The two main events of this week both relate to cycling, but in different ways. The first half of the blog is about the Moros y Cristianos celebration that I came across during my Sunday bike ride. And towards the end of the week, I went to see the pros: the 4th stage of the Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana bicycle race passed a town about 45 km from here, and I went to see it. There were also some nice social activities during the week.
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On Sunday morning, I cycled to Agost, as I often do, a nice little town 26 km away, making it a relatively easy medium-length ride. I found the main street of the town closed to traffic, and immediately the reason became obvious. The Moros y Cristinos celebration was beginning, and a parade was taking place, with the conquering Moors marching towards the main square:
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The non-very-fearsome head of the Moorish contingent:
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Alongside the route, the terraces of the bars and cafés and the sidewalk were full of people looking on, many of them ladies of a certain age who have seen many such parades before and probably marched in them when they were young:
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Commenting on the young ones’ performance:
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Spanish children start young:
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Many of the Moors were young women:
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Applause:
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Skulls and bones:
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There were some heavy duty Moorish men too:
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And then came the band, starting with the percussion:
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The trumpet:
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The big brass guy, looking for the music:
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He found it:
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In the afternoon, I went for a beer at 100 Montaditos, the beach bar. There is also an ice cream parlour, quite popular on a balmy winter afternoon:
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Mother and child:
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Children playing:
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Then Monday arrived, back to work. But with a twist. We had our monthly department meeting, and a new tradition has recently been implemented–to have a drink in the city after work on the days when we have these meetings. This time it was in a wine shop/bar in the centre, called Osiris. It is run by this lady, here explaining some of the bottles. I chatted with her a bit. She opened the shop in October 2019, just a few months before Covid shut everything down. It is amazing that the business survived, but I am glad it did. Osiris is a nice place, selling good wine at good prices, and you can also have some by the glass and some cheese and other munchies to go along with it:
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Inmaculada, a colleague from Seville (she goes by Inma) and Ziga, a Slovak co-worker, chatting with two of our trainees:
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Bérengère, a relatively recent arrival from France, talking and laughing with Ben from Sweden:
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On Friday evening, Eri had invited the junta of the art club for dinner at her place. I wanted to contribute something, so in the morning I drove to Tibi buy some of Lili’s goat cheese. Outside her small shop I could see that there was another customer inside:
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Inside, Lili serving the customer whose bicycle was outside:
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Besides her own goat cheeses, Lili also sells Appenzeller from her native Switzerland. The round white cheese in the background turned out fantastic:
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Lili poses with the cheese I have bought lined up on the counter:
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In the evening, we gathered in Eri’s apartment. The neighbourhood is not particularly posh, but the apartment is nice, and she has a fabulous view of the Castillo Santa Bárbara, a medieval castle on a hill overlooking Alicante:
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The goat cheeses I brought, joined on the table by Greek salad and Greek sausage:
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Eri had ordered Greek takeout from a place she has found recently, run by a guy from Athens. The order included these large gyros. Christophe and Caroline are taken aback by the size (there was one for each):
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Eri demonstrates the correct technique:
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During the evening, we were briefly joined by Eri’s daughter who lives in London:
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On Saturday morning, I went for a walk on the beach. There were several people awaiting the sunrise:
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In the afternoon, I drove to the town of La Nucía to watch the 4th stage of the Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana bicycle race, one of the first professional events on the cycling calendar. I chose a vantage point where the riders would be coming up from a small town called Polop and beginning one of the hard climbs of the route. While I waited, I enjoyed the view of Polop:
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I had timed my arrival well, and after about 10-15 minutes, the riders appeared:
More photos from the bicycle race can be seen here.