This week’s blog consists of photos from three of my frequent cycling destinations: the towns of Agost, Relleu and Villajoyosa. But this time I drove to Villajoyosa one afternoon so as to have a bigger choice of camera and lenses with me and to walk around the narrow streets a bit.
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I start with Agost, where I cycled one day. As I approach the town, I pass vineyards like this one:
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In the centre of Agost there are several narrow streets like this one:
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Agost has a long tradition of making ceramics, and even the street signs reflect that:
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Apparently, this is the week of Agost’s fiestas patronales (an annual celebration of the town’s patron saint). This year, like most other fiestas, the celebration is cancelled but people still decorate accordingly:
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Then on to Villajoyosa. I drove up there one afternoon to take a walk in the town. First, I stopped at a nice little beach just south of the town, called Playa Bol Nou. There is a nice view of the rocky coast, with Alicante in the far distance on the left:
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I happened upon two photo sessions on the beach. In the first, a woman in a mermaid swimsuit was posing for a photographer with a real camera:
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In the second, I was not sure if it was photo or video since a mobile phone was being used:
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I climbed a small hill and had a good view of the beach below, looking north towards Villajoyosa. There were people, but clearly fewer than on a normal July day in non-Covid years:
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I then drove to the centre and walked around in the lovely narrow streets:
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Like in Agost, Villajoyosa has interesting street signs:
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And the houses are adorned with images of various saints:
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Conversation:
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The local government is running a campaign to “save the town” by patronising the local bars and restaurants and shops:
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In the early evening, I walked down to the beach bar Xaloc with my daughter to have a drink. I took this tightly framed portrait using the Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit on my Fuji X-E2, at the minimum focusing distance of 1 metre:
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While enjoying my pint, I took in the sports activities on the beach:
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On Saturday, I was back on my bicycle in the mountains, going to the town of Relleu. I stopped to photograph this beautiful house along the way. I have photographed it from various angles many times, but this is one I quite like:
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Relleu is another sleepy inland town, far enough from the beach to be largely untouched by tourism. It has about 1200 inhabitants and some lovely streets in the centre as well:
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The entrance to the local church with a colourful image of the Virgin:
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And a promise to the poor that she will look after them; I suspect most would prefer decent jobs etc.:
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And finally, a kitty enjoying the sunshine on his balcony:
