Prowling my world, camera in hand

1 November 2016

Week 43: last few days of Irka’s visit, Guadalest, rain

Filed under: — Administrator @ 10:39

This was the last week of my sister’s visit, so I took three days off to be with them and to show them around. Most of the pictures are from our day trips around the area and in the city of Alicante.

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Our first day trip was to the mountain village of Guadalest. It is a very popular tourist destination, as it is close to the beaches of Benidorm and the rest of the Costa Blanca, so the parking lot is always full of tourist buses. People want a break from the beach and this is a good option for that. Guadalest is built around a castle on a hilltop, and the views are spectatular. This is the emblematic image of the town:
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The surrounding mountains:
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The river, also called Guadalest:
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Why have one dog when you can have three?
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As is evident from this image, the main business of the village is to separate the tourists from their money:
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Inside the village church:
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Narrow passage:
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Irka and Telesfor struggling uphill but taking it in stride:
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It does feel like the Via Dolorosa at times:
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These two young women asked me to take a picture of them with their phone. I obliged but then also asked them to pose for me:
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The small hilltop cemetery:
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Lost her head:
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Gate integrated into the rock:
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Statue of a saint on the central square of Guadalest:
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The next day we went for a walk around the centre of Alicante, visiting the MACA, the Museum of Contemporary Art. This is the entrance, next to the Basílica Santa María in the old part of the city:
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Frankly speaking, MACA is not the world’s most interesting art museum. There is a lot of empty space, and few truly interesting works. This is one of them, a sculpture by Rafael Canogar depicting an arrest during the Franco dictatorship:
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This young man was taking a nap on a bench inside the gallery; for a moment, my sister thought that this was art installation:
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During the week, we had some clouds that eventually delivered their payload:
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While walking Cheeta in the morning, I looked for different ways to depict the autumnal weather. One way was to focus on the beautiful skies and colours and water on the road:
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Another way was to focus on the rain drops, such as here outside one of the restaurants in the neighbourhood:
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Or on the flowers on Avenida Vicente Ramos:
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Strange case of vandalism or an artistic statement?–overturned bench with neatly arranged bottles:
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Irka and Telesfor were leaving Wednesday night. This is their last lunch with us this time around. Given the occasion, a vodka toast is part of the standard procedure:
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After lunch, we went for another drive. First, we stopped at the memorial tree in the park, where I put up a ribbon for our lamented late kitty Taco:
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Then we drove on to Aigües and walked on Calle Mayor which, despite its grand name, is only about 100 meters long. There are some artistic types living there, though:
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Then we sat down for a coffee:
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The remaining pictures were taken earlier in the week during a walk in the centre of Alicante. I decided to go back in time, and took my Leica M2, loaded with Fuji Acros film.

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Street corner conversation near the Mercado Central:
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Eye contact:
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At the flower stalls behind the Mercado Central:
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Woman on the bench. In the background, bar La Rotonda, behind the Mercado Central:
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Inside the Mercado, the fish mongers usually constitute the most interesting photo opportunities:
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At the time we were in the Mercado, they were getting ready to close, so there were few customers and the mood was one of relaxation:
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BIG fish:
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The butcher:
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The final part of our itinerary took us to the area around Alicante’s town hall and the Basílica Santa María. This is the street that leads from the Plaza de la Santísima Faz to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento:
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Lone woman on a bench, Plaza del Ayuntamiento:
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A smoke on the balcony, Plaza de la Santísima Faz:
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And one of the last pictures I took of Irka and Telesfor, on Plaza de la Santísima Faz:
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Irka turned 71 during her visit here, and her husband is 7 years older. I think both are keeping well.

1 Comment »

  1. I enjoyed the tour!
    It was great that you could devote so much time to your sister and her husband.

    Comment by Brian Swale — 1 November 2016 @ 10:56

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