This was the last week of August. I was still working from home, so each day started with a bike ride. For some reason I was not particularly inspired, so this week’s photos are mostly by-products of other activities.
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On Sunday I cycled south to Elche and Santa Pola, to have a flattish ride for once. The beach at Urbanova is just south of my office, about 16 km from my home. I stopped to take this image, which illustrates very well one feature of life in Spain–there are many laws and regulations, but actual compliance with those regulations is rather spotty:
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A bit further into the ride, a few km before Elche, I saw a sign pointing to a pet cemetery. I had passed it many times before and have thought about turning into the side road to take a look, but this time I did it. Unfortunately it is closed on Sundays but I could get a good look through the fence:
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The graves look similar to human graves here in Spain, except of course for the size:
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Towards the end of the ride, I passed this flooded field, with lots of birds enjoying the newly created wetland:
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In the afternoon, our friends Eliot and Assumpta came to visit, bringing their doggie Balu. I did a bit of B&W portraiture:
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Balu was born in mid-December, so he is about 8 1/2 months old, still a puppy and still growing:
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My wife made Valencian paella for our late lunch, which ended up more like an early dinner, since we ate around 8 p.m.:
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One more photo from home. My mother’s cactus, which had been more or less dormant during July and August, has sprung into action:
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On Saturday, I cycled a longish ride in the mountains, to Relleu via Aigües. In Aigües, I noticed this quirky window decoration on the square:
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Aigües church door with the weekend’s Mass schedule. The local priest is evidently called Francisco (which is abbreviated as Paco):
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The church in Relleu is quite colourful on the outside:
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Typical narrow Relleu street, with an equally typical scene, a conversation among passers-by. The village is small enough that many (most?) people know each other:
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Another conversation, partly inside, partly outside:
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A couple of vignettes from the centre of Alicante. I no longer ride a motorcycle, preferring the bicycle, but when I see something this beautiful, I have to stop to look:
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A Chinese church on Plaza Seneca, housed in a non-descript apartment building. There are apparently enough Chinese Christians in Alicante to form this kind of congregation:
