ABC Wednesday - E for Elche

Elche is famous for shoe production and .......

....... Elche is famous for the palm trees that are grown all around the town - you'll find not only parks and displays but plantations of the things.. If you are an avid lover of palms then Elche is the place to go. 

Not too far from Alicante on the Spanish Costa Blanca

The palm was introduced to Elche by the Arabs who conquered and settled in Spain in the early Middle Ages .

Palm Sunday in Spain and the odds are that the palm leaves in the church will have come from Elche.

A pleasant place to wonder through - a whole day could be spent there ..

Sorry I have used some of these pictures before in May ...

Guardamar - Street theatre and fireworks.

Part of the "action" at the Moors and Christians Fiesta is a street theatre display - the "actors " parade the streets setting off fireworks.

They are awesome ! ( this seems to be the buzz word this Olympic year )

Not for the faint hearted - be prepared to dodge the sparks - where is health and safety ??

Lots of noise and smoke ....

The crowd awaits the end of the parade and finale ..

Heads down unless you want to take a photo !! The guy in the mask is an actor ..

Pink smoke ......

The crowd is waiting for more action ..

If you ever get the chance to watch one of these displays then do so - AWESOME !!!

PhotoHunt - Colourful

A  colourful wall here in Guardamar ..  Someone has been very busy with the paint spray ..

These rubbish bins are sunk into the ground and there is a large container underneath .. do not worry about the mattress - it will be collected overnight by the refuse collectors - you are allowed to leave bulky items near the rubbish bins and they are collected usually 2 or 3 times a week.

Spain has a lot of painted walls - Spain has lots of graffiti !    .... ¡  España tiene mucho mucho grafiti ... !  All highly coloured ....

Fútbol 2

Last night saw FC Barcelona beat Wisla Krakow 4-0 at the Camp Nou with goals from Eto ( 2 ) ,  Xavi and Henry.

This is the Champions League qualifying stage and they needed to beat the Poles if they wished to proceed to the group stages . They play Wisla away in Poland Wednesday August 27th.

Glasgow Rangers have signed 19 year old attacking midfielder Aaron Niguez Esclapez from Valencia on a two year deal with an option to purchase. He has been on loan to  Iraklis FC of Greece since the start of the 2007 Season. Today he travels to Glasgow for a medical and to agree personal terms.

Think he'll find the Glasgow weather somewhat different to Valencia !

Guardamar - Town Hall & Fountains

Shortly after first visiting Guardamar for the first time the main square was " regenerated " and an underground car park built. The old gardens and fountain - very pretty - were replaced by this more modern fountain.

A spacious area has been created in front of the town hall where exhibitions and displays can be held.

A very popular place to sit - especially late at night in the summer.

Torrevieja - Central Plaza

I suppose you would call this the centre of Torrievieja - here you'll find the main square and church plus shops, tourist office and several local government offices.

Now actually classed as a city - this little fishing port has grown and grown in size and now has a large population of expats - mainly Brits, Irish and German.

PhotoHunt - Dark

Dark Faces on a Dark Night - these are the participants of the parades to mark the defeat of the Moors by the Christians in the Middle Ages  and also to honour Saint James  - here in Guardamar 

Moros y Cristianos en honor a San Jaime.

The local people dress up and paint their faces and then for two nights spend three hours marching down the main street together with many bands and lots of noise.

I'm sure the Moors looked nothing like this in "real life " 

These parades are a big tourist attraction and  take place in many villages and towns throughout Spain ..

Earthquake

Another earthquake has been felt in the southern Alicante region.

This time the epicentre was at Algorfa which is near Rojales and measured 3.5 in the Richter scale.

Hope we do not have too many of these .....

Only minor damage was caused in this instance.

Fútbol 1

Sunday 31 August is the start of the Spanish Football League ( La Liga ) and no doubt everyone will be getting excited about the new season - new signings, new team strips, new hopes ( some soon to be dashed )

Valencia will play Mallorca, Numacia plays Barcelona and  Deportivo La Corona plays  Real Madrid. Let's hope it is a good season ..

Most teams have been preparing and playing friendly matches for some time now - Espanyol met Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 2nd August in the Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer testimonial match. United won by one goal scored by Fraizer Campbell 8 minutes from time.

Real Madrid have signed 25 year old Rafael van der Vaart from Hamburg - this is their only signing in the summer break.

Daniel Parejo the 19 year old winger at Real Madrid has gone to the London club QPR on a one year loan.

Guardamar -No parade without a band !

We've recently had the Moors & Christians fiesta here in Guardamar and the parades are packed with bands .

The music always brings back memories of Spain - somewhat plaintive and always very loud.

Bands can be found in every small town and city throughout the Valencia region

These drums can certainly make a loud noise - enough to waken the dead !

He looks happy - big grin or is he fighting for more breath ?

Starting to get tired ?  

PhotoHunt - Clouds

A lone walker can be seen here on the Costa Blanca near Cabo Riog with the backdrop of blue sea, blue sky and little white clouds.

This part of Spain rarely has cloud - it's a talking point when it does ... !

A beautiful day - this picture was taken in April ! ( think they had snow in the UK that month )

Seats !!! - Guardamar

All lined up here in Guardamar - seats awaiting bums !!

Ready for the evening parades of the Moors & Christians - these seats can be hired from the tourist office and heaven help anyone who sits in the wrong seat.

You can also take your own chair along if you can find a free spot amongst the crowds who flock to see the events which take place late July.

The parade can last two to three hours so do not forget to take a cushion !