Prowling my world, camera in hand

It was a week spent at home with the usual pursuits of work, cycling and so on. But we also had my in-laws from Puerto Rico visiting, and my daughter flew in from Wales to spend a week with us, including a celebration of her 22nd birthday on May 18th.

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But first some pictures from home, starting with my Cheeta. She just turned 15, and her hearing is not as good as it once was. So when I come back from my bike rides, she does not always wake up right away when I open the gate:

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Then I talk to her and she does wake up:

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As if anticipating my daughter’s visit, my late mother’s cactus got ready to bloom again. This is Saturday afternoon:

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Sunday afternoon, almost there:

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Monday morning, in all its glory:

Monday was a day off for me, and my sister-in-law wanted to visit some alternative medicine guy in a town called Jumilla, about 100 km from Alicante. So I drove her there to get a little day trip out of that.

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The area is a major wine producer, and Jumilla has its own Denominación de Origen (the Spanish equivalent of the French Appellatión Contrôlée):

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I loved this statue, just on the outskirts of town, next to the road:

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In the centre of Jumilla. No doubt about wine’s central place in the town’s identity:

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Truth be told, Jumilla is a sleepy town in the interior of Murcia province. There not much of the coastal vibe here:

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“Please do not leave garbage here”:

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Hearts:

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The town is nothing special but its location in the landscape is visually attractive:

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Late Monday evening, I drove to Alicante airport to be met by this joyous sight:

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On Wednesday we all met for lunch to celebrate Monica’s birthday. On the way from the car park to the chosen restaurant (Bhodigreen, Alicante’s best vegetarian restaurant), I stopped to snap this little guy patiently waiting for his people:

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Monica talking to her aunt Damarys (my sister-in-law from Puerto Rico):

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A photo:

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We brought Monica’s presents to the restaurant:

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Monica likes to experiment with make-up, and to document the results with close-up photos. So she was very pleased with the macro lens I got her:

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On Wednesday night, Monica and I went to the Crowley bar to watch the Europa League final between Sevilla and my beloved Liverpool. The result was not what I wanted but I still enjoyed spending an evening with my little girl who is not so little anymore:

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Having a smoke outside while keeping an eye on the game:

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Back to my dog walks. Morning light, Avenida Vicente Ramos:

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Morning light, our house:

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Two pigeons:

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Now one pigeon:

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On Saturday morning, I cycled up to the Puerto de la Carrasqueta mountain pass, as I often do. On the way to Jijona, I passed this herder with one dog a small flock:

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The wider view. He was taking the animals to pasture. The road is a relatively new highway, CV800, connecting Alicante to Alcoi and passing by Jijona:

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About an hour later. At this point, I have been climbing for about the 21 km indicated, there is another 8 km left to the top. There were lots of cyclists on the road, taking advantage of ideal cycling conditions:

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At the pass there were lots of cyclists. Both the main species were represented, road cyclists (of which I am one) and mountain bikers:

On Saturday night we went to a small party in Benidorm, and met some of our usual friends there.

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A hug:

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This is the nice thing about friends; they discovered that I had taken the previous picture and reacted by posing for me:

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Talking to his son:

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“You don’t say!”:

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A hearty laugh: