{"id":4194,"date":"2023-12-28T23:30:24","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T22:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=4194"},"modified":"2023-12-28T23:30:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T22:30:24","slug":"week-51-friends-choir-solstice-ride-to-aigues-and-busot","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=4194","title":{"rendered":"Week 51: friends, choir, solstice ride to Aig\u00c3\u00bces and Busot"},"content":{"rendered":"

This was the week leading up to Christmas. This year we were going to spend the holiday in quite a different way, by going for 3 days to Morocco on December 23rd. But during this week, the approaching holiday was very much in evidence.<\/p>\n

51_1<\/strong>
\nThe nearby village of Busot, part of my usual cycling route, is nicely decorated:
\n\"1030773\"<\/p>\n

51_2<\/strong>
\nWe are going to get together with a large group of friends to celebrate New Years Eve, and one day we met to plan the event in more detail, especially the important issues of how much wine, beer and champagne is needed (food too, of course). The planning session took place over lunch in a restaurant near Cani’s house, where we will party on NYE. Here is Cani with pen and paper, being serious about the accounting:
\n\"R000071\"<\/p>\n

51_3<\/strong>
\nMati is less concerned about the planning as long as there is enough wine:
\n\"R000067\"<\/p>\n

51_4<\/strong>
\nThen the paella arrived, and the planning was put on hold for a while:
\n\"R000076\"<\/p>\n

51_5<\/strong>
\n\"R000078\"<\/p>\n

51_6<\/strong>
\nOn Plaza Seneca in the centre there is a small Christmas fair, mainly for the children:
\n\"DSF7138\"<\/p>\n

51_7<\/strong>
\nChurros<\/em> are probably the most popular snack in Spain:
\n\"DSF7134\"<\/p>\n

51_8<\/strong>
\nSanta is there too:
\n\"DSF7132\"<\/p>\n

51_9<\/strong>
\nAfterwards, I went for a beer at a bar called Eden, possibly the most beautiful bar in Alicante, where you are served by the owner who knows how to pour a proper pint of Guinness:
\n\"DSF7135\"<\/p>\n

51_10<\/strong>
\n\"DSF7136\"<\/p>\n

51_11<\/strong>
\nMy wife has been singing in a local choir for many years. The Christmas season is always the highlight of the year for them, since they perform in some of the emblematic venues around Alicante. And so on Wednesday night they were singing in the Bas\u00c3\u00adlica Santa Mar\u00c3\u00ada, one of Alicante’s two main churches. I went to see her perform, stopping by the Plaza del Ayuntamiento on the way from the car to the church to check on the giant nativity scene:
\n\"DSF7143\"<\/p>\n

51_12<\/strong>
\nThe choir in action with a very ornate backdrop:
\n\"DSF7162\"<\/p>\n

51_13<\/strong>
\nDetail. Having grown up in a Protestant country with its simple and austere churches, I am always impressed by the splendour of the Catholic churches here in Southern Europe:
\n\"DSF7145\"<\/p>\n

51_14<\/strong>
\nThe conductor is originally from Cuba, but she has lived in Spain for many years:
\n\"DSF7158\"<\/p>\n

51_15<\/strong>
\nMy wife in full voice:
\n\"DSF7154\"<\/p>\n

51_16<\/strong>
\nThe male voices:
\n\"DSF7156\"<\/p>\n

51_17<\/strong>
\nWhile most of the singers are of a certain age, recently the choir has recruited some younger members:
\n\"DSF7160\"<\/p>\n

51_18<\/strong>
\nOn the square in front of the church there is a small restaurant, and through the window I saw a Dutch co-worker:
\n\"DSF7165\"<\/p>\n

51_19<\/strong>
\nFriday was winter solstice, and I had taken the day off to start my Christmas break a day early. During my morning bike ride, I stopped to photograph the beginning of the shortest day of the year:
\n\"1030782\"<\/p>\n

51_20<\/strong>
\nA couple of km later, the rising sun illuminated the road to Aig\u00c3\u00bces:
\n\"1030787\"<\/p>\n

51_21<\/strong>
\nWhile taking my usual Coke break on the main square in Aig\u00c3\u00bces, I had a delightful surprise. The children from the local school were brought to the square by their teachers (it is a 5 minute walk) for a photo shoot on the last day before the Christmas break:
\n\"1030790\"<\/p>\n

51_22<\/strong>
\n\"1030792\"<\/p>\n

51_23<\/strong>
\nOne of the teachers had a sack of snacks which she was giving out to everyone on the square, including a sweaty cyclist:
\n\"1030797\"<\/p>\n

51_24<\/strong>
\nI enjoyed the sights while drinking my Coke:
\n\"1030802\"<\/p>\n

51_25<\/strong>
\n\"1030804\"<\/p>\n

51_26<\/strong>
\nI continued my ride, going on to Busot, 8 km away. It is a really pretty road, and there are always other cyclists:
\n\"1030806\"<\/p>\n

51_27<\/strong>
\nThe final climb of the ride, up to the little white house in the distance:
\n\"1030807\"<\/p>\n

51_28<\/strong>
\nAnd then the view of Busot from the top, a sight I always enjoy, partly because it means that the rest of the ride is downhill:
\n\"1030808\"<\/p>\n

51_29<\/strong>
\nOn a hill overlooking Busot there is a ruin of some fortifications, presumably from Moorish times:
\n\"1030809\"<\/p>\n

51_30<\/strong>
\nMy last stop was at the Busot cemetery, located on a hill above the village, as is usually the case around here:
\n\"1030812\"<\/p>\n

51_31<\/strong>
\nPlanning for the inevitable future:
\n\"1030814\"<\/p>\n

51_32<\/strong>
\nBusot has a significant northern European population, which is now reflected in the cemetery as well:
\n\"1030815\"<\/p>\n

The next 4 images are made with the Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit lens, one of my very favourite lenses.<\/p>\n

51_33<\/strong>
\nHaving enjoyed the solstice sunrise, in the afternoon I went to the beach bar 100 Montaditos to enjoy the sunset. The air was clear, and Benidorm was easily visible in the distance:
\n\"DSF7183\"<\/p>\n

51_34<\/strong>
\nMy town, El Campello, illuminated by the setting sun:
\n\"DSF7184\"<\/p>\n

51_35<\/strong>
\nBeach volley:
\n\"DSF7184\"<\/p>\n

51_36<\/strong>
\nPhoto session:
\n\"DSF7187\"<\/p>\n

51_37<\/strong>
\nOn my way home, I took some pictures of my neighbourhood. This is the main road leading to the beach:
\n\"DSF7189\"<\/p>\n

51_38<\/strong>
\nA small roundabout, 100 meters from my house:
\n\"DSF7192\"<\/p>\n

51_39<\/strong>
\nOur house, which my wife insisted on decorating despite the fact that we were going to be away over Christmas:
\n\"DSF7194\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was the week leading up to Christmas. This year we were going to spend the holiday in quite a different way, by going for 3 days to Morocco on December 23rd. But during this week, the approaching holiday was very much in evidence. 51_1 The nearby village of Busot, part of my usual cycling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3855,"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\/4194"}],"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=4194"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4199,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4194\/revisions\/4199"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}