{"id":2915,"date":"2020-05-28T05:36:02","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T04:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=2915"},"modified":"2020-05-28T05:48:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T04:48:56","slug":"week-21-back-on-the-via-verde-back-to-hostal-maruja","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=2915","title":{"rendered":"Week 21: back on the V\u00c3\u00ada Verde, back to Hostal Maruja"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the week, I continued to enjoy the newfound freedom to cycle where I want (almost), and Monday was a significant day for three reasons: it was my daughter’s birthday, bars and restaurants were allowed to open, albeit only with outdoor seating and an appropriate distance between tables, and as of that day I was allowed to ride my bike not only within the limits of my municipality but anywhere within the province of Alicante, which in practice means that I have a radius of close to 100 km. I decided to take Thursday off and visit Hostal Maruja in La Marina–our favourite seafood restaurant, well worth the 40 km drive.<\/p>\n

21_1<\/strong>
\nOn Sunday, I cycled up to Villajoyosa–not allowed yet, but I figured that I might get away with it as long as I did not go into the town centre (and I did). Passing the harbour of El Campello, I stopped to photograph the early morning light and the people enjoying the weather:
\n\"1150937\"<\/p>\n

21_2<\/strong>
\n\"1150938\"<\/p>\n

21_3<\/strong>
\nMy target was Playa Bol Nou, a beautiful secluded beach just south of Villajoyosa. Sadly, this is what greeted me:
\n\"1150946\"<\/p>\n

21_4<\/strong>
\nBut I snuck across the tape for a minute to enjoy the view. Looking south towards Alicante:
\n\"1150944\"<\/p>\n

21_5<\/strong>
\nLooking north towards Benidorm and Villajoyosa:
\n\"1150945\"<\/p>\n

21_6<\/strong>
\nOn Monday morning I did not take my usual bike ride; instead, I went for a long walk along the beach. The early morning light was lovely, even on prosaic objects like this door:
\n\"1040801\"<\/p>\n

21_7<\/strong>
\nA selfie on the paseo<\/em>:
\n\"1040802\"<\/p>\n

21_8<\/strong>
\nEl Campello, illuminated by the rising sun:
\n\"1040807\"<\/p>\n

21_9<\/strong>
\nAnother photo that is mostly about the light:
\n\"1040814\"<\/p>\n

21_10<\/strong>
\nThe beach is being cleaned up after the winter storms, in preparation for the return of the tourists later this summer (hopefully):
\n\"1040822\"<\/p>\n

21_11<\/strong>
\nMore light and colours:
\n\"1040817\"<\/p>\n

21_12<\/strong>
\nPlaygrounds are still off-limits:
\n\"1040815\"<\/p>\n

21_13<\/strong>
\nAnd this restaurant shows no signs of opening even though it could; this is a choice made by several restaurants, presumably based on their calculations that they are better off remaining closed until the restrictions are relaxed further in a couple of weeks:
\n\"1040823\"<\/p>\n

21_14<\/strong>
\nSome people just stroll, while others exercise:
\n\"1040820\"<\/p>\n

21_15<\/strong>
\n\"1040825\"<\/p>\n

21_16<\/strong>
\nA surfer arrived in his van and proceeded to change, using the rear door to protect his modesty:
\n\"1040813\"<\/p>\n

21_17<\/strong>
\nAnother surfer arriving, using a different mode of transport:
\n\"1040827\"<\/p>\n

21_18<\/strong>
\nOn Monday afternoon, I had a dentist appointment. Not something one normally looks forward to, but it was to finish some work started back in January that had been interrupted due to the lockdown, and the fact that she had re-opened was yet another sign of return to normality. The dental clinic is in the neighbourhood in Playa San Juan where I used to live, and I enjoyed the sight of the blooming trees, but even more so the people sitting outside the bar, enjoying an afternoon drink for the first time in two months:
\n\"1040828\"<\/p>\n

21_19<\/strong>
\nClose-up of the flowers:
\n\"1040829\"<\/p>\n

21_20<\/strong>
\nMore flowers, this time my mother’s Magic Cactus and its children, getting ready for a coordinated blooming. This is how things looked Monday evening:
\n\"R005942\"<\/p>\n

21_21<\/strong>
\n\"1040833\"<\/p>\n

21_22<\/strong>
\nAnd less than 24 hours later:
\n\"1040834\"<\/p>\n

21_23<\/strong>
\nA couple of cats seen during my morning bike rides. This one is just outside Busot. The building looks like some kind of stable, home to a small flock of goats. I guess the cat is the guardian:
\n\"1150947\"<\/p>\n

21_24<\/strong>
\nAnother cat, on the main street of Aig\u00c3\u00bces, tiptoeing towards his home:
\n\"1150951\"<\/p>\n

21_25<\/strong>
\nWaiting to be let in by his humans:
\n\"1150952\"<\/p>\n

21_26<\/strong>
\nThe Thursday arrived. I got up early as usual for my bike ride. When I returned home around 10, Monica was just coming home from the beach, having enjoyed the paddle board we bought her for her birthday earlier in the week:
\n\"1150954\"<\/p>\n

21_27<\/strong>
\nThen lunchtime arrived. As part of the social distancing measures, Hostal Maruja now takes reservations, both because there are fewer tables due to the 2 meter distance requirement, and to avoid that people spend time bunched up, waiting for a table. So we arrived at 2 p.m. and saw the welcome sight of the restaurant entrance with the sea in the background:
\n\"1040843\"<\/p>\n

21_28<\/strong>
\nThe terrace, less crowded than usual, but still full:
\n\"1040837\"<\/p>\n

21_29<\/strong>
\nOnce we sat down, we discovered another little change, now common in the bars and restaurants that have re-opened. Paper menus are a thing of the past, to avoid having yet another item to disinfect between customers. Instead, there is a sticker on each table with a QR code. But what counts is that the delicious food is the same as always, and we happily gorged on several favourites, starting with patatas bravas<\/em>:
\n\"1040840\"<\/p>\n

21_30<\/strong>
\nAnd continuing with boquerones fritos<\/em> (fried anchovies), followed by pulpo a la plancha<\/em>, calamares and the coup de grace, a delicious vegetable paella:
\n\"1040841\"<\/p>\n

21_31<\/strong>
\nOn Saturday morning, another first for 2-3 months, a ride on my mountain bike on the V\u00c3\u00ada Verde del Maigm\u00c3\u00b3, a disused railroad track converted to a 22 km long gravel path for cyclists and walkers. Just to get there is a nice ride of about 24 km, first on little roads like these:
\n\"1150955\"<\/p>\n

21_32<\/strong>
\nAnd then a few km on a field path set among vineyards:
\n\"1150958\"<\/p>\n

21_33<\/strong>
\n\"1150960\"<\/p>\n

21_34<\/strong>
\nThe beginning of the V\u00c3\u00ada Verde in Agost:
\n\"1150961\"<\/p>\n

21_35<\/strong>
\nThe nicest part of the route is around midway, at km. 10:
\n\"1150966\"<\/p>\n

21_36<\/strong>
\nI met a few other cyclists and walkers during the ride:
\n\"1150965\"<\/p>\n

21_37<\/strong>
\nThis is probably my favourite view from the track, a field of almond trees with the distant mountains:
\n\"1150963\"<\/p>\n

And so ended the first week in relative freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the week, I continued to enjoy the newfound freedom to cycle where I want (almost), and Monday was a significant day for three reasons: it was my daughter’s birthday, bars and restaurants were allowed to open, albeit only with outdoor seating and an appropriate distance between tables, and as of that day I was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2755,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2915"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2915"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2920,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2915\/revisions\/2920"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}