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.
Entrance to the cemetery of Alicante
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.
One of the statues along the main road in the cemetery
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.
One of the branches off the main road in the municipal cemetery of Alicante
Some of the grave stones were actually more of a piece of art than a grave stone.
A family grave site with ornate and beautiful statues.
Large cross and statue overlooking a family plot.
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.
Columbarium wall in the municipal cemetery of Alicanteotter wall of cemetery with Columbarium
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.
Shelley and Ray at the Esplanada d’Espanya in Alicante
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.
Lights across one of the main roads in Alicante
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.
Strings of lights along a narrow street in Alicante
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.
Shelley and Ray in front of the Christmas ball in the plaza de la Montañeta.
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.
Nativity scene at the Plaza de la montañeta
Several streets had basic lights across them, while others had more intricate lights.
Shelley and Ray in front of gift box of 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.
Large display with Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph
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.
2020 began like any other year, we took an amazing trip to Egypt in January exploring some of the amazing historic sites.
Ray and Shelley in Egypt
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.
Meat shelf in a grocery store in Alicante
Toilet paper isle in Alicante grocery store
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.
Main walkway along the front of Postiguet Beach. Normally packed with tourist.
One of the main streets in Alicante. Normally full of traffic.
Main tourist walkway in the core of Alicante. Normally full of tourist.
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.
Shelley making our mask and getting ready for our first walk outside.
We took our first walk outside of the apartment on May 9th, nearly 2 months after the lockdown began.
Getting ready to go outside for a walk in nearly 2 months. Ray wearing a homemade mask made from one of his t-shirts.
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.
Market partially opened in our barrio, everyone mandated wearing mask and social distancing as much as possible.
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.
Image from Facebook by Paco Roca Chorques a local artist in Alicante
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.
Tape on the floor in front of stores that states basically “when you value the future, buy local, wear a mask and social distance”
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.
Airport nearly empty as we travelled back to Canada.
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.”
We spent four days in the city of Cairo, which is the capital of Egypt. It is also the largest city in all of Africa and of the Arab world. It was a bit overwhelming when we first arrived. The city is massive with well over 20 million people and traffic was thick and quite daunting at times.
A partial view of the city of Cairo
Although the traffic is busy all the time, they still manage to navigate well considering they only have a few traffic lights in the city. Most of the traffic lights are located in the very core of the city. The rest of the city has very limited traffic controls and most cars travel and navigate using their horn.
Typical traffic in Cairo
We were fortunate to have a bus to commute throughout the city. The driver was very good and he was amazing driving through the traffic. We filmed his driving at certain times when the traffic was very chaotic and congestion.
There were all kinds of unique and special things that we saw in the city of Cairo. We explored many areas including the city of the dead, which is located near the historic area of Cairo. There are numerous people who live in the city of the dead. The concept of “tomb-dwellers” took hold as more and more demand was placed on the overcrowding of the city. The lack of living space lead people squatting in tombs. The city estimates that currently there is half of a million people living in the city of the dead.
City of the Dead, n Cairo Photo from Daniel Nussbaum https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31146078
Section of the City of the Dead in Cairo
Cairo has a long history as a centre of the region’s political and cultural life. The city is known as “the city of a thousand minarets” because of the importance placed on Islamic architecture. We saw first hand the beauty and numerous minarets in the city. Below are just a few examples of some of the minarets we saw in Cairo.
The Albaster Mosque
On the outskirts of Cairo there are smaller communities all along the Nile River. We travelled through some of these small communities on our way to different historic sites. We saw some street vendors selling their wares on the roadside.
Vendor selling veggies on the roadside in small community in Egypt.
Vendor selling miscellaneous articles on roadside.
There were many people using horses, donkeys and camels as means of transportation.
Donkeys were often used as a means of travel.
The communities had a very unique character and the people were very friendly. It was a great experience exploring some of the surrounding towns of Cairo.
We spent an incredible four days in Cairo, exploring some of the extraordinary history of the city. This is one of the adventure that will remain in our hearts for ever.
The Giza pyramids are located on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt. We were surprised at just how close the pyramids are located to the city of Cairo. The pyramids are only 22 kms from the city centre of Cairo.
When we first arrived in the parking lot area and descended from the bus the view of the Pyramids was extraordinary. Even from the far distance of the parking lot, we could tell they were massive structures.
The pyramid of Khafre in Egypt.
The pyramid of Khafre, was the one that still had a small section on the tip in a finished state. This pyramid is the second largest and tallest of the Egyptian Pyramids of Giza . The Khafre pyramid was the location of the tomb of the Fourth-Dynasty pharaoh Khafre, who ruled in 2550 BC. The closer we walked towards the pyramid of khafre the more impressive it became.
The khafre pyramid in Egypt
When we reached the base of the pyramid we could see just how large the stones were that made the pyramid.
Shelley standing at the base of the Khafre pyramid in Egypt.
We were able to go inside of the Khafre pyramid and explore part of the interior chamber. It was amazing to think that we were actually inside the pyramid of Khafre.
Inside view of the narrow passageway in the Khafre pyramid.
The Giza pyramids were one of the highlights of our trip to Egypt. The other highlight was seeing the great Sphinx of Giza which was larger than we expected. It is 20 meters high (66 feet) and 73 meters (240 feet) long.
Shelley and Ray in front of the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt.
We were able to get close to the Sphinx but were not able to touch it.
We explored the pyramids and Sphinx area for several hours before heading back to Cairo.
Ray and Shelley’s hands on the Khafre pyramid in Giza
We will always remember and cherish this particular visit to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.
Until next time, be safe and enjoy life.
“”السفر يجعل المرء متواضعا. ترى ما هو مكان صغير تشغله في العالم. كما أنه يغير النظرة الإنسانية للحياة ، ويوسع آفاقنا ويجعلنا أكثر قدرة على إدراك الأشياء بشكل مختلف ، خاصة بعد التعرف على الثقافات الأخرى ، والتعامل مع أنواع مختلفة من الناس ، وتجربة تجارب جديدة.”
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