Yesterday it was cool and rained for the first time since we have arrived. It was a heavy rain that lasted around 6 to 8 hours. We stayed in the apartment for most of the day. When the rain stopped we took the bus and headed into Alicante to sign the lease and pay the rent, deposit etc. for our new apartment. On the way back we stopped in El Altet for some groceries. Overall it was a fairly quiet and relaxed day.

During the rainy day, I took the opportunity to review my photos and thought I would share some of the better ones with you.  I hope you enjoy them.

“Adios y que tengas un gran día.”

Since we arrived in Spain we have been searching for a permanent long-term rental. We have scoured the internet in the hopes to find the perfect spot. We wanted something in the centre of town not too far away from the train, tram and bus system. We also wanted to ensure we were somewhat close to the airport for future travel throughout Europe.

Today we went and looked at a particular apartment which met the above criteria. After viewing the apartment and reviewing the criteria one last time we secured a year lease with a great apartment in the heart of Alicante.

The experience of finding a permanent home and knowing that we are now committed to staying here for a minimum of one year brings both excitement and fear. I think it has sunk in that we are not just on vacation, but have moved to Spain, something we knew but still felt surreal until today. We have been able to achieve the goals that we set out for ourselves that included securing an apartment and settling into a neighbourhood to start our new life adventure.  Once the commitment was made and we knew we were settled into an area of the city, we decided to go for a celebratory drink. Down along the walkway near the waterfront we found ourselves at an outside patio having  Sangria and our first Tapa.

Today is another milestone in our new retirement adventure, living, exploring and celebration life in Spain.

“Adios y que tengas un gran día.”

Today was another beautiful sunny day so we decided to take a walk on the beach.  On our way to the beach we need to travel across an elaborate boardwalk system. The boardwalk takes you over the sand dunes that are parallel to the beach and shoreline. I was curious as to why this area was not developed into part of the beach system. Along the boardwalk was a sign explaining the ecosystem there.

The sand which is transported by the winds accumulates on the dunes and serves as a natural reserve replacing lost sand on the beach during major storms.  The dunes are at different levels of development. There are what is referred to as embryo dunes that expand eventually to semi developed dunes with flora and trees on them. These dunes are extremely important in order to maintain the current beaches. They are well maintained areas and no one is allowed to walk in the dune area. The boardwalk is also designed and configured to ensure no interruption of the wind flow which is crucial for the ecosystem of the dunes. The dunes span over 8 kilometres and have beautiful flora and wildlife during the summer time.

Today we walked a major portion of the boardwalk looking at the different development stages of the dunes and enjoying the beautiful scenery.  The pictures don’t do the dunes justice but you may be able to see the different stages of dune development and the wonderful boardwalk.

“Adios y que tengas un gran día.”

Today we decided to go into the small town of El Altet. We wanted to get some groceries and Ray wanted a haircut.  It is along the bus route we normally take when heading into the centre of Alicante. El Altet is a small town of around 5,000 people and is quit quaint.

We took a walk down the main street and checked out the local stores. Ray found a small hair saloon where the local women was cleaning the floor. There was no line up and the cost of the hair cut was only $8.

After his hair cut we then walked around until we found a small fruit and vegetable store. We bought some bananas, kiwi and other vegetables and it totalled $3.23 for what would normally cost over $10 in Canada.

We then went to the Dia Mercado and picked up some groceries. It is hard finding particular foods when you aren’t familiar with the store and the labels are in spanish. There is a lot of unique and different stuff. They have octopus, squid and other type of crustaceans in the frozen section. They sell wine and beer in grocery stores and have a very good selection at a low price.

Our grocery cart was filled with different foods which are new to us. Having groceries is an adventure in itself. Check out our shopping cart.

“Adios y que tengas un gran día.”

Well today was a very productive one. We awoke early this morning (well early for retirees anyways) and we were on the bus by 8 am to the  business centre  of Alicante. We made our way to the BBVA which is one of the main banks in Spain. The branch we attended was of course one that no one spoke english and our spanish is a little too limited for opening an account at this time. We headed to the main branch which we were told had english speaking staff. We walked to the main branch about 1 km away. It was a nice  21 degrees celsius a great day for a walk so off we went.

At the main branch of BBVA we must have looked like “deer in the headlights”. The bank had padded benches throughout and people were sitting any which way and awaiting their turn. We looked around for a “take your number” system but could not locate one. So I approached what I thought was the information desk and asked the gentlemen to speak to someone in english. He directed me to the finance clerk who would help me. It turns out he was the security guard and even carried a gun. Ops my bad. The system in the bank is unique there is a touch screen which you tap into it the particulars of what you want and it prints out a number for the appropriate clerk. Our english speaking clerk helped us put the info into the system and then we waited for her to serve us. She was very helpful and we were able to open our bank account and set up our online banking APP.

We then headed to the main bus station and bought a Mobilis card for both of us. The Mobilis card is simply a preloaded bus fare card which also works for the TRAM system.  a bus fare is $1.45 euros and the fare is even cheaper when loaded on a Mobilis card.

The airline contacted us today and advised they found our last piece of lost luggage. We headed to the airport and picked it up. Boy I was happy to get my stuff. The luggage was not damaged and all my stuff was ok. It is hard adjusting to a new country, culture and language while not having security of your basic essentials.

Overall a very productive day. Each day we move forward a little more. We are starting to settle in nicely. “Adios y que tengas un gran día.”