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 !

The streets of Guardamar

Just a few pictures of the streets of Guardamar - gives an idea what the place is like.

Here is the road leading down to the park area 

Below a view of the Mediterranean Sea at the bottom of this road.

Calle Mayor still has the fancy lights - erected for the Moors and Christians parades.

Below another part of Calle Mayor - near to where we reside 

That's it folks ........

Hot Hot Hot in España

Well we've just returned to the UK after two  weeks in Spain and as expected it was really HOT.

Went to Guardamar to watch the Moors and Christians parades and had a good time but the weather was rather too hot for us - we like to potter around during the daytime but far too hot for that ! So it was lazy afternoons and late nights with too much beer drunk !

Spain is supposed to be in economic crisis - less foreign holiday makers  - and locals unwilling to spend their own money whilst on their holidays. The town had a large number of tourists but I think that there are reduced numbers compared to when I was last in Guardamar  at this time of the year - that being 5 years ago.

Still plenty of flats for sale and it is evident that the prices are falling rapidly .. 

We'll have to wait a see what happens with the economy over the next few years and hope for an improvement - as with the UK prices are rising fast especially for foodstuffs. 

PhotoHunt - Support

This PhotoHunt is really about some important  SUPPORT - without it there would be no apartment blocks on the Coasta Blanca.

This seems to be the modern way of building a block - steel strands or fibres  are encased in concrete as SUPPORT ( I'm sure strand is the wrong word - but it's not a post or string - anyone know the correct word -  there must be some technical term ? )

A concrete floor is created on top and then they start again with the next floor - same method - more Supports and then another floor is laid.

Once the frame is completed then the outer wall is bricked up - as you can see on the bottom floor - picture below . The exterior is then covered with a layer of plaster ( I assume ) and painted .

From start to finish takes about two years from digging the hole in the ground to selling the properties - not long to complete the frame and bricking up but it seems to take forever to complete the individual flats with their kitchens and bathrooms - plus the lifts and the outside pools and gardens .

Guardamar - Fiesta

It's not only at Christmas that the streets of Guardamar are light by bright festive lights - fiesta time - the re-enactment of the removal of the Moors from Spain  by the Christians sees colourful street lights and parades.

The parades are usually held at the end of July and attract large crowds ..  Hopefully we will be in Guardamar again this year to see all the action !

PhotoHunt - Pointed

Pointed leaves on these plants give a clue to their hardiness - these plants seem to grow with ease along this barren coast - drought resistant - they are very tough and I think they are unlikely to be eaten by anything ..

Picture taken near La Zenia on the Costa Blanca, Spain .

Southern Spain is certainly warming up - forecast for tomorrow is 90 degrees Fahrenheit  ! The heat will be no worry to these plants ..

PhotoHunt

Vantage Point

Wednesday is cinema day for us over 50's - cheap deals with free coffee and biscuits - yum yum !

Today it was Vantage Point with Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forrest Whitaker and Sigourney Weaver - a really good action film set in Salamanca, Spain - concerning a presidential assassination bid - eight different people give their own versions of the events - an excellent film which I would recommend .

BUT I've been to Salamanca and did not recognise any of the places filmed . Unusually for us we waited until the very end of the film and watched all the credit titles to find that it was filmed in Mexico City ! !

Why not set the story in Mexico and not Spain ?? It just gets us old folks confused ..