We are staying quiet and not travelling as we wait for our vaccine and the return to a sense of normal. Although we have been quiet we have been looking at our blog and branching out to more of a video presence.
Here is a small ¨teaser¨ as we develop and make videos for future travel blogs.
Stay safe and we can get through this.
“Hasta luego y que tengas un buen dia.”
We took a tour with a small group to a historic building called the Casa Mediterráneo. It is located in the downtown area of Alicante close to the bus station.
The top tower of the building has a unique difference, can you spot it?
Casa Mediterráneo is a public consortium made up of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and other organizations.
It was the former train station of Alicante before it was converted into the Casa Mediterráneo. Now the building is used to promote mutual interest between Spain and the rest of the countries of the Mediterranean basin.
Some of the general uses of Casa Mediterráneo are to encourage or promote knowledge of the Euro-Mediterranean region. There are free concerts and other public events held in the Casa Mediterráneo.
The design of the roof and frame was apparently designed by a student of the famous engineer Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the Eiffel tower in Paris.
The city of Alicante along with other agencies salvaged the building which was at one time left in disrepair. It has now become a repurposed building and a beautiful structure along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
One of the many unique and beautiful buildings in Alicante.
“Deseamos que tenga un buen dia”
I was out exploring the city of Alicante when I came across the Municipal cemetery of Alicante. The main entrance was quite impressive for a cemetery and so I decided to take a walk through the cemetery and look around. I spent over two hours walking around exploring this historic and interesting cemetery.
Inside the main entrance was an area with washrooms and a sitting area. Beyond the entrance was the main road which had flowers, benches and monuments along the way.
Along the main road of the cemetery there was smaller side roads. that branched off. Each row contained many different grave stones, monuments and statues.
I walked each row looking at the many unique and interesting funeral plots. There were family plots that were hundreds of years old and some which contained interesting feature. Below are a few of the interesting monuments and grave stones.
Some of the grave stones were actually more of a piece of art than a grave stone.
I saw some very large mausoleums that looked more like small churches than a mausoleum.
The cemetery was surrounded by a stone wall which also served as a columbarium wall.
The cemetery is quite large and contains tradition type grave stones as well as simple burial stones.
It was an interesting walk and makes you realize just how precious our time on earth is. We wish everyone good health and safety throughout this pandemic.
“Vive la vida al máximo y disfruta de cada momento como si fuera el último, porque un día lo será.”
The Christmas season is certainly different this year in Alicante. There are no major gatherings and all the fiestas are cancelled. Curfews are imposed and people are only able to gather in small groups. No more than two families with a total of 10 people can gather at Christmas. So it is just the two of us having a quiet Christmas at home. However the city has done a great job lighting up the city in a festive way. We put on our mask and decided to take a walk around some of the areas of the city to check out the Christmas lights.
Along our walk through the different barrios we would find different lights strung across the road. It was beautiful to see the array of lights and styles of decorations.
Some of the narrow streets had some intricate and interesting lights. The photo below does not truly capture the ambiance of what it was like walking under the “stars” of that street.
Some of the plazas had displays of lights or even Christmas Nativity scenes. The plaza de la montañeta had both. There was a large ball decorated all in lights and people could go inside and walk through it.
There was also a display of a nativity scene and a village scape in the plaza.
If you look closely you may see a familiar face.
Several streets had basic lights across them, while others had more intricate lights.
We walked down to the Ayutamiento (City Hall) and checked out the Plaça de l’Ajuntament. There was a large display of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus.
Overall the Christmas decorations were beautiful although the atmosphere this year is one draped in uncertainty. We wish everyone a safe, healthy Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
“Feliz Navidad y un Feliz Año Nuevo”
2020 began like any other year, we took an amazing trip to Egypt in January exploring some of the amazing historic sites.
We had heard about the Coronavirus which was in China but it had not knowingly gone past its borders at this point. We arrived back home near the end of January after our trip abroad. We rested and watched the news with the rest of the world as the virus spread beyond borders. The world began to change as governments reacted to the coronavirus threat. People began to panic buy and toilet paper became the new commodity. Shelves in the grocery stores of Alicante were bare for a few days from panic buying.
Here in Europe, Italy became the epicentre of the virus and thousands of people became infected and died. On March 14th the Spanish government declared a national state of emergency and ordered a national lockdown. Everyone was ordered to stay in their homes for two weeks with limited exceptions to leave the home. The two week lockdown was extended numerous times keeping us in lockdown for an extended period of 48 days.
We watched the news in disbelief at what was quickly crossing the world and forcing countries into isolation and lockdowns. The streets of Alicante became empty and major festivals and events including the Holy week were cancelled. Our planned trips abroad were all cancelled and we stayed in lockdown. The city of Alicante changed, the streets were empty, bars and shops closed.
When people were able to go outside for a walk, they were mandated to wear a mask. We began by making our own mask using some directions from a Youtube video.
We took our first walk outside of the apartment on May 9th, nearly 2 months after the lockdown began.
We wore our mask and watched as people would cross the street to avoid being to close to someone. We could sense the fear and sadness of people walking the streets. It was truly a sad time but also an uplifting feeling of being outside at the same time.
The stores, bars and markets were beginning to reopen with some major restrictions. Our local market was partially opened but it felt surreal watching all the people wearing mask worried about catching the Covid19 virus.
It was a strange watching the news and seeing the way the world was changing.
We were using social media to connect with the world and family as the virus spread. Images on social media of major tourist attractions and cities that were empty. Cartoons and other media was used to express the fear or frustration of the events happening with the virus.
The world environment itself was changing and beginning to heal. CO2 levels were down 17%, animals migration changed and the ozone layer was healing. The world was changing and we could see history unfolding before us.
By July the city of Alicante was somewhat back to the “New Normal” shops and restaurants were starting to open. The outdoor markets were now open but with major changes to the way business was conducted. The people were mandated to wear mask, use hand sanitizer and to social distance as much as possible. Signs, floor markings and plastic tape etc was used to ensure people followed the guidelines.
Police were visible ensuring people followed the new rules. It was with a sense of apprehension that we were out shopping and doing our regular activities.
At the end of August we headed back to Canada under major duress because of a death in our immediate family. The flight and travel was uniquely different with airports empty, security taking temperatures and planes half empty of passengers.
We arrived in Canada and were mandated into a two week quarantine. During the quarantine we were contacted by the Canadian government several times ensuring that we were ok and remaining in quarantine. A second family member passed away while we were in Canada. Both of these deaths were not related to the Covid19. We stayed in Canada until early November before heading back to Spain. Our flight back was surreal with a plane that was nearly empty of passengers. Arriving back home to Alicante safe and sound we are happy to be home but sad to be far away from family.
The holidays are soon upon us and the end of 2020 is almost here. Like most people we are looking forward to an end to this year with the hopes of a better year to come.
(Video from John Oliver show)
Hopefully the end of this year will bring a new beginning of a healthier, normal year. With the hope of a vaccine coming over the next 6 months or so it is our hope that travel and life will come back to a sense of normal. We wish everyone a very safe Merry Christmas and a happy healthy New Year.
“Te deseamos salud, felicidad y el mejor Año Nuevo posible.”
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