Eldership 2025 Spain - The One AND Only Sunrise / Sunset Extravaganza Post

One of our goals, as I have written, this trip is to slow down. We're also taking it easier letting Wife heal and improve from her foot injury. This means more days of just hanging around the apartment, which given the beauty of the surroundings, is not such a bad thing. It has meant I have done a lot more cooking this trip. That's not a bad thing either considering, 1) I like to cook, 2) the ingredients here are so wonderful to cook with, and 3) it helps with both the diet and budget. So what else do we do with our time?

We peer down on our fellow humans

What the heck are all these people doing down on those rocks anyway?

 

 And we keep tabs on the Ancient Enemy, even when they try to sneak around at night.

 

And I continue my studies of Espouses Fotograficus in all her many varieties.

 

 And over the last week or so, take sunrise and sunset pictures. The first few weeks were 'meh' from a sunrise/sunset perspective. I don't know what changed, but the spectacular show has returned. However, unlike last year, when I had an ungodly number of posts of pretty much the same thing. This year, Just One Post, of pretty much the same things. 

 

Eldership 2025 Spain - Isla de Tabarca

Think of what Venice would be like if it was 100th the size, was an island, lacked all the history, but was still overrun by tourists. The promotional material on the island talks about it being the smallest inhabited island in Spain, and how it is an example of how the coast of Spain used to be before all the mass development in the 60's and 70's. Here is some history and facts via Wikipedia. Quite a bit is written about the protected marine environment. Supposedly fishing is the main occupation, with tourism big in the season - July and August. Being here in late October, tourism still seems to be a big thing. 

We actually had not intended to go to Tabarca. We were going to the port of Santa Palo and were going to check how frequently the boats left and what they cost so we could plan a trip their later. But we parked right by all the ticket offices.

 

 Wife went to the first one and found the boat would be leaving in minutes. We decided to jump on. This was a mistake. I had totally failed to account for the time each direction and the limited frequency of boats. I had to be back for a meeting. It was a later meeting and would have been fine under our normal day trip timing. As soon as I got on the boat and started looking at the above mentioned details I knew we would only be able to stay for a short time. This led to frustration for both Wife and I.

 Leaving Santa Palo harbor I noted the strict segregation of the 'working/fishing' side and the 'play' side.

 

 Leaving the harbor with company and going by a small lighthouse.

 

The trip across was uneventful and lacking in photo opportunities. But we arrive and see the primary landmark the Church of Peter and Paul

 

As a former fortified town, city gates

 

 The combination of strong sunlight, bright white buildings, and deep shade made for a challenging shooting environment.

 

 

Do you remember these wooden door and window coverings from Pinoso?

 

 

 Around the Island and Town

 

 

 

 

 

Who knew wife had a commercial empire in the Spanish Mediterranean?

 

 

 

 

 

For my friend The Count

 

 

 

 

 

 What are these?

 

Signs of the World

F@#%ing Rock!

According the translate app

 

 

Don't Get Wet

Seems like sound advice 

Eldership 2025 Spain - Mellowing with 2.2

After the excitement of the Moors and Christians Festival. Things mellowed out. Then on Friday we had more relatives visiting, 2.2 from Madrid. She is studying to become a physical therapist. A lot of the initial courses concerning anatomy are the same as would be required of a biology or pre-med major. So she was studying hard while here. But we still had a lot of quality time to talk. 

When your family is as far flung around the world as ours is, it takes a special effort to stay connected with your various grandchildren. We are lucky to have these opportunities to spend serious time with them. 

 Unlike the prior two years, the sunrises and sunsets have not been quite so spectacular. This week though we had a pretty good one.

 

 

 

 Mystery of the 13th floor. The elevator in our building has no 13th floor. That is not so unusual. One sees it a lot on buildings and with airplane row numbering. But walking home recently, I noticed there is a whole level of our building that is not built out. And it is at the 13th level!

 

 The 2.2 has arrived. And wants to know if she can practice her anatomy identification on me!

 

Wife somehow gets a pass on this. 

 

 

 

2.2 wanted home cooking. And wanted some ideas on how to make her student budget stretch. So I made fried rice with leftovers and showed her how to doctor up canned beans for a complete protein meal.

 

 

 

But balance is required. So Wife and 2.2 wanted to get Helado (Spanish Gelato).

However, I'm not a big sweets person. So I had a Cojortilla, an espresso with a shot of brandy in it. The 'Adult' dessert.

 

 

You know you are in Spain when you drop your granddaughter at the train station and stop at...

 

 

The Canadian Coffee Shop