To Beach Or Not To Beach?

Yesterday was my first visit to the beach this year (I'm not counting my first dive 2 weeks ago, wearing a neoprene suit is a bit cheating), thanks to my sister being home for the week (to celebrate her 30th bday!) with some friends from the UK and Canada. Can't come to Alicante for a week and not go to the beach!

Gorgeous day at the Playa de San Juan. Lots of sun, a light breeze, a flat Mediterranean. But the question is...

keep reading!

Favourite Summer Moments 2011

One thing leads to another... in this case reading a post over at Snug Harbor Bay which led me to the Outdoor Blogger Network and their Goodbye Summer photo prompt, which got me to thinking about my wonderfully busy summer this year! I was way too absent from the blog this summer thanks to / because of "real" life keeping me busy and away from my computer screen! Which resulted in a lot of photos and a lot of adventures I wanted to blog about but haven't had the time... So consider this a summertime "greatest hits" and preview to one or the other future posts. ;o)

Summer in Alicante started off as usual with the Hogueras de San Juan

"Official" Hoguera 2011 (more here)

and I got to enjoy a couple of masclet�s from real close! ;o)

Then there was the travelling...
Morocco:

crossing the Atlas mountains in July

fun with henna tattoos for a Berber wedding

keep reading!

Alicante Summers

So, was really starting to wonder about what this weekend's post on Alicante summers would be... when all of the sudden the answer made itself known right outside my window (thanks to a party at some dude's house across the street):

FIREWORKS!

Definitely an integral element to the Alicante summer, you can't avoid them anywhere in this province! And even less here in town where we get our regular dose of fireworks, local neighbourhoods adding in an extra dollop, the occasional party that decides to launch a few... and then every weekend you hear some booms! from some town close by (and sometimes you can make out the lights). The closest city (Elche) actually has an hour-long fireworks show on the night of August 14th, all set off by local people from their rooftops (I'll try and go next year, I've been twice and it's neck-cringing and amazing!).

Of course the biggest and the best are those that jump start the summer at the end of June, a lovely 5-day competition (of minimum a 20' show) at the Playa del Postiguet downtown. I saw 3 out 5 nights, one from home and two from the beach (boom! noisy when you're right under them!)

Here's a shot from the rooftop of my building:


Not bad eh?! I remember one year a friend and I got all geeky by trying to calculate the distance based on the difference between how long the light and sound took to reach us (or something like that). It is a bit odd to see the lights and then a second later hear the boom! boom! BOOM!

They're much more impressive when you're at the beach:


It so much fun down there these nights. Just fashion yourself a sand couch, cover it with your towel, and keep a bottle of wine and some jam�n serrano and queso manchego handy and you're definitely in for a delightful and explosive evening!



Look ma! It's raining fire! ;o)


This is the signature firework in this region, a "palmera" or palm tree:


Hmmm... sound effects are needed for this post, don't you think? Ok, so here go two fragments for you!



This one is part of the series that were launched from a sandbar and so it looked like they were exploding out of the water, very cool!

Alicante Summers

M�sica maestro!

Summer is a very musical time in Alicante. Didn't used to be, but about 10 years ago City Hall started promoting various cultural activities over the summer. The first was an annual Jazz Festival, 5 concerts over two consecutive weekends by some pretty well-known artists (for example Maceo Parker last year). They used to construct a stage and seating areas in a plaza in the Alicante Harbour but for the past couple years have switched it to an area amongst the ruins of the original Roman town of Lucentum (about 10' from where I live).


This stage in the archaeological site gets quite a bit more action over the summer as there are a series of 3-5 shows along the various themes: "Voces en Lucentum" (singing), "Danza en Lucentum" (dancing, this year mainly Flamenco, last year I saw the National Dance Company, amazing!), "Teatro Cl�sico en Lucentum" (so classical -i.e. 16th - 17th century etc- theatre) and "Zarzuela en Lucentum" (I don't quite know how to describe Zarzuela, I've never been to one. I believe an apt description would be the Spanish equivalent to Opera?). And whereas the Jazz Festival is quite expensive, these are either cheap (5-10� depending on seats) or even free! If my mom is up for it I'll be taking her to see a Zarzuela this coming week...

(esplanade where the stage is set up)

What else? Oh yes! Last year they started up a new music festival: "Festival de M�sicas del Mundo" (so world music). I wasn't too caught up in it this year, but last year I had trouble choosing just the one (also expensive), but I enjoyed a glorious two hour concert, listening to Loreena Mckennit sing her beautiful songs and explain the inspiration behind several of them. Open air concerts last year, this year they moved it indoors to the main theatre.

There's also a stage set up along the long sandy beach Playa de San Juan where various orchestras come and play some Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. PLus you'll hear music from all the bar terraces, and frequently groups set up shop at the beach "chiringuitos" (kiosks?) to just play the night away! Kind of like these guys:



Here's a look with the lights (flash) on:


Summers are definitely a lot livelier than when I first moved here! :o)

Alicante Summers

I've been pondering today's subject... slightly distracted by the family photo afternoon session (first time in 2 1/2 years we're all together!), editing London photos, sorting through dive photos and trying to put some semblance of order back into the house (chaos reigns!).

So I finally settled on my favourite place to be in the summer: the water! Yes I know I mentioned the water in the second post in this series, but now I want to share what goes on in it: Aquatic Activities! :o)

Above the water this is a popular option (that I would do lots of if I could! snif!):


(photo from 2 years ago when the tall ships race stopped through Alicante, but you can see the bay full of sailboats most weekends in the summer)

In the water there's the very simple (and low-cost) swimming:


with or without the dog, your choice.

For the in-between there's snorkelling:


If you're up to braving the depths then there's always my favourite:


scuba diving!

Oh, and there's also sandy beach activities (playing in the surf, sandcastles etc) but since I haven't been in years I don't have any photos (digital anyways)! :p

Alicante Summers...

I was wondering what today's edition of this series should be about... and then I found these in the store on Friday:

FIGS!!!

And not just any figs, GREEN figs! In other words my absolute most favourite fruit!!! Which I totally associate with Alicante summers because you can only find them for a very short period in July and August! They're also hard to find unless you have a really good vegetable store in your neighbourhood (with contacts to local people with fig trees) or know someone with a fig tree in their garden (I'm so envious of them!). These are the first I've seen this summer.

Fruit and I have a love/bleh relationship. I'll devour them and eat them by the bushels one day and ignore them the next. And it's just my rotten luck that the three fruits I like best and could consume in inordinate amounts have very short seasons! Strawberries in May and June, (green) Figs in August and Pomagranates in (end of) September and October.

Why green figs and not black? Well the black ones are ok too I guess, they're just a tad bit too sweet for my taste. Their biggest problem is they're mushy! By which I mean not as firm as green figs and so a bit more complicated to peel and eat. :p

Oh, and I can smell a fig tree even hidden among the icky smells of the city... For example, when I was in London last weekend (more on that soon I promise), I was taking shots of this:


and my nose guided me to look around and then down (as in right below the parapet on which I was leaning) where I spotted this:


Fig trees surrounding the Houses of Parliament?! huh?!?!?! Didn't know they grew that far north! I wonder if the fruit is any good... (you can see some if you click on the photo for a bigger view) anyone know the PMs in there to ask them about it? ;o)

I'm going to sign off with a trip down memory lane...

The way my mom tells it I first tasted figs when I was 5 or so and we were living in Saudi Arabia. She had spotted them at the store and was all excited 'cause she hadn't eaten any since leaving Spain years and years before (I don't feel like doing the math now). She only bought 5 asthey were expensive. Back at home she tried to get me to taste them but I was like "yuck!". She ate 1/2 of one and insisted I try the other half... and the rest is history! Need I add she didn't get a bite out of the other 4 figs? ;o)

Alicante Summers...

Here's one that I'm sure is a summer-time favourite across the globe!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for...

ICE CREAM!

Alicante is one of the ice-cream making capitals of Spain. Alicante and the nearby town of Xixona. Both make ice-cream to sell in the summer and turr�n (Spanish nougat) to sell in the winter.


I tend to prefer sherbet to ice cream, but among the latter my favourites are two local specialities: helado de turr�n and helado de leche merengada. Yum! What are your favourites?

Alicante Summers...

An absolute must for surviving the Alicante summer:

LIMON GRANIZADO!!!

Think partially frozen lemonade... like a slushie perhaps? Is one of the few things my cousin in Virginia remembers from the summer she spent here with us when we were both 10! ;o)

Alicante Summers...

Last week was fire... and heat... inextricable elements from an Alicante summer.

So what do you do when all that gets to be too much? Anyone know the element that defeats fire?

WATER!

People don't come to Alicante for the heat... they come for the Mediterranean! For those long sandy beaches where you can bask in the sun to your heart's content (and turn into a lobster if you're not careful, lol!) and play in the surf and sand...


Or for the rocky beaches and coves where you can just dive into the blue and be instantly refreshed.


Where you can put on snorkel, mask and fins and say hello to the fishies munching on the algae or hiding amid the Posidonia oceanica leaves.

Alicante Summers...

I'm starting up a new blog series here!

Every Sunday in July and August I'm going to share a slice of Alicante summer with you! Don't worry, I promise not to send you any mosquitos, heat-wave, or muggy air! Just the nice stuff to remind myself how great it is here (when I ignore the humid heat) and to make you all jealous! ;o)

First off: FIRE!!!


Fire for the Summer HEAT, and Fire for the Hogueras that ended 10 days ago. Ended in Alicante that is! Several neighbouring towns will be having their own Hogueras throughout the summer (but a much smaller deal, less insistence on the monuments, more on the "barracas" and getting together to eat, drink and dance outdoors!), starting with San Vicente del Raspeig (where the Uni is, just on the other side of the highway) in 2 weeks! And since I have friends with a Barraca... guess what I'll be doing that weekend? ;o)

And fire as in FIREWORKS!


I haven't had time to put up that post yet (I have to edit video sequences, and it comes after the Crem� post which also requires a few more video edits), but right after the Hogueras was a 5-night international fireworks competition launched from the beach downtown. In the Province of Alicante a holiday isn't a holiday unless it includes a decent dose of fireworks! This weekend I've been hearing "booms" in the distance (sound travels so far at night!), and it will continue to be so every weekend this summer! Depending on the town (or Alicante neighbourhood!) I can actually catch a sight of some of them from my windows! :o)


So, anyone else feel like sharing glimpses of what summer is like in their neck of the woods? ;o)