A quiet week with a lot of work and not many photos, but finishing with a nice walk through a unique village on the outskirts of Alicante.
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On Thursday morning, during my usual pre-work bike ride, the sunrise was particularly spectacular thanks to the cloudy skies. I stopped at the dog beach in El Campello to take a few pictures:
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Benidorm in the distance:
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A small boat heading out:
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Later in the week, we had lots of rain and wind, and I photographed the aftermath at our beach:
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On Saturday morning it was dry again, and I cycled towards Relleu. The landscape along the way continues to give me pleasure and awe. The mountain in the background is the Sierra de Aitana, with some military radar on top:
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Another cyclist out and about:
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The cemetery in Busot, on top of the village:
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Vacant spaces:
The rest of this week’s photos are from a tiny village called Benimagrell. Before Alicante became a big tourist town and swallowed the surrounding suburbs, there were many such villages around the city. This one has somehow survived. It consists of one street, leading from national road N332 to Playa Muchavista, the part of El Campello (a northern suburb of Alicante) where I live. The length of the village is less than 1 km. It was raining on Sunday so I did not go for my usual long bike ride, but once the rain stopped, I went for a walk and did something I had often thought about–walking through Benimagrell with my camera. I present the photos chronologically, as I walk down the village street.
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Just before entering the village, there is an underpass with some wall paintings:
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As is evident from this photo, progress is encroaching on the village, and the people who live there are not too happy about it:
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I entered the village and walked down the main street. It was around 3-4 p.m., so most people were inside eating lunch:
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Roadside conversation:
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This is where the people of Benimagrell used to get their water until 1950:
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The lower part of the main road, with a bar on the left:
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Charo’s house (Charo is a nickname for María Rosario):
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Benimagrell is one of those places where people are not too bothered about keeping the door locked at all times:
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About 3/4 of the way down there is a small square with a monument to pilota, the traditional Valencian handball game:
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There is a small church, too, making the village really self-contained:
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There is only one church but there are three bars, reflecting the priorities:
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A space for humans and cats:
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At the bottom of the street, a fancy restaurant and a feline guard:
