Santa Pola, Sunday, 5th November, 2023
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| Eladio with his beloved eldest daughter Suzy in Santa Pola (and Pippa, of course) |
Good morning dear friends,
Here I am writing from our apartment in Gran Alacant. This time last Sunday I had no idea we would have to rush to Santa Pola. After publishing last week's blog post I got a phone call from a woman called Selene. She rang to say she had Suzy's wallet with her passports, credit cards and house keys which she had found in Gran Alacant on Saturday evening. Thankfully the keys had my phone number on them. I couldn't get through to my daughter so rang my neighbour Lucy to ask her to help me to contact Suzy. It turned out she had been robbed, including her mobile. Without her phone and credit cards she would not even be able to buy food. So there and then we decided to drive all the way to Santa Pola to rescue her. It was a long and worrying drive and we didn't even stop for lunch. All I wanted was to be reunited with my daughter and to help her.
As we drove I was cheered up by Olivia who sent us photos of Elliot and Juliet enjoying their last day in Valencia where they had gone for a wedding. Here is one of the two of them at a fun fair and one of Elliot who is looking so big - and very handsome, I should add.
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| The kids in Valencia - I particularly love this photo of Elliot who is looking so big and oh so handsome. |
We arrived to an empty flat. Suzy was out - I should add that Lucy gave her her set of keys - We set about cleaning and unpacking until she arrived. She was very surprised to see us and not too happy as she prefers an independent life but we were there to help her. It was good to be back and to eventually be able to hug our daughter who worries us so much.
Monday was spent getting her wallet back and buying her a new phone. For that we went to Elche where the lady who found her keys and wallet lives. What a kind and honest soul, I have to say. To celebrate we went to have coffee at Dalua - the bakery that supplies my favourite cafe in Santa Pola called Chocco&Latte. Suzy loved it and we could not resist buying some cakes to bring home. Here she is with her father during what I call a "happy moment". It is the small things in life that bring happiness, such as coffee with your daughter and husband; at least for me.
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| A rare photo of Eladio and his daughter - and Pippa, again, of course. Coffee at Dalua in Elche |
We then went to buy a phone for Suzy and to get food at Mercadona as her cupboards were completely bare.
On Tuesday morning we spent time in Santa Pola - which included coffee at Chocco&Latte, the place my friends Sandra and Adele loved so much. Again I caught my husband and daughter together - with Pippa too, as usual. I love this photo of them reunited and holding hands while they walk towards the fishing port.
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| Eladio and Suzy (and Pippa) in Santa Pola on Tuesday morning |
Meanwhile, in Madrid, an important act was taking place. Spain's Crown Princess Leonor who turned 18 that day was to swear an oath to the Constitution, an act that formalises her status as the next in line to the crown. The British press reported on what they called "Leonormania" in Spain but I can assure you there wasn't much of that as the country, is divided on its loyalty to the Spanish Royal family which has never ever been as revered as in England. Miguel, Oli's husband, was there to see her as he was part of the TVE team covering the event. He must have been placed somewhere in Puerta del Sol, to judge from the video he took which I am reproducing here.
The Princess and her sister Sofia going past the crowds in Madrid on Tuesday
The Crown Princess was accompanied by her father and mother, King Felipe and Queen Letizia as well as her younger sister, Sofia. She was not, however accompanied by her paternal grandfather, the disgraced Juan Carlos I, who, as I'm sure you know, lives in exile in Abu Dhabi. I read later he flew into Madrid to be at the private family birthday party but flew back on the same day as his son would not give him permission to stay at the palace; a sorry state of affairs. All families have their issues, don't they? Had I been at home I would probably have watched the ceremony but had to make do with what I saw on my phone.
This is the moment Princess Leonor, Spain's future Queen swears the oath. You may have seen some of the pictures - probably not, so here is one for the record to remember that day, a very important day for Spain's Crown Princess.
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| The Crown Princess Leonor in white on the day she swore the oath to the Spanish constitution |
The Spanish Constitution is very much in many people's minds these days. Not because of the oath but because our caretaker socialist Prime Minister needs the votes of the Catalan party headed up by the fugitive Carles Puigdemont who illegally organised a referendum for self determination - not contemplated in the Constitution. To secure his votes Pedro Sánchez has to agree to his conditions, including an amnisty so he can come back from Brussels; again not included in the Constitution. It's such an irony and paradox that the Spanish government is in his hands. He of course wants a referendum too, a legal one this time which cannot possibly be on the cards. I wonder what the future Queen of Spain thinks about this situation privately. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at their private family dinner to celebrate her birthday.
Tuesday was a very important and busy day for the Spanish royal family. For us it was a quiet day with quality time with our daughter Suzy. We had lovely meals together every day and lots of long conversations, a lot of them about history where her father is the "maestro". He is like an encyclopedia for his daughter. That day saw him summarising the Spanish Civil War at Dalua in Santa Pola. He also spent time this week explaining the origins of the New Testament and parts of the old Testament too. I looked on in awe as he recited in Hebrew parts of Genesis. What a memory my husband has and oh how cultured he is. I fell in love with him partly because of this.
Tuesday also included an excursion to Primark in Elche - again - to kit Suzy out for the winter. It was the first time in ages we had been clothes shopping together and we had a field day. Suzy was happy, so I was happy too, enjoying buying lots of casual wear and basics; all in bigger sizes than normal :(
I should add that it was Halloween that night, a festival I was not brought up on. It has Scottish and Irish roots but it was the Americans who turned it into what it has become today and exported it back to Europe and the rest of the world - this trick and treat business, dressing up in scary clothes and lots of pumpkins are frankly not my thing. As I said on social media, I was brought up on Mischief Night and Bonfire night which is today, 5th November, by the way. That's one of the things I miss about England.
Wednesday was 1st November, All Saints' Day in Spain, when people take flowers to their loved ones' graves. It was a beautiful sunny day and that morning Suzy took us to the end of the coastal road which leads to Santa Pola, or the far east side of the town which is linear. We had never walked along that beautiful promenade with views of the Island of Tabarca. We loved it and will be going back many times. That's where I took the photo of Eladio and Suzy which I have chosen as this week's feature photo. Suzy then took one of us. Both Suzy and I are wearing our new clothes from Primark.
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| On our beautiful walk on All Saints' Day |
Suzy took us to Ca Pacorro for our morning coffee and we ended up having lunch there; a spur of the moment decision. What a great place.
The week went past so quickly and before I knew it, it was already Thursday. That day we had to get more provisions and where better to get fruit and veg than from the weekly market in Gran Alacant. It used to be across the way from us but they have changed the location and it's quite far now. Here is Eladio getting some fruit and veg.
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| Buying fruit at the market |
By then it was coffee time and Suzy took us to a bar on the Arenales beach. Before heading home we stopped at Mercadona. We got through our provisions so fast we kept having to go back hahaha. What a windy day it was on Thursday. Spain was being battered by Storm Ciaran. This being the Levante, the wind can get quite strong. However, it was warm in Santa Pola all week, unlike most of the rest of Spain.
And then suddenly it was
Friday. My house at home in Madrid was full of guests but thankfully I had Tana to look after them. So what did we do on Friday? Well, yes, you guessed, we went to Elche again, this time to show Suzy the famous palm tree park, "
El Huerto del Cura" and the cathedral, The Basílica de Santa Maria which hosts the famous "
Misteri" - The Mystery Play of Elche. It is a liturgical sung drama from the Middle Ages that reenacts the Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is held in August and we have been a few times. What a wonderful spectacle it is. As I had been to both the park and cathedral when my friends Adele and Sandra came, I was the perfect guide that morning. We parked in the centre and then walked to the cathedral square where we had coffee at "Basilica", a very upmarket bistro type terrace. Unfortunately the Basilica closed at 12.30 which is a ridiculous time to close so Suzy and Eladio were unable to see it. Outside though we came across figures from the Misteri Play - 3 of the apostles and I took a lovely picture.
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| Suzy and Eladio in Elche, again, on Friday |
Elche is famous for this play but also for its palm tree grove, the largest of its kind in Europe, planted by the Romans. It is also famous for the ancient bust of "La Dama de Elche" - the Lady of Elche. It was found in the 1800s by some farmers and its importance was soon discovered. It is from the 4th century BC and is the most important Spanish sculpture in existence. As to the lady herself, no one knows who she was although some say there is an association with Tanith, the Goddess of Carthage, worshipped by Punic Iberians. Today the bust is on show at the Archaeological Museum in Madrid although, amazingly, upon its discovery in the 19th century it was bought by a Frenchman to be housed in The Louvre. Reproductions of the Lady of Elche bust are everywhere in Elche, including the botanical garden, "El Huerto del Cura", the jewel in the crown of the Palm Tree grove.
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| A reproduction of the Dama de Elche bust at the Huerto del Cura palm tree park |
The Huerto del Cura is famed for its palm trees but it is also a botanical garden with amazing flowers and cacti and even bamboo. There are ponds with tropical ducks, turtles and you are greeted by a family of peacocks as soon as you enter.
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| Peacocks at the Huerto del Cura |
One of them came running after Pippa who we had to scoop in our arms in case she was attacked hahaha. Eladio had been before but everything was new for Suzy. I knew she would love the
Imperial Palm Tree, the only one of its kind in the world and which was supposedly named after Sissi the Empress of Austria who was awed by it when she visited Elche.
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| A bad shot of the Imperial Palm tree in Elche |
I wrote about this unique palm tree in September so won't repeat the same information here. But let me tell you it is 180 years old, it weighs over 8 tons and measures 17 metres in height. What is unique about this male date palm tree is that it has 7 stems in the form of a candelabra or so I read. Suzy was impressed and I was glad she enjoyed the visit. We all did as this is such a beautiful place.
This week we visited Elche at least 4 times - highly unusual for us. Soon it was time for lunch and we headed home. Eladio and I had leftover spagbol - fine by us and the rest of the day panned out peacefully which is just how I like it.
Saturday came and it was to be our last day here. The temperature reached 25ºc that day. Meanwhile in Madrid it reached 15ºc. No wonder so many British and Scandinavian pensioners spend the winter here. I would too if I didn't have so many obligations at home. Before venturing out for our walk and mid morning coffee, I pre prepared our lunch which would be Spanish tortilla. Our destination yesterday was nearby Santa Pola. We drove once again to the end of the coastal road, parked and made our way to the lovely promenade we had discovered earlier in the week. This time I checked out the name of the promenade and it is "
Paseo Vicealmirante Blanco Garcia". What an honour for such a beautiful promenade to be named after a person.
We had coffee once again at Ca Pacorro with its beautiful views of the sea. Here is just one.
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| The sea by the lovely promenade in Santa Pola |
And here is one of Suzy and Eladio at the cafe, a lovely moment to record.
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| At Ca Pacorro yesterday |
We came home to make another lunch together, our last until we come again. The afternoon was quiet as they have all been. Suzy went down to the beach but we stayed at home. I only wish I had brought our swimming costumes. I'm not sure we will be able to bathe in December but who knows?
And today is Sunday and time to go home. We hate to leave Suzy here, so alone in the world and living like a hermit, but are glad to have had quality time with her.
As I come to the end of this week's blog post I can't help but think about the war between Israel and Gaza which gets worse every day. Finally humanitarian aid is getting through and finally Egypt has let some foreign nationals and some injured Palestinians through. I cannot stomach that in its retaliation the Israeli Military forces are bombing refugee camps, ambulances and hospitals. That can never be the way to bring down Hamas. It's sickening.
Life continues elsewhere, of course, and today we shall make our journey home after a week spent in Santa Pola with Suzy, bless her.
Cheers then friends and readers until next Sunday,
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