Guardamar - Out to sea ...

Guardamar beach and a boat chugs away down the coast .. hopefully I'll be here next week - so there'll be no posts until mid May when there should be another collection of new photographs.

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Guardamar Hill

Here we have the actual Guardamar Hill - I'm sure they would have built on the top of here if they could get the foundations laid.

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Guardamar Hill

Larrosa - another large building company with interests on Guardamar Hill.

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April 22nd ... Did you know ?

On the 22nd April 1529 the Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 17 degrees east of the Moluccas.

Pity they did not consult the English, French or Dutch.

In 1451 on this date Isabelle I of Castile was born.

And in 1898 the US Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports in the Spanish -American war.

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Guardamar Hill

The latest large building development in Guardamar is on the slopes of Guardamar Hill on the outskirts of the town.

Here a large building company Marjal are advertising their properties.

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Guardamar - N332

The N332 now bypasses the centre of Guardamar and has done for some years. An extremely busy road especially in the height of the tourist season and quite dangerous in places.

Here road improvements are being carried out on the approach to Guardamar.

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UK Airports

UK airports are to start opening again at 10 p.m. (BST)

The restrictions for flying have been relaxed - let's just hope that the scientists and technicians have got it right !!

Hopefully we'll be able to get into Spain next week.

It looks like there is going to be a big big political row over the whole issue and the airlines will be screaming for compensation.

Whether they get it is the big question.

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Where's the bird ?

I did take a picture of a small bird but by the time the shutter had opened and closed it had gone.

So we just have the tree !!

Torrevieja - Mercado Central

In need of fresh fruit and vegetables ??

This is the place to go in central Torrevieja. It's the central market - La Plasa

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Volcanic Ash

Well volcanic ash has cancelled my Monarch flight to Alicante on Monday and as to when we'll be able to get to Spain is in the lap of the gods.

I must not complain - in the thirty odd years of air flight this is the first cancellation we have had.

The airlines are complaining already .. some of them seem to think that the safety rules are too strict.

Where safety is concerned vigilance is the first and only criteria as far as I am concerned ..

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Torrevieja - Church of the Immaculate Conception

A close up shot of the main church entrance - we never seem to be able to get away from cranes and building sites in Spain !!

I never noticed the crane when taking the shot.

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Torrevieja - Church of the Immaculate Conception

Founded in 1789 the Church of the Immaculate Conception was rebuilt in 1844 and now stands proud in the Plaza de la Constitución.

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Volcano

Flights from the UK to Spain have been seriously disrupted today and all due to a volcano in Iceland.

A volcano in the Eyjafjallajoekull area not too far from Reykjavik has erupted under a glacier and the resultant ash cloud has drifted over the UK causing the majority of flights to be cancelled.

We can not see this ash at the moment in the UK because it is a very fine powder- it's still sunny and dry BUT it is there and it can cause huge damage to aircraft engines.

So look out Spain - it may be drifting towards you !!

We've no idea how long this problem will last - perhaps days or even longer if there are more eruptions.

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Torrevieja - Plaza de la Constitución

Another view of the plaza .....

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Torrevieja - Plaza de la Constitución

Centre of the square is this rather modern fountain - the square is very popular and the annual nativity display is held here plus just before Christmas an international carol concert.

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Torrevieja -Church of the Immaculate Conception

Torrevieja town centre - you'll find the number one church - here in B & W.

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Torrevieja - Shopping centre

Torrevieja's shopping centre always seem to be undergoing some update, repair or redevelopment.

Fancy lamp posts !!!

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El Clasico

Disappointment yesterday for Real Madrid at Bernabeu when they lost to Barcelona in La Liga .

Goals from Messi and Pedrito.

They were level at the top of the league with 77 points each but now Barcelona have the edge in what is essentially a two horse race this year.

Watch this space !!

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Spanish proverb

Cada quien con su cada cual

Birds of a feather flock together

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Guardamar - Luka

Virtually opposite the Letter Box is a bar that goes by the name of Luka .. a pleasant enough place.

I guess Elvis and Marilyn may not have been regular visitors here !!!

Quite a spacious place and very popular with the locals.

Guardamar - The Letter Box

The Letter Box is a handy little shop in Guardamar - you can buy phone cards, use the internet, pick up the free newspapers and even order from Argos.

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Torrevieja

Looking down the prom towards the street market - watch your wallet !!

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Torrevieja - Band

You'll find the band here on the prom at Torrevieja - no sound - because - they are made of bronze ( or something similiar )

I wonder what they are actually made of ??

They are a favourite of the vandals - need I say more !!

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China City - La Mata

An interior shot of the China City - a very spacious restaurant - reasonably priced and a favourite of ours ...

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China City - La Mata

You'll find this rather striking picture inside the restaurant - typically Chinese I would suppose ..

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La Mata - China City

China City - a Chinese eatery in La Mata.

Who's this lurking behind the potted plants ?

No not the waiter - just a statue ..

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The price of buttons ...

If you think that all goods and services are cheaper in Spain than in the UK then you are quite wrong ..

Last month we purchased from Guardamar market buttons to add to a home knitted cardigan - the cost 75 cents each which we thought was quite expensive .

On our return to the UK another home knitted cardigan completed meant more buttons - this time the cost was 20 pence per button ( 25 cents ) from our local wool shop in Heywood.

So in this respect the UK is much much cheaper.

Knitting wool for sale in Guardamar market is cheaper than in the UK but of a much inferior quality.

So - keep shopping in the UK - for wool and buttons anyway.

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