It was a week in which most of the photos were taken during my cycling excursions into the surrounding mountains, and during walks along our beach. On a technical note, all the photos from the mountains and some of those from the beach were made with the 10-year old Panasonic GF1 which I have recently returned to active service as my “bicycle camera”, with the brilliant little 12-32mm lens I picked up recently.
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On Sunday I did one of my bigger rides, up to the Puerto de la Carrasqueta mountain pass, at 1020 meters above sea level (where I live). The distance from my house to the pass is 35 km; the first 25 km are a gentle climb past the town of Jijona, followed by a 10 km climb that is a bit more challenging:
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At this time of the year spring is just beginning and the almond trees are in full bloom:
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About 6 km from the pass there is a roadside bar called Venta Teresa, a popular meeting point for the many motorcyclists who have fun on the twisty mountain roads on weekends. I always stop there for a Coke and a few minutes’ break before the final push:
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Finally, I am at the top, enjoying a banana and the view before starting the long descent:
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That afternoon, I drove to the centre of El Campello to take a walk along the beach and to have a beer at one of my favourite bars. It was windy and on the cool side (relatively speaking) but there were people out and about:
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Old Man and the Sea–and friend:
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NOT howling at the moon:
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One of the many bars on the beachfront promenade. This is one is closed for vacation, as are several of the others. February is a slow month, so this is when many bar and restaurant owners take their winter break:
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Plant outside a small hotel; the sign asks passers-by not to let their dogs pee in the pot:
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Three images from the Eden Bar. A man watches Spanish football on TV. The French flag is there because of the Six Nations rugby championship currently going on; the owners of the bar are French:
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During another visit to Eden Bar a few days later, I photographed this loving couple at a neighbouring table:
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Same couple a bit later, at the pool table. They were not great players to put it mildly, but they enjoyed each other’s company:
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During the middle part of the week, I went to our local beach to see the sunrise in the morning. This is becoming a habit, since I often have to go a nearby bakery anyway. On this particular morning, rather than focusing on the sky, I looked at the features that were illuminated by the rising sun:
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Some mornings I go at or before dawn and look for fishing boats or other ships out at sea:
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Looking north along the coast:
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Just a snapshot of the headquarters of the EU Intellectual Property Office, where I have worked since October 2007, the longest I have worked in any one place:
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On Saturday morning, I was out on two wheels again, this time a shorter ride to Aigües and Busot, my most frequent destinations. This is a turn of the road 2 km from Aigües, with Alicante and the coast somewhere down there:
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This road leads to the top of a hill overlooking Busot. At the top there is some kind of ruin:
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The point from which I took the preceding picture is the parking of Busot’s cemetery:
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Inside the cemetery; as is often the case in the mountain villages and towns, the cemetery is on a hill above the town and the graves are “apartments” like these, presumably to make better use of the space and to protect the graves against the flooding that can occur during the brief autumn rainy season:
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Certainly the cemetery is located in a pretty spot:
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Down below is a road, used by me and by fellow cyclists (and the occasional car):
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The last image of the week, from Saturday evening. I went to the local supermarket to buy food and beer, and noticed this well-groomed doggie waiting for its human:
