Prowling my world, camera in hand

The most important event of the week was the arrival of my children who will be with us for a couple of weeks. Given that one of them lives in Cardiff and the other one in Colorado Springs / New York, we only have them together a couple of times a year. This was also a week when I went back to shooting film with a classic Leica M2, and attended a birthday party at the house of a friend in Benidorm. So a very mixed bag for the week.

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On Sunday afternoon, I went to the golf course to watch my wife play. No pictures of her (censorship), but instead you get the overall view and the resident fowl:

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The birds assume that when someone approaches the edge of the water, it is to feed them, even if there is a golf ball that needs to be hit:

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Afterwards, I went cycling and stopped to take a picture of the kites on Playa Muchavista:

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Some dog walk pictures, the first of which is a close-up of one of the many flowers along Avenida Vicente Ramos:

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Morning sky over our urbanización:

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My car and every other car in the neighbourhood look like this right now. This is dust from the Sahara, blown up here by a southerly wind, and brought down by a brief period (less than an hour) of rain, the first in more than a month:

The next nine photos were made on film (Fuji Acros), using my newly acquired classic Leica M2.

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Tree roots in the park:

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Morning sun:

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“Have you smiled today?”:

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Flags in the wind, El Campello harbour:

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Inspired by Jim Shulman, El Campello harbour:

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Under the table, El Campello beach promenade:

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Fountain with reflection, centre of Alicante:

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Documenting a dress, centre of Alicante:

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Admiring the parking garage, centre of Alicante:

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Sunset over El Campello, seen while returning from my bike ride in those mountains:

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On Saturday morning, I cycled to Relleu, a sleepy town in the mountains. As usual, I bought a drink from a convenience store and sat down on a bench on the main square to drink it. This is a typical scene from that square on Saturday morning. The men on the bench look and comment, the small vegetable market attracts its customers, and the people on the left are enjoying their morning coffee:

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Looking for customers, perhaps?:

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Jesus watches over it all:

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On the way home, I stopped for a moment at this reservoir, Embalse del Amadorio. Reservoirs like this one provide most of Alicante’s drinking water:

On Saturday afternoon our friend Iñaki celebrated his birthday with a pool party at his house in Benidorm. Since I had to drive back the 45 km, and since both children were arriving that evening, I spent the entire time drinking water, a very unusual experience. But I did take pictures.

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Salvatore with the ladies:

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Mid-flight:

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Iñaki tells his little dog to calm down:

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The grill masters at work:

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Engulfed in smoke:

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Lamb:

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The grill chef takes a deserved break:

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In addition to the meat, people brought a variety of salads, homemade gazpacho, and tapas such as this aubergine delight brought by Nereida:

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The doggie looking for “accidents”:

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These parties go on for a long time, so at various points people take their siestas:

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Iñaki has a new partner. She is pretty and also very expressive during conversations:

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I left the party around 6:30 p.m., and drove straight to Alicante airport to pick up my son, who was arriving from New York via London.

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Lots of people were meeting friends and family at the airport, including this little boy who could barely restrain himself:

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Moses arrived safely, and 20 minutes later this joyful reunion took place:

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We walked to a nearby restaurant, L’Arruz, for dinner. This was the overall scene. On a warm summer evening, nobody wants to sit inside:

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Moses was hungry after the long trip, and he certainly enjoyed the appetizers and the atmosphere:

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Couple at the neighbouring table:

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L’Arruz is very much a neighbourhood restaurant, and we witnessed several chance encounters between friends and neighbours:

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After dinner we walked home and toasted the reunion with good Belgian beer. Happy days are here again:

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