Another week of restrictions. Restaurants and bars are still closed, as are sports facilities of all kind, including outdoor ones like golf courses and the beach exercise equipment. A new restriction was put in place on the Monday: all towns with at least 50,000 inhabitants are closed from 3 p.m. on Friday until 6 a.m. on Monday. I live in a municipality north of Alicante, smaller than the threshold, but it means that Alicante, with its 350,000 inhabitants, is off-limits on weekends. The same is true of another neighbouring municipality, San Vicente, which means that certain of my cycling routes are not available to me on weekends, but in general this restriction does not affect me much. With all watering holes closed there is little reason to go to the city anyway. I am not complaining–our part of Spain has the worst numbers in the country right now and something has to be done. Still, there are enough nice things to photograph.
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We had some windy days:
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I go the beach often, to photograph the details and to take in the emptiness:
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These people are engaged in a forbidden activity; unless they live in the same household, they are too many according to current rules, and they are drinking beer on the beach, also forbidden right now:
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Some images from a morning walk. A woman walks along the water, wearing her mask even in a place where there are no other people within 50 meters:
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People were exercising on the beach, also not allowed but hardly a risky activity, and I suspect the police do not consider this as a high priority issue:
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A couple of cycling photos. First, a cat in a village called Verdegás:
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Our Lady of Peace on a balcony in Agost:
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I am the main cook in our household, but sometimes my wife gets inspired to make food from her native Puerto Rico, as happened one day this week:
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A lunch plate:
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Pasteles, boiled but still wrapped:
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Pasteles, ready to enjoy:
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My wife sings in the choir of the European School of Alicante. For the past year, no in-person practices or performances have been possible, but they continue to hold their weekly sessions online:
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One evening, I had a dentist appointment in the neighbourhood where we lived until 2018. After the torture, I went for a short walk on Avenida Vicente Ramos. It looked empty and sad despite the balmy weather. With bars closed and non-food shops closing at 6 p.m., there are not many people out and about:
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On a more cheerful note, a cute sausage dog in the vestibule of our supermarket:
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And even more cheerful, a Tunisian shakshuka with shrimp that I cooked Saturday night:
Life’s simple pleasures.