Today involved less walking than yesterday, but it was even more exciting! We said adios to our guide Arancha, the Tryp Gran Via, and Madrid and set off on the five hour car ride to Alicante! The Spanish countryside is amazing, like seemingly everything else in the country. We initially arrived at Alicante University, where we had lunch and met our parents. Lindsey and I have one parent: Mari Carmen, but we just call her Carmen. Her Spanish-speaking ability is about equivalent to my English-speaking ability and vice-versa. Needless to say it has been a struggle. She is a very nice lady who showed us all around her charming home and parts of Alicante. A special festival in they have here is called "Los Fuegos de San Juan," or the Fires of St. John. They build large figures out of cardboard and plaster of paris only to burn them at the end of the week. It's very lively and draws many visitors. That means much excitement on my behalf, but also for the other people of Alicante. It's partially because of Spain's culture, but even at 1AM (as I sit here typing) I can hear people out in the streets and loud music playing. It's not conducive to sleep, but it's one way to brush up on my Spanish pop music!
During the drive to Alicante there was a section of highway that must have has at least a hundred of these wind turbines.
One of the structures to be burned during the festival. I think Carmen said it would be the first to go, but she was speaking Spanish, so she might have said something completely different.
One of the decorated streets in Alicante, complete with our guide and mama Carmen.
Este es el calle donde estamos viviendo! This is the street where we're living. We live on the top floor of the tan apartment near the back of the picture. Lindsey's room has the balcony and mine has the two windows.
This is one of my favorite hogueras, which is what the structures to be burned are called. Appropriately the word means 'bonfires' in English.
As proof of how involved the hogueras get, these figures were below in the picture above this one, but not shown. And they still had more to set up!
Another hoguera on the streets on Alicante. This one had people forming the shapes of brains (the olive-looking things at the top).
Carmen said that some of the hogueras poke fun at actual issues in Spain. This seems to be about political figures, but another that I haven't included was commenting about the abysmal state of the Spanish economy. But as long as the Spanish have their fiestas, I don't think they could care less about money.
P.S. Lindsey and I couldn't sleep because of the music from the streets, so we decided we might as well join it! We've returned, it's now 3:42AM, and with no sign of it stopping soon they're playing music from Grease! :)
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