Spain - our visit to the sun in 2016

Guardamar beach today with a slight breeze off the sea.

We are now back in one of our favourite places in the sunshine but with cold nights. After the cold and wind of Bristol Airport, this made a welcome change yesterday with temperatures reaching 21 C during the daytine. It seems odd visiting Spain without the campervan. The last time we visited was three years ago when we drove back from the Guardamar del Segura through the mountains and snow-fall near Santander. We are here, in an apartment in Guardamar, for the month of February and have transport for this time so should be able to explore the area and visit some of our favourite spots from past visits as well as being lazy on the beach when the sun permits.
Meantime the weather has cooled but should recover by the weekend. We have taken the opportunity to tour around visiting the market on Wednesday in Guardamar, the campsite at Mah jal where we stayed before and some of the places such as Dolores, Catral, La Marina and it's conurbation inland. The campsite has increased in size and fuller than we recall and nearby the main plaza in Dolores seems to have modernised a little. The beaches at La Marina have not changed but the wild camping we saw peviously has been stopped. Unfortunately, the beach was windy as storm clouds brewed on the horizon but did not develop into rain.

Looking south from the beach at La Marina with the sea cottages on the right. There was a cold wind and choppy sea.

Since last writing we've been touring around the area with a day in Orihuela and then a trip to Hondon via Albatera and then north to Castella (in the wind!). Today we had a stroll to the mouth of the Rio Segura through the dunefields and then back along the beach for lunch and afternoon on the beach. The wind has dropped today and the temperatures at midday were around 20 C so pleasant. We are planning to go through to the market at Callosa tomorrow and then further south.

A few fishermen endure the cold wind blowing from the river mouth. This is along the harbour wall at Guardamar with views north towards Alicante. The sun later broke through and the wind lessened to allow a paddle in the sea; too cold to swim!!

The weather continues to be good in the low twenties and nice to be on the beach in the afternoons. Today we went towards La Marina and I had a walk in the dunefields alongside the saltpans at one point. The most common seabird or wader along the beaches here seems to be the Sanderling (Calidris alba) in small groups foraging along the tideline.

The most common wader in the area at the moment, Sanderling, also found along our Dorset beaches.

Here are a few shots near the dunes and saltpans I took on the walk this morning:

Awaiting action on the shoreline. There are some interesting cottages along the seafront at this point.

The beginning of the saltpans looking north towards the urban areas.

These are some of the beds used to harvest salt from the sea. Notice the uge pile of salt in the far distance. The footpath goes right across the centre between the salt pans. There were a few Oystercatchers around but little else.

The view across the dunes to the north. This is a protected area with bird hides and information points. It makes an interesting stroll at this time of year.

Made a trip south today down to Cartagena which is about one hours drive from here but straight forward on the A7 motorway. It took us a while to get orientated and find the old town via "Parque arquelogico Molinete" (part of the demolished old city dating to the second century BC, during Roman rule). Incidentially, Cartagena is where the famous Hannibal left to cross the Pyrenees and Alps to fight Rome.
From there we found the port and wide walkways/promenades that lead past the harbour and museums. We noticed some statues along the way and one of the most striking was this bronze one pictured below:

A bronze statue to the victims of terrorism. This is near the monument to the Heroes of Santiago de Cuba and Cavite not far from the cruise terminal.

The buildings on the walk back to the Plaza de Espana via the Calle Mayor are spectacular with many being renovated to a high standard. Many had window terraces but all slightly different and painted in different colours lining both sides of the street.
We spent the last week going to the gym in Guardamar and relaxing on the beach or walking in the Reseve near the beaches, very lazy really.
We are now back from Spain and have a few weeks at home before returning for Dad's 90th birthday in March. We are returning to the same area but a different apartment with disabled facilities and on the ground floor. We will also have a car and a couple of weeks to relax in the sun and get around.
Whilst home, I have completed a couple of projects that originated from ideas I had when we visited Cuba. The first was a "valet stand" which we have also seen in Spain. I made this from beech wood and included a draw at the bottom. It isn't exactly like the traditional early Spanish ones we saw in Cuba but does have elements in the design that I took from these but excluded some of the curvy lines. The other project is something I have been doing on and off over the winter and have now finished. This is a Cuban Rocking chair that are quite distinct and we often saw them on verandas on the homestays or along the terraces of the houses or bungalows as we walked along the pavements. They are pretty low in profile but seemed comfortable and really did rock!. I basically copied the design as best I could from photos and for a first attempt made the chair of pine and spruce wood. I did not use any nails or screws and the thing is held together with mortice and tenons, housing joints and dovetails. I soaked the wood in preservative before glueing and have applied linseed oil to the wood and it now awaits painting with linseed oil paint. As I used waterproof glue, I am hoping this treatment will be better than the modern treatment methods and give the chair a long life outdoors. Only time will tell.

Valet stand made of beech and finished with Shellac.

My version of a Cuban Rocking chair made of redwood and spruce. This will be painted  (to match the flower pots!) and some cushions made;  this will hopefully rock away for a few years. I plan version two of a slightly modified design in cedarwood for next winters project!