Tag Archives: Alicante

Spain

Sailing the Mediterranean Sea

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Friends of ours were going sailing on Sunday and invited us to come along. Sunday was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze, perfect for sailing.  We headed down to the marina to meet them and go out onto the Mediterranean sailing for the day.

The marina in Alicante
The marina in Alicante

We arrived around 11 a.m. and climbed aboard the “Hegaldi” sailboat. Mike and Liz were preparing the sailboat for the launch. We wanted to help but not knowing anything about sailing we were more of an observer than a worker.

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Mike preparing to launch the sailboat

Once we were underway it was a slow maneuver out of the large and crowded marina. There are boats of every  shape and size in the marina.

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Different boats in Alicante Marina

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Once we were out of the harbor Mike and Liz raised the sails and we were underway. We stayed within sight of the coastline and sailed east. The water in the Mediterranean sea is a beautiful azure colour.

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Azure colour of the Mediterranean Sea on coastline of Alicante

It was such a peaceful and quiet way to travel on the water. There was only the sound of the waves lapping at the boat and the wind in the sails. We travelled around six or seven knots on average and had a beautiful view of the coastline.

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Shelley and Ray with the coastline in the background

We sailed for approximately two hours and then anchored at a nice beach area. We enjoyed lunch on the boat and chatted for a while before heading back to Alicante. On the way back Mike gave us the helm and let us steer the boat, (not really there is an autopilot that kept the boat going the right way) but it made for a good picture.

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Ray pretending to sail the boat

Like any good team, my co-pilot also gave it a try.

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Shelley at the wheel of the boat.

We had an enjoyable sailing trip and saw the Alicante coastline from a different vantage point. I brought along my brand new selfie stick and tried it out. Mike and Liz were good sports and let me take lots of pictures.

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Ray, Shelley, Mike and Liz sailing on the Mediterranean sea

We were sailing for about four hours and the sun was quite hot. When we finished sailing and docked the boat we decided to head to a local bar for a nice cool and relaxing drink.

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Ray, Shelley, Mike and Liz at local bar having a nice drink

The bartender was quite attentive and generous with the alcohol. There was plenty of gin in the gin and tonics.

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The bartender poured the gin and tonics using a  freehand guess as to an ounce of gin. He wasn’t very good at guessing correctly.

We finished off our drinks and said our goodbyes. It was a wonderful day and very enjoyable.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

June is here it is time for the Festival de Fugueres

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Fogueres de Sant Joan copyIn June, there is the festival called “Fogueres de Sant Joan” it is also known as “Hogueras de San Juande” in Alicante. It is the largest celebration and biggest festival in Alicante. The official celebration begins on June 20th and includes events such as the “Mascletàs”  A major fireworks competition. There is the Pregón, which is the setting up of the bonfires known as “La Plantà”. There is also a procession of the effigies known as the Cabalgata del Ninot. There is also parades with a floral tribute to the Virgen del Remedy.

Although the official festival begins on June 20th the celebrations begin on June 4th.  Around 1 p.m. we headed down to the Luceros plaza which is located in the centre of town. The plaza was cordoned off with fences and police security.

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Luceros plaza in centre of Alicante
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Luceros plaza cordoned off for the Mascletàs (fireworks) event

We walked around the plaza area checking it out. We came across a nice cafe and decided to stop in for a drink before the start of the “Mascletàs”.

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Ray having a cold beer before the start of the “Mascletàs”

We then headed out and found a shaded area to watch the “Mascletàs”. There were lots of people gathered around having drinks and waiting for the fireworks. Some people were wearing costumes and paper hats. It was a very festive atmosphere with lots of laughing and singing.

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People wearing paper hats
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Major crowd at the “Mascletàs”
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people wearing costumes or matching T-shirts
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Shelley and Ray waiting for the start of the fireworks

There were firefighters “bomberos” who were there to set off the fireworks as well as fire protection.

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Fire truck parked in the Luceros plaza.

Inside the fenced off area, there was an area for the representatives of the fogueres  referred to as “Fire beauties and ladies” They were the focus of the local media and were part of the Mascletàs event.

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The representatives of the fogueres de Sant Joan
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Media taking pictures of the representatives of the fogueres de Sant Joan

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As the time grew closer people were anticipating the event and you could feel the anticipation. Once the fireworks started the people watched and cheered. The fireworks began with smaller explosions and noise which gradually grew to an amazing sound of explosions and smoke. The sound was tremendous and gave us both goosebumps. Once the fireworks were completed people cheered by waving the hands in the air and singing a Spanish song.

Below is the video of the atmosphere just before the actual Mascletàs and the fireworks display itself.  We hope you enjoy it although it does not come close to actually being there.

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It was a very interesting and amazing event and very neat to see and hear.  We definitely enjoyed the day and the display of fireworks.

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Canada

Less than 3 weeks before we move to Pembroke

It is less than 3 weeks before we move from our Kingston residence back to our home town of Pembroke before heading to Spain.  Our friends in Kingston and area have been meeting with us and wanting to spend time before we head out. We find ourselves meeting with  our friends, enjoying our limited time together. This is both a happy and sad time for us. It is always  sad when you are saying good-bye and not sure how long before you may see them again.

The fermented Friday group of friends we have, took us out for a going away dinner at the Sakura Japanese Restaurant. It was very heartfelt with lots of laughs. We had lots of fun. We have been deeply moved by the show of support and caring by everyone. The offer of use of their vehicles, help with furniture and overall willingness to help us with anything has been very humbling.

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Sakura Japanese Restaurant

 

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Canada, Spain

Moving Forward Update

We continue to move forward with our plans, although we have not heard from the Spain Consulate regarding our visa application yet. There is only two months left before we leave and it is getting busy for us.  We have started selling our furniture and have sold numerous items so far. The apartment is starting to look a little bare. The artwork and decorative items on the walls have been removed and given away to family or sold. We have sold our dinning room set and  we are now eating at the coffee table in the den. The computer desk has been sold and now the filling cabinet is our new computer desk.   Adaptation and a positive attitude are important as we move forward.

Our new dinning room table
Our new dinning Table

We have given our notice and plan on leaving Kingston in Mid December to move back home with our parents for a few weeks before we leave for Spain. We have secured a mover for the few belonging we will be keeping in Pembroke. We have also started the task of closing off our accounts related to the apartment. We have notified, gas, electrical, internet and TV companies that we are leaving and closing the accounts.

 

The challenge now is selling the car. We would ideally like to keep  the car until we leave, but that is simply not feasible. We are trying to sell our car now and if it sells quickly we will be renting a vehicle when we need a car in the interim.

We are updating  our wills and preparing for the final pieces to be in place before the move to Spain. There are lots more things to do, we need to finalize our taxes with CRA, change our mailing address, obtain international drivers licences etc. and of course we are still awaiting our Visas.