Spain

“Los Pajes Negros” in Alcoy

We went to the city of Alcoy for a visit. It was a few weeks before Christmas and the city was adorned with decorations.

Plaza in Alcoy, Spain

What we found strange was the decorations of “Los Pajes Negros” which translates to (The Black Pages) on the balconies throughout the city.

We researched this tradition and it dates back 133 years and is part of one of the oldest parades in Spain. The parade consists of around 2,000 people with approximately 300 people dressed as a black pages. The parade begins with the three Wise Men entering the city riding camels. There are musicians, torchbearers and black pages in the parade. The pages, use ladders to climb onto the balconies and give presents to the children.

Alcoy’s black Christmas ‘pajes’ (pages) prepare to deliver presents. EFE (photo from El Pais)

This tradition has been controversial and is considered racist by many. We have not seen the parade, but the idea of white people dressing up to represent black pages certainly seems racist.

“adios y tengas un grand dia”

Spain

A visit to Busot

We stopped at a small quaint mountain town called Busot, which has a population of under 3000 people.  The main streets of Busot were small and had decorations throughout the town.

Flower along the narrow streets of Busot
One of the narrow street of Busot, Spain

 

We took a walk down the streets exploring the town.

Shelley on one of the streets in Busot, Spain

There were some beautiful views along our walk, including old traditional homes, orchards, and vistas of the mountains and castle.

Views along the street in Busot with the castle in the distance

We stopped at a small cafe and enjoyed a coffee while admiring the castle.

View of the castle from the cafe shop
Shelley sitting at the La Casa cafe shop

It was a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon,  exploring a small mountain town.

“adios y que tengas un grad dia”

Spain

Caves of Canelobre

We went to see the caves of canelobre which are located in the mountains near the town of Busot. The caves are on the northern slope of the Sierra Cabeçó D’Or mountain. The views from the parking lot were quite breathtaking, you could see the whole region.

The view from the parking lot of the Canelobre Caves.

We arrived early and were able to get into the caves before there were too many people. Inside the main entrance was a long hallway leading into the caves.

Hallway entrance into the Canelobre caves

The hallway opens into a large cavern area which has a high ceiling.

Shelley and Ray in the main cavern area of the Canelobre caves

The caves were a lot larger than we expected, there is more 80,000 square meters of space in the caves. There were stairs leading to different levels and areas of the caves.

Shelley on the stairs exploring some of the caves

We walked through the different areas admiring the limestone caves with the different stalactites, stalagmites and columns. The caves are estimated to be 145 million years old. The caves were believed to be discovered by the Arabs in the tenth century, however little was known about them until the nineteenth century. It was during the civil war in Spain in the 1930’s when the caves were accessed and used as an aircraft repair shop by the Republican army. It was at that time when the tunnel access to the cave was created along with platforms, stairs etc.

Features of the Canelobre caves
Inside the Canelobre caves in Busot Spain
One of the features inside the canelobre caves

It was an amazing feeling exploring the caves.

Shelley and Ray at the Canelobre caves in Busot Spain

We were fortunate to explore one of the natural and unique caves in Spain.

“adios y que tengas un grand dia”

Spain

Christmas music in the Castle

We walked up to the 9th century Santa Barbara Castle to enjoy a free concert by soprano singer, Ascensión Perona and Pianist Daniel Catalá. Our walk began at 7pm and we walked up the steep incline towards the Castle. The views along the way were stunning and you could see the Castle light up in the night.

Castle of Santa Barbara in the evening

There were beautiful views of the city of Alicante along the walk up the mountain. We could see the city lit up in lights.

View of the city of Alicante at night.

We reached the entrance of the castle after a 15 minute walk up the mountain.

Entrance to the Felipe II hall at Santa Barbara Castle

We entered in the Felipe II hall located in the main area of the castle. There were seats set up and we found seats at the real of the hall.

The view from our seats of the front stage

We were entertained by a soprano named Ascensión Perona. She was well-known and had studied technical vocals and interpretation in Los Angeles. She was also accompanied by pianist and composer Daniel Catalá.

Soprano Ascensión Perona and pianist Daniel Catalá performing Christmas songs in the Santa Barbara Castle.

They played a mix of Christmas songs from different countries. There were a selection of songs from “Pie Jesu” – Andrew Lloyd Webber to “White Christmas”- Irving Berlin. It was quite interesting to listen to songs from around the world as well as from regions of Spain. Below is a small sample of some of the songs.

The event was one of the many free events throughout Alicante. It was certainly worth the climb to enjoy this free Christmas concert.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

Is Van Gogh Alive?

We went to see the Van Gogh Alive exhibit at the “Lonja Del Pescado” building in Alicante.

We went through the entrance and the exhibit began with some photos and write ups about Vincent Van Gogh.

Entrance to the Van Gogh Alive exhibit

We walked through the room looking at the displays and reading the information. After a few minutes we were brought into another area of the exhibit which had chairs along the walls. We found some seats and waited for the interactive show to begin.

Multimedia area of the exhibit

The interactive show displayed Van Gogh’s art works through digital imagery. It went through his life from the early years until his death. It was an interesting way to see an art exhibit.

Digital displays of Van Gogh

We put together a short video of the exhibit to give you a sample of the exhibit.

It was a very enjoyable experience and a unique way to view artwork.

Ray and Shelley in the Van Gogh Alive exhibit

“adios y que tengas un grand dia”

Life is too short to wait for adventure!