as many vendors set up as on the Saturdays and last Monday I was at the market and there were more set up than this time.  You can tell this is the beginning of the off season!

That night there was a terrific rain storm, lightning, thunder, wind, the works!  Mother nature put on a pretty good show for us!  

Munchie's nail appointment was set for 5:20pm on Tuesday.  I went out for a quick ride in the morning, only going for about 1 1/2 hours When I got back we went down to the beach just before noon to soak up some rays!  The wind picked up and brought out the sails!  Lots of both kinds (regular and foil) plus a few kite surfers.  They are awesome to watch.  I think I may try windsurfing.

Later, we walked down to the salon.  While Munchie was in the chair, I went for a walk up to the castle.  I stopped for a refreshment and met a wonderful couple from the UK, Mary and Lyn Clifford.  Lyn said he and Mary have had a place up in Gran Alcant for nearly 20 years.  I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and meeting such a pleasant and friendly couple!

I left my new found friends from the UK and headed off to meet up with my darling bride.  She was quite happy with the salon and commented on how nice the young lady was who did the work.  

Wednesday, September 28 is an especially significant day, our friends Pat and Dave arrived!  They will be here for the month of October and we are looking forward to sharing some wonderful adventures with them!  We rented a car for the rest of our stay as we intend on seeing the countryside and making some trips to see some more of this wonderful coastal region and other areas of interest.  

The car rental was from the airport and our awesome new friend, Carlos, gave me a ride to the airport.  Was going to take the bus, but the Carlos option was definitely faster and more convenient!  Munchie provided some fresh cookies baked that morning as a thank you!

Welcome Pat and Dave!

Cheers!

Back next week!

Three Weeks in!

 

We are getting to know our way around a bit more, baby steps for us, we kinda keep close to home mostly!  This is probably our favourite morning coffee shop!  It's a 3 minute walk from our place.

I went out for an early morning bike ride, I've been hitting the off road trails much more than I have done in a long time.  I'm rather enjoying the variety!  In St. Albert, I usually do about 2 hour rides and log about 45 to 50 km per ride.  Here on the trails, I do about 1 1/2 hours and log about 20km.  I am expending significantly more effort on the trails than my St. Albert rides!

I've been exploring a number of trails, a few lead through some ravines.  With honesty and humility I admit that I have had to step off the pedals a few times to make it up (and down!) some of the trails.

The other morning I was attempting a particularly taxing trail (for me!) and about halfway up my chain broke!  I did not have my chain repair kit with me so had a nice walk the 8km home!

I stopped by Bicycletes the next day to pick up the chain repair parts, and Pacco insisted he supply a new chain!  Cheers to mi amigo Pacco!

Did some more exploring, this time along the salt ponds.  Too much deep sand!  Made for an max excretion ride!  But I did find el toro! Flamingos too!  

El Toro!

Just minutes from our condo

The other morning we went down to relax on the beach.  It was a bit windy, but this provided us with hours of watching wind surfers, kite surfers, and the newest rage, foil board wind surfing!  The foil boards just fly, however after watching some newbies taking lessons it was very apparent there is considerable technique involved!  At one point I counted 26 wind surfers, 6 foil boards and about 8 kite surfers.  A fellow arrived and set up his new board, a foil board wind surfer!  The difference between his and the other foil board surfers, is, his has a mast attached to the board, the others you hold a "wing sail".

masted surf board with hydofoil

hydrofoil board, no mast

I have mentioned that Munchie has been feeding me well, she has stepped into the little galley kitchen and produced some amazing meals!  She has always said, appearance and plate setup count, and for me it does add to the whole dining experience, it looks great and tastes fantastic (and even though our good friend Dan says my endorsements of Munchie's cooking can't hold too much weight because I have been known to eat everything, trust me when I say, her cooking is awesome, yes Dan, even coming from me!).

Just some of the feasts I've had the pleasure to experience!  Not to mention the fresh muffins and cookies!  The cookies have been a bit of a challenge finding the ingredients Munchie is used to using, an example: molasses!  That and brown sugar, the kind made with molasses!  So my ginger snaps have a new Espanol style, and guess what?  I like them!  Kudos to Munchie's ability to adapt and overcome these baking roadblocks!

Carlos & crew (Carlos is beside me in blk shirt)

And since I'm on a bit of a foodie phase here, I have to mention the "Bar Quesada".  This is Carlos' family restaurant, about a 10 minute easy stroll from our place.  We walked over for dinner the other evening and were not disappointed!  They specialize in locally caught fish, I had the dorado and Brenda had swordfish.  Carlos is the fellow who drove us to the bus depot.  

On one of our beach days, it was a tad overcast and I could tell Munchie is getting acclimatised as she had to use a towel as a blanket!  I walked down the beach to a spot that rents paddle boards, wind surfers and kayaks and rented a kayak for an hour.  Fortunately it wasn't very windy and the paddling was not too strenuous! 

That's me out there!

Signing off on this post.  Back next week!  Cheers to all!

Dos semanas en!

We now have our 2nd week under our  belts.  We are slowly falling into a bit of a routine.  I usually get up early, go out for a bike ride, make coffee when I get back, sit on the deck, drink coffee with mi amor, have breakfast, go for a walk, hit the pool to cool down.  We've been down to the beach a few times now.  Munchie reads, I do a crossword and to cool down take a plunge in the sea!  You have to go out about 200m to get to chest level (for me, 100m for Munchie!).  The water is bathtub warm, but still refreshing on a hot day!

We found an awesome chinese restaurant (Restaurante Chino)!  Had a great meal, and the next day we were walking to the farmer's market and ran into our server!  

I mentioned the farmer's market, it is on Saturdays and Mondays, they say there are over 450 vendors, and I believe it!  There was just about everything you could imagine and there were scads of shoppers strolling through!  Google said it was a 23 minute walk, but Google walks a tad faster than we did, we took our time and our pace kept us from over heating, still got there in under 30 minutes.  

Our evenings are pretty laid back, Munchie makes me some fabulous meal, we sit out on the patio, play a game of cards or yahtzee, or dominoes and enjoy the evening sunsets!

One of my early morning rides!  Its about 6:30am.  

Ready to roll!

Back up at the light house!

Alone at the Mirador Del Faro!

There was also a huge event that took place, Munchie soloed on a bicycle!  Last time she rode a bicycle on her own was in Brooks, Alberta, around 1984!  And to top it off, the bikes that we have access to are not sized for kids (the sizing for Munchie!) so it was a bit of a challenge for her, but she persevered and pushed through to complete our gruelling 4 km ride!  Only one minor ouch, Munchie lost some skin off her ankle, she said the bike bit her! 

On Monday morning it was a bit overcast so we decided to walk into town.  We had to pick up some essential supplies, like beer and cava, along with some other meal fixin's!  I've been trying to find a mail box to send the Peanut a letter and post card.  I found out today that there are no mailboxes other than the one in the main and only post office in town!  Gracyn, your mail is on the way!

The sun came out and our walk home was a long 30 minutes!  Old Sol has some power I'll tell you.  My poor bride almost melted!  A bit of poor judgement on our part, we have been here long enough to know mid day is not the time to be out walking for any length of time!

Pepe!

This week also saw a bit of a sad story unfold, our little grocer I had mentioned before, Pepe, closed his doors for good.  He said he just couldn't compete with the big stores.  We will miss both Pepe and the convenience of his store.

One Week In!

 

We've been here in Santa Pola for a week now.  We are still getting our bearings!  It has been smoking hot the whole week!  Our apartment has a/c, but other than that first day, we haven't had to use it.  We have a fan to keep the air moving, and it cools down nicely at night.  

There have been local celebrations going on all week.  It appears Santa Pola is a very popular vacation spot for both foreigners and Spaniards alike!

Here is a bit of info on the festivals/celebrations of September:

From the 31st of August to the 9th of September, the Moors and Christians festivities and the Patron Saint Festivities of Santa Pola in honor of the Virgin of Loreto take place, with disembarkation, conquest and reconquest of Moors and Christians, parades, fireworks, flower offering to the patron saint, procession, children's games, and sports competitions. What else do you want?

The firing of the lighting is the starting point to the most authentic festivities of the Baix Vinalopó. A proclamation by a relevant authority and a musical show by the municipal band is the appetiser of the first day of the festivities, in which the neighbours are thoroughly involved, and tourists have a great time.

Entering the embassies

The moment of entering the embassies arrives. The Moors and Christians fight in a symbolic duel on the coast of Santa Pola during the week of the festivities. The spectacle of lights and the smell of gunpowder marvel everyone who walks through the streets of the town of Alicante.

The Moor and Christian comparsas are the real protagonists on September 1, 2 and 3. They participate in the morning parades, the disembarkation, the embassies, the conquest and reconquest of the castle, and of course, in the parades. The highlight of these days is the entry of Moors and Christians on day 3. A visual and thunderous spectacle for all audiences.

Another act that catches the attention of passers-by is the colourful parade of floats that takes place on the 6th of September, in charge of the Unió de Festers. Before, the popular 'Sopar del Cabasset' is celebrated, which usually has musical entertainment and children's workshops. Correbous and correfocs are also part of the agenda of events during the festivities.

Honours to the patron

The last two days of the local festivities of Santa Pola are devoted exclusively to veneration and acts in honour of the patron saint of the town, the Virgin of Loreto. Throughout September 7th and 8th they pay tribute with a flower offering, masses sung with sermon and a solemn procession. A large fireworks display sets the end of a week full of activities and fun. The fun is over, and we have to wait for more until next year.

There were fireworks displays as well, but at 1am, a tad too late (early) for an old guy like me!

Munchie is back in the kitchen, much to my delight!  Eating out every day in Amsterdam made me appreciate how much I love my darling bride's culinary prowess!  To say the least, I am eating well!

We are getting to know the owner of the little grocery store that occupies a corner of our building, "Pepe".  His english is about as good as my spanish, but we are both improving each day!  Brenda has already dropped off muffins and soup to "Pepe" much to his surprise and delight!  He responded by giving us a bottle of wine, a generous unexpected gesture!

We have also found another supermercado, a bit bigger than Pepe's, but close as well.  Munchie loves the meat counter, and has befriended the butcher, go figure!

I was at the pool Wednesday evening cooling down, Munchie was up in the apartment slaving away preparing dinner!  I met a fabulous family who share a family vacation apartment in the complex.  Alberto and Lidia and their two boys, Samuel (9yrs) and Max (12yrs).  The boys were a bit shy at first but soon were practising their english on me (which was much better than my spanish!) We were discussing favourite foods and cookies were mentioned, so I promised the boys some of Munchie's (then broke the news to my darling bride that I committed her to baking!).

I picked up my mountain bike from Pacco on Wednesday evening (Sep 7) and on Thursday morning took it for a spin up to the Mirador Del Far De Santa Pola.  It was a great ride, although I did take a side trail that would have been no troubles, if I were a few years younger!  I need to keep exploring and see what trails I can find that better suit my age induced limitations!  I did bring along my gopro camera so if I can figure out how to post some videos I can share some of my trail rides.

The Mirador De Far, was pretty cool!  I was up there at sunrise, it was pretty awesome!

Awesome sunrise!

Munchie would not like this view!  A number of her phobias would come into play!

That is the city of Alicante off in the distance.