A quiet week, with work and cycling providing the bulk of the photo opportunities.
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I started the week with a bike ride to Jijona. The weather was iffy, but in the end things stayed dry:
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The road from Jijona towards Alcoy, CV800. This is one of my favourite rides, passing the Carrasqueta mountain pass at 1020 meters. But today I did not have the legs for it, nor the time:
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Like the previous weekend in Aigües, I saw several communion families in Jijona. Many, like this one, took photos outside the town hall:
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The reason I did not have time for the really long ride is that we were invited to a BBQ lunch at Elio’s:
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As usual, Chloe was hanging around, waiting for donations:
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Before going home, I went for a walk in the neighbourhood where Elio and his wife Assumpta live, called Cabo de las Huertas. It is considered the nicest part of Alicante, with a rugged coast and many small secluded beaches:
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Later in the week, we had some rainy days. Rain provides a variety of photo opportunities. This is a grab shot, taken while crossing the street:
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The pretty flowers on Avenida Vicente Ramos, on the ground after the rain and wind:
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And the Río Seco was no longer dry:
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But then the rain stopped, I was out cycling after work, and the cats that live near the garbage containers halfway up to Aigües were on their post:
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On Friday afternoon, our entire department was invited for a drink at Moments by Nino, our Croatian seconded national expert. He wanted to celebrate the extension of his secondment to us for another 2 years, something that requires agreement by both offices involved. Here is Nino with our director Paul:
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Nicki buys a lottery ticket…:
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…and considers how to invest the winnings, with Stephanie:
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Claire:
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A hearty laugh:
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Tina had brought along one of her daughters:
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Another visiting offspring, the adult son of Bente, my fellow Dane in the department. He lives in Aarhus, my hometown, and was just visiting for a few days. Here, he and his mother are talking to our Polish secretary Kasia:
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Tamara:
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Nino again:
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Valerio has left, but he has forgotten his wallet. Nino is on the phone with him, jokingly asking for his credit card PIN so as to pay the Moments bill:
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The view from Moments. Parents converse while their children are playing on the beach playground:
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A visitor, looking for scraps:
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I finished the week as I started it, on two wheels in the mountains. On Saturday it was raining again a bit in Aigües, but a few people were still buying flowers at the tiny local market:
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On Sunday, the weather was cloudy but dry and I cycled a longer route, taking in sights like this her near San Vicente, the suburb of Alicante where the main campus of the University of Alicante is located:
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The final image of the Sunday ride. At this point I have cycled 27 km and climbed from sea level to around 500 meters. This was my only break in the 69 km ride, to answer nature’s call and rest a couple of minutes before a tough climb that is coming up. Somewhere in the far distance, beyond the cloud, is Alicante:
