The first week of October was mainly about the annual visit of my sister and brother-in-law. They live in Poland. My sister’s birthday is October 13th, and ever since we moved to Alicante 16 years ago, my birthday present for her has been a Ryanair ticket to Alicante for the two of them. This year was no different, and they arrived in Alicante on Monday night. So most of this week’s photos are from the various outings with them, but I start with some pictures from the cycling during the weekend.
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My late mother’s magic cactus was in full bloom on Sunday morning, as if expecting my sister’s arrival the next day:
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I went on my usual bike ride to Aigues and Busot Sunday morning. In Aigues not much was happening, except for this dog on the balcony of one of the houses on the square:
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But in Busot there was action, a mountain bike race. This is the arrival area:
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The race started somewhere up in those mountains:
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I found a spot from which I could see the cyclists on the final leg of their ride:
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Arriving together:
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Mountain biking is not just for skinny climbers:
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On Monday morning I went on the usual pre-work bike ride. I usually do not stop during those weekday rides, but this time the sunrise over the harbour of El Campello with its round 16th century guard tower was too nice to pass up:
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I took a couple of days off during the week to spend time with my sister and her husband. I took them to Villajoyosa, a town they always enjoy visiting:
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They love to see the coloured houses along the beach promenade:
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We walked around a bit in the narrow streets:
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Then we sat down for a coffee on the beach:
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In the afternoon we went to the centre of Alicante, first stopping at the surfer statue on Plaza Puerta del Mar:
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We then walked up to the Basílica Santa María, passing this impossibly narrow street:
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The next day we stopped at my favourite bar along the beach, 100 Montaditos, where my sister and I had a beer while watching my brother-in-law in the water:
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The people next to us left behind some fries and other leftovers, and the pigeons that hang around the bar for this very reason swooped down to have a party:
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These cops have a hard job (not!), patrolling the beach:
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I guess they wanted to make sure that the children did not put on a botellón:
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On Saturday we drove down to Santa Pola, a place I occasionally visit on bicycle, about 40 km south of where I live, so it was nice to be there by car which meant that I could have my normal photo equipment with me. As usual on weekends, the fishermen were drying their nets:
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Most fishing harbours around here have a population of cats, and Santa Pola is no exception:
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Many of the fishing boats have religious images on them:
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I was intrigued to see a Polish flag on one of the boats, and the woman does not look like a typical fisherwoman either:
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We walked around a bit along the sea wall, taking in the views and the birds. The island of Tabarca is visible in the background:
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The seagulls look well-fed:
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We sat down at a table outside a beach bar to have a drink and a snack:
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This was our snack, a plate of delicious grilled sardines:
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While enjoying our sardines, we looked at this boy with a metal detector, looking for coins people had dropped in the sand:
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On the way home, we stopped at this tiny roadside chapel, a place where I often take a short break when out on my bicycle:
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There are always flowers or candles by the door to the chapel:
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And of course my brother-in-law had to have a look inside:
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Later in the afternoon, we went to the main beach of El Campello, next to the harbour, for a swim (my brother-in-law) and a beer (my sister and me):
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This is the same old tower as pictured above in photo number 10:
