July in Alicante

Its mostly...

No, I have not messed up my camera.  This is a photo of the sky an hour ago.  It's like this a lot of the time.  Just a beautiful blue without a cloud at all, both in winter and in summer.  Although in winter the temperature drops right down like anywhere else, but its not so bad because of the bright blue sky.  I know that grey skies are depressing and I wish that I could box up some of this blue and the sunshine too, and send it to my family back home in the UK...

Alicante is known as La Ciudad de la Luz, meaning 'the City of Light'.  We wear our sunglasses on sunny days here in the winter too because you just need them it's so bright.  

Rain?

In the warm summer months from about mid June to mid September, my umbrella usually stays in its drawer.  I actually cant remember the last time it rained.  It was probably in June.  My clothes dry in an hour or so when I hang them out and when you go out you never even have to think if you might need a cardigan or jacket... the evenings are so warm.

Hot and humid climate

In August, the sea is so warm in the evening that you can take a dip at midnight.  Sometimes it's just so hot that its the best thing to do.  Alicante has a humid climate so if it is about 30oC it feels more like 35oC.  In July the temperature gets up to around 32oC at lunch time and drops to about 23oC at night.  I recently went to a couple of towns inland and the temperature was 42oC, which felt like our 35oC because the climate was drier.

Air conditioning

If you are continuing your normal life as in working, studying, etc. in this heat it can get to be too much.  Air conditioning units are a must at home and in the work place.  All public transport has air conditioning as people would be fainting all over the place.  My sister told me how in the heat wave they have just been experiencing in London, lots of people were going dizzy and fainting on the metro.

The Siesta

These hot temperatures during midday mean that people do not want to be out on the streets.  That's another reason why shops traditionally close at lunch time here in Spain and open again in the afternoon until about 9pm in the evening.  Also, a siesta (afternoon nap, or power nap) is difficult not to have when its so hot you dont know what to do with yourself!

So when you are moaning about your heating bill in the UK during the cold months, spare a thought for us who have a heating AND a cooling bill!

Fiesta food!

Whenever there is some sort of fiesta in Alicante, there are always various temporary food sellers dotted around the streets.  There's usually a stall selling churros (photo above), which are a fried dough stick with sugar sprinkled on top... it tastes sort of like a fresh doughnut but a little more 'fried' as its thinner.  (The thicker ones in the foreground of the photo above are called porras, which are generally the same).

You buy the churros by the dozen (about 4€) or half dozen (about 2€) and they come served in a paper cone and doused with sugar.  You can ask for a cup of hot, thick chocolate, which is about 1.50€, to dip the churros in.  Or you can buy churros already coated in chocolate...

...and other sweet coatings.

During the Alicante festival in June (the Hogueras de San Juan), many of the streets are closed off to set up the bonfires and the street party tents.  Many of these tents are private, for the people in the neighbourhood who pay a subscription during the year for access and for the food and entertainment provided there.  But there are some temporary outdoor 'restaurants' that are set up for anyone to go to...

 where you can sit at the bar and buy snacks...

or at the tables and order a selection of dishes freshly made, like patatas a lo pobre...

seafood, like calamares, boquerones or chipirones...

or charcoal barbecued meats...

and even paella that you buy by the plate.

I know it's on the street but don't worry, its quite clean as the restaurants set up their preparation areas and sinks, and mobile freezers and fridges to keep everything fresh.

Enough of this food talk, it's making me hungry!  I'm off to grab a bite to eat...  (salad though as I'm on a diet).

The Firework Competition for the Alicante June festival

The International Firework Competition starts the night after the bonfires of St. John. Each night, a different pyrotechnic company organises a display as their competition entry, starting at midnight.  The more than 25 minute-long spectacle is enjoyed by hundreds or even thousands of people sitting on the beach and promenade (amongst other viewing points) and it gets quite packed.  The displays are very good and there are usually some innovative fireworks each year.

If you go to the most accessible place to see the display (and its intended viewing angle) which is the main beach in Alicante, the Playa del Postiguet, then I recommend arriving about 20 minutes early to get a spot on the sand (yes, the beach actually does fill up!).  Take a towel to sit on and face towards the Playa del Cocó where the rockets are set off from.

Some people take their boats out to see the display from, anchoring them in the bay. I've seen a display from my uncle's boat before but as we arrived about an hour before and were bobbing up and down for all that time (and I am not very good on boats) it was not the best place for me.

This year we walked up to the Serra Grossa, a huge 'rock' just next to the beach, further along from the castle towards Albufereta.  We took torches to hike up as its quite dark and its just a rough stone path.  At the top, we were higher up than the castle and above the fireworks, and I think too far away to appreciate the sound with the explosion.  So that is crossed off my list too.

A great place to see the display from is my friend's balcony, which is right in front of the Playa del Cocó.

You can see the enormity of the fireworks from there and also feel the sound as it rebounds off the surrounding hills.  The traffic was stopped on the street next to the beach this year because people usually just park their cars to watch the display and literally block the road!

I didn't take any photos of the traca this year but its worth mentioning.  The pyrotechnics hook up a string of firecrackers from the lamp posts on the beach promenade of about 200-300m long.  Just after the firework display, they set light to this track of firecrackers which form part of the competition.  They are very loud and are not just a simple boom but a string of upside down, fountain-like fireworks (remember from the box of 'Standard' fireworks from bonfire nights, my UK readers?) that get progressively louder and crazier.  Traditionally, young men would line up at the start of the traca and race it to try to get to the end before the last one explodes.  Some get lucky if there is a problem with the track and the firecrackers have to be lit along the line... they get a chance of beating it!  It's a great way to end the firework display each night and brings the fireworks closer to the people watching it from the beach itself.

It is also a nice continuation of the fiestas as people get back to work after the hogueras, they still have something to see and do on these hot summer evenings.  And if you've never seen an ice cream shop full of people at 1am on a weekday evening then you will do during this time in Alicante!

Hogueras in flames

On the last day of the Alicante festival Hogueras de San Juan (bonfires of St John), the elaborate wood and paper sculptures which I showed you photos of in an earlier post, are set alight and burned to the ground.

A few hours before the action at midnight, the organisers of each bonfire string up the sculpture with firecrackers for the big moment and prepare the site.  These firecrackers spark alight the combustible materials and add noise for effect! (You should know the Alicantinos by now!)  When I see the sculptures like this it makes me a little sad knowing that the fiestas are drawing to a close and that people's hard work are about to go up in flames!

But the best is about to begin...

Firemen hook up their hoses and prepare the safety as even though its a fun thing to watch the hogueras burn, it is taken very seriously.  There are over 90 bonfires in the city and obviously not 90 fire trucks to be able to attend all at the same time so they have a schedule and each team attend various, one after the other.

Not long to go now!

People chose an hoguera sculpture that they want to see on fire and they get their spot around it about half an hour before midnight.  One of the most popular ones is situated in front of the market, and loads of people go because if its central location in the city... and also because you can see the Monumental Palmera from there!  This is a huuuuuge firework in the shape of a palm tree that is let off at midnight from the top of the Santa Barbara castle (Castillo Santa Bárbara) and signifies the start of the Cremá, the lighting and burning of the 'official' bonfire in front of the town hall.

(Sorry I couldn't get it all in the photo and the tall buildings of Alicante were blocking my view a little!)

The organisers take it in turn to start their fires, usually beginning with a small firework display and the loud firecrackers so that people further away know which bonfire is about to be lit next.

Then it burns...

...and the firemen control it every second, dampening down adjacent buildings and controlling the collapse of the tall internal structures of the bonfires.

(Yes, I am showing you different hogueras being burnt by the way.  I watched 4 burn this year.)

It is quite warm here during these fiestas at the end of June, even at night.  The fire is incredibly hot and you really can feel it from quite a distance.  It makes me wonder each year how the buildings close by and the street signs and furniture can stand that heat.

(You can see in the photo above that some are already getting back to their eating, drinking and dancing for the final hours of the fiestas).

But once the bonfire is totally under control and dying out, some people at the front shout requests at the firemen for "agua, agua, agua...".  The firemen turn their hoses on them and soak them completely!  It's great fun being squirted by a fireman's hose and the cool water is very welcome on the hot nights here!  

Yes, it looks completely crazy and it is but it's great fun.  Every year we put our swim wear on and an old t-shirt that we don't mind getting dirty (as the ash falling from the sky can stain your clothes!).  I'm a bit old for that now though.

In some of the smaller hogueras there are not so many people as the neighbourhood is smaller with less participants so you can usually get a good spot if you like to be near the action.  Once there were just 3 of us in front of a fireman with his hose pointed up while we were jumping up and down about a metre in front of him in the spray... Simple fun. I actually think that the firemen enjoy it even more than us!  

If you do come one year, you may hear people shouting rude words at the firemen, which I will not repeat here.. It's just part of the tradition and very funny, and this is what make the firemen respond with their hoses!

To finish off the show at some of the hogueras a marching band plays sad 'final' songs.

And that's it for another year.  Visitors are always astonished at how quickly all evidence of the fiestas get cleared up and the streets cleaned and back to normal.  Teams work all night to clean the streets for the next working day.  I left the last one (and there were more still being lit as I made my way back home) at 3.30am and by the next morning there is no evidence of there ever being a crazy firework and bonfire party in all the streets of Alicante.  Come and see for yourself!

p.s. that's not really the end of the fun in the fiesta month of June because on the very next night, the international firework competition starts.  More in the next post.

Streets of the Hogueras fiesta in Alicante

Lots of streets get trimmed up with lights and banners for the fiestas.  Here are 3 of the streets on the procession route.

This is Avenida Alfonso X el Sabio:

This is the Calle San José:

and this is the Rambla Méndez Núñez:

They are not traditional 'bulbs' for the information of the economically and environmentally conscious of you out there.  Although I'm sure the electricity bill in general during these fiestas is enormous!

Parades during the Alicante Hogueras festival: The International Folk Parade

On the penultimate day of the fiestas there is a parade through the streets of Alicante called the International Folk Parade.  I have seen this parade diminish in participants and quality over the 9 years I have been attending.  It goes on for a very long time as there is too much space between each country taking part and it's difficult to appreciate the show.  You can see the people waiting for it to start in the photo above.  If they stay until the end they will be there for about 3 more hours!

The only reason why people (especially the men who are not usually into these kinds of things) stay until the end is because the last country to parade EACH and every year are the dancing Brazilian ladies!

They usually grab a guy from the spectators and dance with them or just 'wiggle' a bit in front of them... It's funny and a great way to end the parade!

The idea of the parade is that people from other countries (mostly South America) come in their traditional costume and music, and perform dances in the street, maybe handing out some typical delicacies.  Not only from abroad but people from other parts of Spain come and show off their identity.  However, I suppose it has fallen victim to economic problems affecting budgets on 'culture' events as there were very few people taking part and no 'extras'.

There was a fantastic mechanical eagle (bird lovers you can correct me if it's not an eagle) with a woman sitting on top (no, I don't know why before you ask).

Said eagle was dangling from a crane and I'm sure if I were 6 years old I would be captivated and maybe a little freaked out.  Especially when it looks at you!

The most elegant part of the parade for me is always the beautiful dancing horses.  I'm not sure if these are Lippizaner horses or another breed but they look splendid in their performance.

I hope that the parade will be better next year so that I can tell you more about it but I was just not inspired this year. Sorry!

Parades during the Alicante Hogueras festival: The Flower Offering

What Spanish festival would be complete without a procession or two through the streets of the town?  The Hogueras de San Juan is no exception.  There are two main processions: The Flower Offering and The International Folk Parade.

Desfile de Ofrenda de Flores

This procession through the streets of Alicante is in 2 parts over 2 consecutive days.  Men and women show off their traditional festival costume from the local barrios (neighbourhoods) and from other towns and cities in the Valencian community that also hold a similar event.  The costume style has its roots in the agricultural villages of the area and no expense is spared on these beautiful jacquard and embroidered outfits.


For the participants in the festival, it is a great honour to be able to take part and some enjoy it with their children, even babies in prams and pushchairs, also in costume.  Brass and wind bands accompany the groups playing traditional folk songs from the area.

You may have noticed that each woman is carrying a bunch of red or white flowers, usually carnations.  These flowers are to be 'offered' to the Virgin Mary, whose imagen is awaiting them at the end of the desfile (parade) in the Co-cathedral of St. Nicholas.  

What they actually do each year is spectacular... The bunches are tied to a temporary structure in front of the cathedral so that the different colours form a design.  Every year it is different.  This year they also decorated the doorway.  Everybody goes at some point during the days after the design is finished (on the 2nd day of the parade) and before the hot Alicante sun destroys the flowers and the whole thing gets dismantled.

Larger and more elaborate 'offerings' by the participants in the parade are also left outside the cathedral for everyone to appreciate that day.

The parade lasts between 2 - 3 hours each day and once it is over, people go back to their barracas to enjoy the evening's entertainment of music, food and drink (lots of drink!).