Spain

A Sunday walk in Alicante

We went for a walk exploring the heart of the city of Alicante on Sunday. The walk was a leisurely one and started out walking down some of the side streets. Along the way we came across some interesting things. The first thing we encountered was a protest against cruelty to animals.

We watched the protest for a short period of time and then headed toward the old quarter. We walked down a side street and we could see something beside a garbage container.

 As we got closer we could see that it was a leg of ham still attached to the gondola ham stand. The gondola ham stand was new and the price was still attached. This one was worth almost 30 euros.

A gondola ham stand with ham left beside garbage container

After we walked by the gondola ham stand, we came to a neat little muslim bakery called “Pasteleria Oriental Alicante”. We decided to go in and check it out. We bought a few tasty treats for later in the day.

Shelley in the Muslim bakery

We walked through the old quarter of Alicante exploring different streets. We came to the barrio of Santa Cruz and explored some of the streets there.  We walked through the narrow streets admiring the flowers and decorations, it was quite beautiful.

Santa Cruz sign on the side of a building in the barrio
Typical street in the Santa Cruz  barrio in Alicante
Street in Santa Cruz

We walked through the streets and eventually worked our  way to the oldest church in Alicante.

Oldest Church in Alicante in the barrio of Santa Cruz

There was a great view of the city and the castle from the church.

View of the Castillo de Santa Barbara from the church
View of the city of Alicante from Church in Santa Cruz

After exploring the barrio of Santa Cruz, we decided to go to a terrace to enjoy a beverage. We went to the hotel called “Les Monges Palace” which has a great roof top terrace. We sat on the terrace enjoying a glass of red wine and the views.

view on the terrace of the hotel

After having a glass of wine, we headed to one of our favorite  restaurants called “La Matanza Castellana” for something to eat. We  enjoyed a nice meal and then headed home after a long walk though the city. It was a very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Wine school and tasting

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Friends invited us to go to a class on the art of wine tasting being held in El Campello. We decided to go and check it out. We headed down to Luceros to take the Tram to El Campello. Luceros is located in the center of the city and has a beautiful monument located in it.

Monument in center of Luceros in Alicante

We took the Tram for approximately 20 minutes and arrived in El Campello. A short walk and we were at the wine school. We entered the classroom which was set up for the event.

wine glasses, water, and bucket for spitting out the wine.

The class which was entirely in Spanish was interesting at times and at other times we were lost and not able to understand the class. The instructor was speaking very fast and he also had a heavy accent.

The Instructor for the wine class demonstrating how to open a bottle of wine.

There were four different types of local wines from Alicante. A Shiraz, Merlot, Monastrell and a Sauvignon.

Wines from the Alicante Region that were sampled during the class.

Each wine was poured into a glass for sampling. The instructor then went through how to hold the glass to the details of tasting the wine.  Each person had a small bucket beside them for spitting out the wine when they were done. Ray did not need his bucket because none of his wine was wasted.

Shelley sampling her first glass of wine in the class.
Ray sampling his wine.

After the wine tasting we discussed the flavours etc of the wine. We would then move on to the next wine for sampling. The evening with friend was enjoyable and it was an interesting experience.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

Ahoy Matey der be a Spanish Galleon!

There was a replica of a 16th century Spanish galleon sail ship docked at the Alicante marina. We decided to go down and check it out. We could see the galleon from a distance and it was quite impressive.

A replica of the 16th century Spanish galleon Andalucia

We went on board and took a guided tour seeing what life was like working and living on a 16th century shipping vessel. It was an exact replica with cannons, rigging and wooden decking etc. We walked up the ramp onto the main deck of the ship. This area of the ship is known as the Quarter deck. On this deck there is a main mast known as the Mizzen mast.

Mizzen mast

It is also the wheel that controls the ship is located. Officers would command the direction of the ship but would not actually handle the wheel, which was done by sailors.

The tour guide showing us around the Galleon sail ship
Navigation wheel of the Spanish Galleon Andalucia
quarter-deck of the galleon sail ship

We could see the bell which they used for different communications on board. It was on the forecastle deck. This deck has the front sail mast, known as the fore mast, the bell and two anchors that weigh over two tons each.

Iron anchor with wooden shaft weighing over 2000 lbs.
Ray on the quarter-deck of the Spanish Galleon Andalucia Sail ship
Bell used to communicate between ships in fog and for work shifts etc.

There was the poop deck at the stern of the ship which we did not have access to.  The origin of the name poop deck is from the  french word “poupe” which over time was shortened to the common term of poop deck.

View of the stairs leading to the poop deck

The poop deck was where officers could view the crew and the maneuvers of the ship. There is a large lantern which was used to identify the ship at night and to communicate with other ships.

Main lantern on the poop deck of the galleon ship

Below the poop deck was the “Noble Area”. This area was restricted to officers, and high ranked passengers.

Noble area below the poop deck
Area for Nobles and officers to relax

We went down one level to the gun deck which is where the cannons for the protection of the ship are mounted.  The galleon ships travelled in large groups for better protection against pirate attacks.

Gun deck cannons

The guide explained how they used different types of cannon balls for defence. There was the standard cannon ball which would make a single large impact. There was also a cannon ball chained to another cannon ball, which was used to destroy sails and mast of a ship. They also had a special one with small iron balls bunched together for a shotgun effect.

Different types of cannon balls used for defence against pirates

The deck below the gun deck is called the Hold. It is an area of the ship which holds the precious cargo.

Cargo area in the Hold of the ship

The cargo could be wine, oil or other products from Europe heading to America or it could be gold, silver and other precious metals from America. Only a small part of the hold was used to store basic food for the crew for the journey across the ocean.

“Adios y que tengas un grand dia”

Spain

Tour of a working Spanish Submarine

The other day we had a unique opportunity to see a functioning Spanish naval submarine. The vessel was docked at the marina and we were part of a small select group of people who were given the opportunity to have a tour.

We arrived at the pier and gathered with some other people before being met by an officer of the crew.

Ray and Shelley in front of the submarine at the Alicante Marina

The officer took us in small groups onto the top of the submarine. He explained some of the history and some of the details about the submarine.

The  Agosta Class submarine is 67 meters longs and displaces 1760 tons submerged. It is able to descend up to 300 meters. There are 5 officers and 36 submariners assigned to the submarine. There are only two toilets on the entire submarine and they can remain underwater for up to one month before resurfacing.

He also advised us that we could not take any photos while inside the submarine because it was an active navy vessel.

Ray with others on the deck of the submarine

There was an area on the deck of the submarine with some tubes inserted into it. The officer explained that these were the counter measures for combat situations. There were some counter measures which sent out false positives for sonar making it look like multiple submarines. There were other counter measures which caused flares for heat sensors and other types as well.

Counter measures on the submarine.

We entered through a large hatch of very heavy steel located near the rear of the submarine.

It was very small quarters inside the submarine. We walked through a narrow hallway with small rooms located on each side. Most of the rooms had only a curtain for any kind of privacy. The officer’s room was one of the few rooms with a door.

We reached the main control room of the sub, which was a slightly larger area. In this control room there were seats for two submariners to steer the sub and two other seats for radar and sonar. The control room was small but quite impressive, the periscope is built into the main console and does not look like the ones portrayed in movies.

The officer providing us with the tour, told us that the sub was preparing to depart and we should return to the hatch and exit the sub, or we may end up going out to sea. So we began our walk back through the narrow hallway towards the hatch. Along the way we met members of the crew who were going to their respective areas to prepare to depart to sea.  We would squeeze to one side to let a crew member pass.

Shelley exiting the hatch after the tour of the submarine

After leaving the submarine we thanked our tour officer and went to shore. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to take the tour. It was a very interesting and unique experience.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

A walk through the quaint town of Altea

On Sunday we went for a drive with friends to take part in a walking tour of Altea. The drive which takes about an hour was beautiful with great views of the Mediterranean Sea and the local landscape.

Toro silhouette common in Spain along roadways.

We arrived early for the tour and took the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and a coffee with some of our friends.

Mark, Vicky, Ray, and Jorge at cafe in Altea

The tour began with Felipe explaining the tour path and some of the highlights we would see along the way.

Felipe explaining the tour and some of the history of Altea

We headed down the walkway along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea before branching off onto a former railway track, which was now converted into a trail.  

Former train tracks converted into a trail system in Altea

We walked a few kilometers on the trail admiring the great views and vegetation. 

Orange trees along the trail with views of the mountains
Shelley in front of blossoming almond trees
The blossom on an almond tree

We eventually came back into the town and walked along the narrow streets of the old quarter. We came across a motorbike and car show which was on public display.

Display of motorbikes with a WWII -1943 motorbike and sidecar.

After viewing the car show we walked through the old quarter admiring the architecture and views.

A street in old quarter of Altea
Whitewashed walls of a home in Old quarter of Altea

Decorations on the church in the old quarter of Altea

We enjoyed the walking trail and the stroll through the old streets of Altea. It is a great little town with lots of beautiful scenery and friendly people. It was a perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Life is too short to wait for adventure!