All posts by chaput@live.com

Camino de Santiago, Spain

The start of the camino de Santiago adventure

The Camino de Santiago is a religious pilgrimage which has always been of interest to me. It is known as “The Way of Saint James” an important pilgrimage that dates back to the middle ages. There are many different pilgrimage routes that lead to the city of Santiago de Compostela. Some of the routes are considered main routes for the pilgrimage. All routes however lead to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great where his remains are located in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

I began my preparations for the pilgrimage nearly a year in advance. Walking and training with my camino partner Mark for the journey which would inevitably take me through steep hills, valleys and other challenges. Reading many articles and conducting research it became obvious that planning and the right equipment was key.

Packed and ready for the Camino de Santiago

The day finally arrived and we set out by train to our starting point of Sarria Spain.

Once we boarded our train, we settled in for the eight hour train ride.  We toasted to the adventure that would follow.

Ray and Mark toasting to the Camino de Santiago

We enjoyed the train ride and we met other great people heading to Sarria for the Camino adventure. We arrived tired but excited to start our camino the next morning.

At the start of the Camino de Santiago I felt that the adventure would be a challenging walk and a hiking experience. I did not realize that the camino de Santiago experience would change me forever.

“Deja que comience la aventura”

Spain

The Liverpool Band

We went to the Santa Barbara Castle for a meal and some live entertainment. We settled into our reserved table to enjoy an outdoor full course meal. The tribute band for “The Beatles” called The Liverpool Band was slated to do a concert after our meal.

The view of the stage from our reserved seats

The atmosphere was fantastic sitting in the heart of the castle which was built in the 12th century. People were gathered at the tables enjoying the meal before the start of the concert.

People enjoying the outdoor meal in the 12th century castle of Santa Barbara

It was a beautiful evening with a full moon slowly moving over the castle walls.

View of the moon perched over the castle walls

The concert setting was small and allowed for a great view of the stage. Our seats were quite close to the stage and gave us a perfect view of the concert.

Our view of the stage from our seats.

What was really interesting about the Liverpool Band was that they were formed in Alicante in 1997 and all of the band members are Spanish.  They played for over two hours non-stop focussing on some of the top Beatle songs .

Juan Antonio Juárez: Guitarra solista y voz,
Iván Martínez Ferrández: Batería y percusión.

We have put together just a small sample of some of the music they played  at the Castle.

The Band Members are:

  • Jose Manuel Lledó Adsuar: Guitarra rítmica y voz,
  • Juan Antonio Juárez: Guitarra solista y voz,
  • Jorge Aniorte: Bajo y voz,
  • Iván Martínez Ferrández: Batería y percusión.

We enjoyed the evening and had a great time at one of the many events held in Alicante and at the Castle of Santa Barbara.

“Hasta la próxima, vive el momento y disfruta del regalo de la música.”

Spain

A week of Fireworks

Each year Alicante has firework displays for 7 nights after the “Fougeres of Sant Joan.” We try to take part and watch the fireworks from different locations in the city.

The first night we watched the fireworks offshore on a sailboat.

Shelley on the sailboat waiting for the start of the fireworks

The views from the Mediterranean Sea were excellent. We had unobstructed views of the entire fireworks.

View of the fireworks from aboard the sailboat on the Mediterranean Sea

The second fireworks we watched was from our terrance which provided a good view with the Castillo de Santa Barbara as a backdrop.

View of fireworks with the Castillo of Santa Barbara in the foreground

The final time we watched the fireworks this year was from a 21 storey high rooftop terrance near the beach.  Thousands of people head to the beach area to watch the fireworks. It is truly an amazing place to see them. The lights reflect off the water and make a spectacular show.

Thousands of people along the beach waiting for the fireworks show to begin.

The fire works are launched from a small point of beach. From the terrace we could see the launch area.

View of the launch area for the fireworks on the beach.

We enjoyed watching the fireworks which last approximately 20 minutes.  The twenty-one storey high terrace provided us with a spectacular location to watch the fireworks.

The view of the fireworks from the rooftop terrance

The pictures do not convey just how spectacular the fireworks were. Some of the fireworks were very creative with designs including happy faces, peace signs and other different patterns.

One of the unique fireworks

We put a short video below of just some of the fireworks.

“Vive la vida y haz tus propios fuegos artificiales.”

Spain

Les Fogueres de Sant Joan 2019

In Alicante every year there is a major festival called “Les Fogueres de Sant Joan”. It begins on the 20th of June and ends with the “Cremá” which starts at midnight on June 24th.  The city is bustling with noise and activities during the week of the “Fogueres”.

We try to participate and enjoy as much of the activities as possible during the fiesta. One of our favorite things to do is explore the fogueres on display at most major locations.

Shelley and Ray in front of one of the fogueres

There were a total of 89 fogueres in this year’s fiesta. We put together a small gallery of some of the creative, different and beautiful fugueres we saw.

We also took part in other events during the fiesta, inluding the Mascletà, parades and the famous “crema” which roughly translates to “cremate”

We went to our friends apartment which overlooks one of the main fougeres. Their balcony provides the perfect spot to view the fiesta activities and the crema.

Shelley and Ray in front of the large fougeres which we watched being burnt at the crema.

Below is a small video of the crema activities which is one of the highlights of the fiesta.

Our friend Felipe who is involved in a lot of tourist activities assisted in a video about Alicante. It is in Spanish but shows some of the great things we see in Alicante.

We always enjoy the Hougeras of San Juan and try to participate in as much as we can. Until the next time be safe and enjoy life.

“Lo mejor de la vida es seguir adelante con todos tus planes y tus sueños, abrazar la vida y vivir todos los días con pasión.”

Greece

Archaeological Site of Delos Island

We went to the amazing archaeological site which is the entire island of Delos in the aegean sea.

The island is considered to be one of the most significant archaeological sites in Greece and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990.

Our boat docked at the site and we followed our tour guide to begin exploring the island.

Our tour guide leading the way at the start of our tour.

We followed the tour group for some time listening to the amazing history of the island. She explained different areas of the island and how the society was at the centre of commerce at the time.

Ruins on the Delos island

It was hard to imagine that this island was a bustling city of over 30,000 people during the 1st millennium B.C.

Shelley and Ray at the pier of Delos Island

After following our tour guide for an hour or so, we decided to break away and explore the island on our own. We walked through the different streets exploring the ruins.

One of the many streets of ruins on Delos Island

The ruins of a butcher shop with stone butcher table still intact.
The famous Terrace of the Lions dates back to 3,000 BC.

The ruins of a traditional home on Delos Island

Tiled floor of ancient mansion on Delos Island
Touching a piece of history
Ruins of Delos Island

We walked through the ruins and came to an amphitheater. We stopped and decided to sit and relax in the 1 BC amphitheater.

The 1st BC amphitheater on Delos Island
Shelley sitting on the 1 BC bench of the amphitheater on Delos island

We saw a trail that lead up to the top of the mountain so we decided to go  an explore the mountain.

Top of the mountain on Delos Island

It was a fairly long and hard walk up the trail to the top. We stopped a few times along the way to catch our breath and take in the views.

The view from part way up the mountain on Delos Island

We continued up the trail and made our way slowly to the top.

View of the trail looking back down towards the base.

We reached the top and the views were well worth the walk up the mountain.

Ray and Shelley at the top of Delos Island
View from the top of Delos Island

We came to the highest point of the island and placed a rock on the top.

Ray placing a rock on the highest point of Delos Island

We stayed on the top of the mountain for a while enjoying the fantastic views of the surrounding islands. The pictures don’t give justice to the beauty of the views.

A short video of the climb up to the top of Delos Island

Our day on Delos Island was fantastic. Walking through the ruins of ancient Greece and knowing that this was referred to as the birthplace of the immortals gods of greek mythology. was a highlight of our travels to Greece.

“η ζωή είναι μια περιπέτεια, μην ξεχάσετε να την αγκαλιάσετε”