The week was the second week of my sister’s and brother-in-law’s visit. I had to work most of the days, but was able to take a couple of afternoons off. And of course there were the weekends. I took advantage of the good weather and took little drives with them in the surrounding countryside. Most of the images are from those outings.
42_1
The Moros y Cristianos festival in El Campello continued, with the respective flags displayed prominently at the harbour:
42_2
On Sunday morning we took a walk in the centre, passing by the coins and books market in front of the town hall:
42_3
I like to look at the various funky posters when I am in the city. This one advertises an upcoming fetishist Halloween party:
42_4
And this miscellaneous collection. Thierry Jaspart is a conceptual artist. Just google him:
42_5
I continued my habit of early morning visits to the beach. A nice sunrise with clear air and Benidorm clearly visible in the distance:
42_6
A lone jogger:
42_7
We have had some rainy days, and one morning this view greeted me as I passed the city centre on my way to work:
42_8
On Thursday afternoon, I drove with my visitors to Puerto de la Carrasqueta, one of the mountain passes that provide a cycling challenge for me from time to time. We stopped at a roadside bar, Venta Teresa, about 6 km from the top, and photos were taken:
42_9
It is a popular spot with motorcyclists and cyclists, but on a weekday afternoon it was largely empty:
42_10
Grandma wants you to be careful on the road:
42_11
The Carrasqueta pass is at 1020 meters, and there is a small road followed by a stony path which brings one up to around 1200 meters:
42_12
While the weather on the coast was sunny, it was cloudy and foggy in the mountains:
42_13
It is a wonderful place to go for a hike:
42_14
42_15
On Friday, I had another afternoon off and this time we drove to the seaside town Villajoyosa, 20 km or so north of where we live. We parked the car in the underground car park on the beach promenade and took a walk in the streets just above the beach:
42_16
We were being watched:
42_17
We came across this bench on a small square. It was partially occupied:
42_18
My sister sat down; one of the cats did not want to share and ran away, but the other one was happy to be petted, up to a point:
42_19
Another feline inhabitant of Villajoyosa, in stalking mode:
42_20
Loneliness Street:
42_21
Synchronized walking:
42_22
We stopped at the fishing harbour. I usually come to Villajoyosa on weekends, so it was nice to be there on a weekday and see the harbour in action:
42_23
We arrived just as the fishermen had come back from the day’s work and were tidying up their boats:
42_24
Some people came by to get fish straight off the boat:
42_25
42_26
But the majority of the fish end up in the fish auction house, lonja de pescado:
42_27
On Saturday morning, we drove to the Mercado Central to have a look around. We started with a coffee on the square:
42_28
At the nearby beer store, I bought some beer named after the US senator who sponsored the bill instituting Prohibition in 1920. A delightful piece of irony:
42_29
Inside the Mercado, as I often do, I focused on the fishmongers:
42_30
42_31
My brother-in-law has an expression that says something like “can you eat that?!” Polish people tend to have conservative food preferences:
42_32
On Sunday we had a nice lunch at home, and then I drove Irka and Telesfor to the airport for their flight back to Poland:
