Back in the 1970s, Ed's grandparents bought a modest apartment on the sixth floor of the only tower block in Moraira, with stunning views of the Mediterranean. Ed has been coming here since he was little and so we have not only had the pleasure of the Payne family's company, but also an in house tour guide to boot.
Felicity and Toby are doing online school which is broadcast from Ottawa, six timezones behind us. Although this allows us a good part of the day to do fun stuff, the weekends are an opportunity to really let loose. On my first Saturday on the Costa, we headed inland to Guadalest, one of those amazing ancient hill settlements, found all over ancient battle-ravaged Europe. A little touristy but the pot should not call the kettle black, and really it was all lovely nevertheless. Another shady lunch spot, some more strong coffee and a gentle stroll over foot-worn cobbles up to some pretty views.
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Sam and Toby, Guadalest
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Overlooking the reservoir from El Castell de Guadelest
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There's a picture of me doing the same thing about 35 years ago, except most of my upper body is covered in sauce
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By the end of this excursion we were hot. Very hot. Time to find a waterfall and swimming hole. So onwards to the Fonts de l'Algar. The sea is 26°C around these parts, so it was partly shocking, partly wonderfully refreshing to plunge into the fridgid river water. The pool was crystal clear and we spent a happy afternoon jumping, splashing and trying to get under the waterfall.
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Ferguson family, Fonts de l'Algar
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| We're not completely alone |
On Sunday I overestimated my ability to run up a hill, and then we spent the afternoon up at a restaurant with a pool overlooking the sea, far, far below. I told you this was a holiday! And if that wasn't enough, Crystal and I had classy date eating monkfish and hake on a beachside terrace.
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Looking down over Moraira, you can see our twin apartment blocks
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Toby and Sam in discourse, La Cumbre restaurant with pool and view
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| Date night, El Chamizo |
The adventure continued on Monday with an earlier start to beat the heat. We walked through orange groves and gorges before emerging at the coast to take a breathtaking path to another beautiful aquamarine cove. I put on the goggles at marvelled at the tropical fish a few metres from the beach. The kids phys ed and dpa was well and truly accounted for and they put in an heroic effort to get through classes in the afternoon.
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Toby and Felicity take in the laundry
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A determined hiker
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Hannah and Otto on the hike to Benitatxell
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Sam leads Ed, Toby and Crystal
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A balcony view
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| The aquamarine pot of gold at the end of the hot and dusty rainbow |
Just in case all this carefree wandering seems a little too idyllic, we did awake on Monday to news that our tumble dryer in Ottawa had died a sudden death. Added to this, our tenants confirmed what we already suspected, which is that our washing machine is really not very good at washing. We have 21st century connectivity here, but nevertheless it was a full couple of afternoons of research to find what we wanted (appliances to see us through the next 10-15 years hopefully), where it was available, and who would bring it to our basement, get it running and take away the defunct ones. And all this on a phone because the kids are using our two laptops for school. Anyway, done. Back to the Sangria.
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| What a beast! |
After 10 days of scorching Mediterranean sun, Tuesday brought showers and really cool temperatures. The upside was that we had the beach literally to ourselves. Felicity is trying to do ten days of swimming for Terry Fox and I did what could just about be described as my first proper swim in a long time (over 500m in a staggering 20 mins: I'm not ready to cross the channel or enter an ironman just yet...)
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| Just before the next shower at Playa del Portet |
The Paynes leave us tomorrow, but we have another ten days of sun and fun before we head north to the chilly Chamonix autumn. This will be the first time since we arrived in England, some 49 days ago, that we have had an extended period away from friends. Our first visitor is due to arrive in Chamonix in 22 days. Let's see what this next three weeks brings.
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