Category Archives: Spain

Spain

Volvo Ocean Race headquarters command center

We had the honour and opportunity to have a special tour inside the Volvo Ocean Race Command Centre, which is located in the Volvo Ocean Museum in Alicante. We began our tour going through the administration area before heading into the command centre.

View of the support administration area for the Volvo Ocean Race command centre

We entered into the command centre which is located in a secure glass enclosed area. Inside the command centre there were staff monitoring the race 24 hours a day.

View of a section of the command centre of the Volvo Ocean Race

We gathered around the command centre while our guide explained some of the operations of the centre. They monitor each boat in the race tracking them in real-time by satellite.

Some of the overhead monitors in the command centre.

They are also in radio contact with each boat. During the race the boats make videos of their activities and send them back to the command centre.

Staff reviewing a video from one of the race boats.

The videos are edited and finalized in the command centre before being put online. There are stories about everyday life on the boat and stories of unique experiences they have during the race. One experience was a “ghost ship”, found by one of the Volvo Ocean Boats. They located an abandoned sailboat approximately 360 miles east of Guam on February 13, 2018. It was the SV Sea Nymph abandoned by Jennifer Appel and her crew member Tasha Fuiava nearly 3 to 4 months earlier on October 25, 2017.

https://youtu.be/L9OgNgiE2MA

We spent about an hour touring the command centre and learning about the logistical challenges of coordinating a world race. The race encompasses twelve countries over six continents and takes nine months to complete.  We found the logistics of coordinating the race very interesting.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Basketball in Alicante

We were invited to a local professional basketball game in Alicante. We were not aware that Alicante was the home to the “Lucentum” professional basketball team.

We arrived early to the game which gave us time to explore the stadium.

View of the one end of the stadium
View of the basketball court from the second level of the stadium

We found our seats and settled in to watch the game. The players came out and began to practice and warm up. We watched them do several different drills before the start of the game.

Players warming up before the game.

We had good seats and could enjoy a close up view of the game.

View from our seats of the basketball game

We watched the game go back and forth with a close score throughout the game. There were only a few points between the teams with only a minute and a half left in the game.

Scoreboard with only minute and a half remaining

We watched on the edge of our seat as the home team of Alicante won the game by one point. It was a very enjoyable experience and an impressive game.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Sunday in Benidorm

We went to Benidorm and Polop on Sunday to explore the “Car Boot Sales” which is a traditional used goods sale. We started off early and enjoyed the drive to Polop which is located not far from Benidorm in the  mountains.

View of the “Sleeping Lion” mountain near Polop
Boot Sale in Polop

The people buy a space for five euros and they lay out their items for sale. There are four or five streets full of people selling every type of item imaginable.

view of part of the street in Polop

We walked along the main street looking at different items. They had some Spanish dolls for sale wearing the tradition Spanish dress.

Some dolls for sale in Polop

Some of the items were interesting and others were very common and considered junk by some people.

Used items on display and for sale in Polop
Shelley walking along the street in Polop

They had areas set up for food and drinks. There was even a bar area for people to have a cold beer and a truck selling roasted chickens.

Roasted chickens for sale on the street in Polop

We walked around for about an hour looking at the displayed items.

We found it interesting but did not buy anything.

We then headed to Benidorm where each Sunday they have a large sale of antiques and other used items. There was a permanent pavilions set up where people would sell antiques or other collectables. We walked through the different rows of items checking it out.

Shelley and Felipe looking at some of the items for sale in Benidorm

We came across a vender who was selling millitary items. There were some very interesting items for sale, including WWII books, photos uniforms, etc.

Military uniforms and WWII paraphernalia for sale in Benidorm
WWII books and photos for sale in Benidorm

We headed into the main enclosed pavilion and looked at the antiques. They had a large variety of antique furniture, paintings and other items which were quite interesting.

Some of the antiques on display in Benidorm
antiques on sale in Benidorm

It was an enjoyable day and very interesting looking at items from the European culture.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Photo art show

We decided to go and check out the opening night of a local photo art show with some friends. It was a beautiful evening and we walked to the converted old tabacco factory which now is hosting the art show. The building and grounds were beautiful with palm trees and a very unique restaurant.

Sonja and Shelley on the walkway leading to the refurbished tabacco factory.
Entrance walkway into the old tabacco factory property

We walked up the long walkway towards the building and came across a restaurant.

Ray looking at the unique design of the terrace

The outside terrace area was uniquely designed with wooden slats.

Front entrance of the restaurant

The restaurant was closed but we were able to walk inside the terrace area and look at the design more closely.

Outside design of the lats on the terrace
View of the slats used to form the design

The design made for a very interesting terrace.

A side view of the terrace

We walked to the main entrance area of the large building. It was refurbished and was now used for special events such as the art show.

Front facade of the refurbished tabacco factory

Inside there was an area with a table set up for complimentary drinks and an area with information pamphlets.

Entrance area with tables and pamphlets

The photo art show  was officially launched with some key people speaking at the podium. We listened to the speeches before exploring the art.

Opening ceremony for the launch of the photo art exhibit

We walked around the exhibit enjoying the unique or different photography. Some of the photos were quite interesting while others seemed ordinary.

Different photos on display
Photo art displayed in the long corridor of the converted factory.
One of the photos on display

After spending about an hour at the exhibit, we enjoyed a nice leisure walk home. It was a great way to spend a beautiful evening in Alicante.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

battleship tour

The Spanish navy was recruiting and docked some ships at the marina in Alicante. We went down to the marina to check it out.

Spanish Navy recruiting in the Alicante Marina

We also had an opportunity to enjoy a tour of one of the minesweeper ships.

minesweepers docked in the Alicante marina

We met with one of the officers of the ship and he took us for a tour of the ship.

Officers of the Spanish minesweeper preparing to do a tour

We boarded the ship and went to the stern of the ship to begin the tour. We walked through the top area of the ship and looked at some of the equipment located there. One piece of equipment was an underwater camera system.

Underwater camera system

There was an underwater mini submarine used to locate underwater mines. The submarine had special tools attached that could be used to cut cables or pick up items underwater.

Underwater remote control mini sub.

There was even a decompression chamber for their divers located on board.

Decompression chamber for divers

We then walked up stairs to the bridge section of the ship.

Ray on stairs of the ship.

The bridge of the ship was interesting. There were manual and computer controls for the ship. The control of the entire ship could be done with only one crew member.

Controls on the main bridge of the ship
Ray on the observation seat of the bridge

Ray even had an opportunity to sit down and enjoy the view from the bridge of the ship.

The view from the observation chair in the Bridge of the ship

We then headed down a set of stairs to the sonar room. The sonar room was equipped with several computer stations and some computer screens located on the walls. No photos were allowed in this room because of security.

We then saw some living quarters, and other rooms for the 41 members of the crew. Afterwards we headed back to the topside of the ship. Ray took the opportunity to check out one of the machine guns.

Ray holding a machine gun

We had a great time seeing the ship. The tour was very informative and enjoyable.

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”