While doing some research on Alicante we came across this website called “Cafe Idiomas” which translates in english to Cafe Language.  Once a week they have an event where anyone can attend and have a coffee with someone with a different language and practice a second language. It sounds like an interesting spot so today we decided to head down to the cafe idiomas and try our spanish on some poor people.

We arrived at about 6 pm at the Cafe Idiomas, which turned out to be a small cafe located in the local school for languages called “Proyecto Espanol”. The school teaches Spanish, English and German to locals and foreigners. They host this free 2 hour language exchange at the cafe once a week. We signed up at the cafe and they were very happy to have us take part. There are not too many people who speak english and we were the only ones there tonight.

We were introduced to two spanish gentleman in their late twenties  or early thirties. We discussed any number of  subjects that arose  for about an hour in english.  During the second hour we talked spanish but still used some english when we couldn’t find the word in spanish. We definitely spoke more english than spanish overall, but our spanish is improving. It was an enjoyable evening and we will be  making this part of our routine every week.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dios”

As a former municipal worker I have been exposed to the challenges of running a city. I have always taken a keen interest in municipal services. Now that we are travelling the majority of the time by bus, I thought I would talk about the bus system in Alicante and area.

The city of Alicante’s population is approximately 330,000. The city has two bus systems within the city and then there are regional buses that work seamlessly with the Alicante system. The regional bus system has several companies. One is called the Subus and the other is called “Baile”. The Subus provides travel throughout the region from city to city. The Baile is a singular region route.

The Baile buses run to and from the City of Alicante through several smaller towns ending up in the town of Santa Pola. We are currently living along the Baile route and use this bus system. It runs on an hourly basis with several buses diverting throughout the day to the international airport. The cost of a one-way bus ticket on the Baile system is $1.50 euro. What I find particularly interesting is the bus driver role. He is required to make change while driving the bus. There is a small coin drawer built into the bus console which is used for coin. There is no automated coin box or slot for paying like in Canada.  A passenger will simply lay the coin or bill down on the ledge and the bus driver makes change from the coin drawer. If the passenger pays by a larger denomination the bus driver will make change from bills in his pocket. The bus driver also sells “tarjetas” which are the multiple bus ride cards. The tarjetas cost $15 euros each and are for 10 rides. I found it odd that the bus driver carries that much cash with him on the bus. Some bus drivers keep the money (bills) in their shirt pocket while other bus drivers keep the money in the pant pocket. They will pull out the wad of bills to make change at times.  All of this is done while the bus is either at the bus stop while people are getting on, or even sometimes if they are running late the bus driver will finish the cash transaction at a red light while waiting for the light to turn. The passenger will stand beside the driver until they get their change even when the bus is moving.  There are times when passengers will ask the driver questions while he is driving. He will answer and carry on a discussion even when driving. The bus drivers tend to be very helpful and friendly.

The bus drivers in the city of Alicante tend to be less friendly and a little less helpful. I believe the main reason for this is simply they don’t  have extra time to chat while driving in the city.  Driving in the city is a challenge and requires constant attention to the road.

The buses in the city of Alicante are colour coded into two groups, blue and red.  The blue buses are the “Interurbanas”  lines. They run between the main bus station to the outer areas of the city. For example you would take a blue #24 bus to go from the waterfront  at the south end of the city through to the far north end of the city. This would be similar to the express bus system used in Kingston Ontario.

The red buses are the local ones which cover certain areas of the city.  There are numerous red bus lines and they are all numbered routes.

It can be very difficult to know which bus to take, if you don’t know the area. There is no automated or PA system to announce the bus stops and it is up to the passenger to know when to get off.  The cost of a bus ticket in the city of Alicante is $1.45 euro.  You can pay the bus driver in cash or use a tarjeta. You can only buy a tarjeta at the main bus station. You can get a basic tarjeta or have a personalized one for an additional cost. There are different cost for the tarjetas depending on your situation. Student, Senior, tourist or adult are all priced differently.  Below is an example of the cost for bus transit in city of Alicante.

It has taken us a while and a few wrong bus rides to figure out the bus system, We are now getting comfortable using the bus system our next venture will be the TRAM system.

“Adios y que tenga un gran días”

We bought our first set of wheels here in Alicante. No not a car but a  wheeled cart. These carts are very popular here, people use them for everything from hauling groceries to moving their pet around. You can take the carts into restaurants, bars and even on the bus. They are quite handy. We decided we would buy one to help us with groceries. We went to El Corte Ingles a local store and found a great selection of wheeled carts. Everything from a very basic unit for around 12 euros to one that folded with swivel wheels and did almost everything but drive itself for over 100 euros. We ended up getting one that was suitable for us and in the middle of the line as far as quality goes.

The use of these carts is very prominent here. In fact even in some store or grocery stores they have a specific area for the wheeled carts. When you enter the store you  lock up your cart with a chain and key.  It is similar to a key locker, you pay one euro and one end of the chain is released. You then put the chain through the handle of the cart and lock the chain again and take the key. It is really odd to see people chaining up their carts like a horse at a hitching post.

“Adios y que tenga un gran días”

Today we headed back into the centre of Alicante to do some banking and a little exploring. We finished our banking early and  decided to stop off at an outside restaurant that specialized in crepes.  The restaurant served amazing crepes and were very tasty. The meal included coffee and tea and was only $10 in total.  Away from the tourist areas things can be fairly inexpensive.

We then headed for a walk to the Castle of San Fernando which is located on one of the two major hills in the city.  It is also one of two castles located in the city of Alicante. We walked along trails which led up to the top. It was quite the steep walk and certainly was an exercise but the view was nice. Along the trail was a ceramic crest for the Castle of San Fernando.

When we were closer to the top we could see one of the guard pillars located at the Castle.

When we finally made it to the top the view was stunning.  We had a panoramic view of the city of Alicante. The view was worth the walk to the top.

Today we used pedometer again and in total we walked just over 13 kilometres. It was full day but very enjoyable.

“Adios y que tenga un gran días”

Another productive day in moving forward into our new “home”.
We headed into Alicante this morning early and attended Swiss Real Estate. That was the company that helped us with getting the apartment. Our contact person assisted us with the change over and connection of electricity and gas. The process took over one hour on the phone with the utility company. The process was not easy and even the person helping us was frustrated with the process. Thank goodness we had his help.

After the utilities were completed we headed to the shopping district. We walked around the area and found a travel agency. We decided to go in and got some info on the cost of cruises for the Mediterranean. Our plan is to take a cruise in the next few months and check out some key cities. We took our cruise info went to a local cafe. Sitting there enjoying our gelato and drink we reviewed the information.

We then walked to the bus station and headed home. Today we decided to bring a pedometer with us to see how far we walk a day. Today we walked a total of 13 kilometers. It seems like every time we head to the centre of Alicante we walk for numerous kilometers. That hopefully should help keep us in shape.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dias”