Time in Santa Pola, Spain healthiest country in the world, visit to Villajoyosa, the city of joy, and Finestrat and home again.

Madrid 3rd March, 2019

On the sea front in Villajoyosa with some of the coloured fishermens' houses behind me. 

Hello again. We're now into March and spring is on its way.

Last Sunday we were still in Santa Pola or rather our apartment nearby. We had a real break and above all a change in environment. I needed the break. We spent that Sunday very quietly. In the morning I read through the manuscript of my father's biography to send off to my editor, Amanda who would start editing on Tuesday. With that out of the way I was able to rest and read.

Eladio and I sat on our lovely little terrace where the sun shines in the morning. I don't know what he was reading but I began reading the biography of Clementine Churchill (First Lady, The life and Wars of Clementine Churchill by Sonia Purnell) which I would find fascinating. Don't I just love a biography, especially historical ones.

We stopped for a healthy lunch, then the news and then a siesta for Eladio and more reading for me. We went for our walk just after 5 pm. There was glorious sunshine but quite a cold nip in the air in the shade and when it was windy. This area of Spain, the South East, is called The Levante referring to the wind which can be quite strong here. We set off on our lighthouse walk and when we got to the cliffs overlooking the sea and the Island of Tabarca we were certainly not the only ones there. In fact I've never seen so many people. It's quite a popular spot because of the views. Once again I had to have yet another photo of Pippa and I on the cliffs. Here we are.

At the lighthouse cliffs on Sunday afternoon

We sat on a bench contemplating the wonderful view and I took one of Eladio and Pippa too.

Eladio and Pipppa at the lighthouse cliffs on Sunday 

On our way back we decided to take a different path home to avoid walking on the road and so that Pippa could roam free. And there started a little adventure. The path just never seemed to end and we went past houses but they were all fenced off. We had no option to walk to the very end which added another full hour to our walk. I felt a bit trapped and my legs were getting tired after 2 hours walking. Finally the path came to an end and there was a way out of the barbed wire. I don't think we will take that path again.

After such a long walk we were hungry for dinner which we had watching the news. The most relevant item that day and in the coming days, was about getting aid into Venezuela and a possible military intervention from the USA. I don't want that to happen as it will cause bloodshed.

Later we watched another episode of our latest series on Netflix. I started dozing off at around 11 pm and my goodness I slept until 7 am the next morning. That for me is a very good night's sleep.

Monday came and and it was another sunny day. We all woke up to hear the news of the winners of this year's Oscar Awards. Green Book won but it doesn't sound like a film I want to see. I hadn't heard of any of the others except for Roma. We had started watching it a while ago on Netflix and frankly don't know why it's so popular. Maybe we should give it another go.

The best news that day, for me at least, came from Bloomberg which published its Healthiest Country Index for 2019 that day. Spain, my friends topped the index as the healthiest country in the world, overtaking Italy. The variables used to measure the countries take into account life expectancy where Spain also leads the world. It also takes into account environmental factors, such as access to water and sanitation and health systems. In this country death from diseases such as heart disease and cancer is declining.

The top ten healthiest countries in the world according to this year's index

The top countries from 1st to 10th are: Span, Italy, Iceland, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Singapore, Norway and Israel. The UK trails behind at number 19. So I am living in the right country.

Suzy that day was in the 8th healthiest country, Singapore. What was she doing there you may wonder? Well, it wasn't tourism. To live in Bali, she has to leave the country once every two months to get a renewed visa. So that day she and Chati were in the small country of Singapore known for its consumerism and sky scrapers. I asked for a photo and got one.

Suzy in Singapore this week

Back in our apartment, that morning we decided to go on a day trip to further explore this area, which, although we know very well, there are still many places to visit. I had looked up the prettiest villages in Alicante before we came and on the list was the town of Villajoyosa meaning City of Joy. It's a town I knew from many years ago when my parents first bought our house in Spain, in Callosa de Ensarría. Villajoyosa is the administrative capital of the Marina Baixa region of Alicante and this is where I suppose my parents would have acquired the deeds of the house. I had been past many times but had never really visited it. Monday was the day we would do that.

I did my homework before going and read it was and still is a fishing village. Its peculiarity is that most of the old houses are painted in different colours. This was so that the fishermen could see their housse while approaching the shore. Also the balconies of these pretty houses played an important part in communication those days. News, in the shape of the colour of the linen hanging from them would impart good or bad news to returning fishermen. These coloured houses are the main feature of the town which is also famous for its Moors and Christians festival as well as for its chocolate factory. I was determined to see it all.

The coloured houses on the sea front at Villajoysa

Above all we discovered a hidden gem on the Costa Blanca, near but far from Benidorm in that it is not at all spoiled. It has managed to stay Spanish, is a vibrant, pretty little town and is virtually untouched by mass tourism. I hope it stays that way.

Villajoyosa has 15km of coast. When I knew it in the 70's its beaches were all rocky. Today the main beach in the centre has been turned into sand and what a lovely beach it is indeed. Again I was reminded of how lucky I am to live in Spain which in my mind has some of the best beaches in the world.

The central beach, Playa Centro in Villajoyosa

We had a coffee in the sun on the sea front enjoying the view and the relaxing time we were having. We wondered why in all the time we have had our flat, 20 years, we had never visited this beautiful town.

We walked to the end of the sea front, admiring the houses. The picture illustrating this week's post is of me by them.  Then we did what a blog post I read on the town  advised;  to walk around and get lost in the old streets behind the sea front and to admire more coloured houses and streets where time really has stood still. We loved them and we did get lost.

Eladio and Pippa, outside the town hall in Villajoyosa

Part of the town is walled and there is a church come fortress at the top which unfortunately is closed to the public. So we walked instead to the big bridge on the main thoroughfare, Paseo del País Valenciano, to see the "hanging houses". I did remember them, of course I did.

The "hanging houses" (Casas Colgantes) of Villajoyosa

The town in Spain famous for its "hanging houses" is Cuenca, not Villajoyosa, yet these are much nicer.

We then walked down to the park below the houses and up again, marvelling at what  a beautiful town Villajoyosa is. From there we walked to the more modern part where all the streets are lined with orange trees, something I still find exotic even though I have seen them countless times in other parts of Spain.

Orange trees in Villajoyosa

By then we had walked nearly 8km, according the health app on my phone and it was time for lunch. The recommendations for restaurants all pointed to the port, so that is where we headed next. It being a Monday, many of the more famous eateries were closed but we found that the Yacht Club was open and that was where we had lunch on Monday. It was a superb choice and I want to go back. We had one of our favourite dishes, "arroz señoret", a paella dish typical of Valencia. Made of seafood the "señoret" version is all shelled. This was it.

The "arroz señoret" we had for lunch on Monday at the Yacht Club in Villajoyosa

Feeling happy with life, we walked back along the sea front after our wonderful lunch, contemplating the pretty coloured houses and back to the car. We had one more stop to make before leaving and that was to visit the Chocolate Museum in the town. The Valor brand comes from Villajoyosa and is much consumed in Spain. I love chocolate although I am afraid Valor is not a patch on Cadbury's or Belgian chocolate. However, I couldn't resist a chocolate factory, every woman's dream. Eladio stayed outside with Pippa as dogs were not allowed - they are hardly allowed anywhere in Spain, a particularly unfriendly country for dogs. I didn't do the factory visit but went to the shop.  This is it.

The shop at the Valor chocolate factory in Villajoyosa

I bought three big tablets of chocolates plus a box with gourmet chocolates. The latter were definitely much nicer than the former I decided when I sampled both that night after dinner.

At about 5 pm we set off home, about 50km from our flat. It had been a perfectly lovely day and we were both enamoured with this city of joy which is so peaceful and unique and definitely one of Alicante's prettiest towns. No doubt, now we know it, we shall be back. It had been wonderful therapy for my exhuasted woman syndrome. Just before we got home, we had to stop at the omnipresent Mercadona supermarket to replenish our supplies of food although neither of us would be very hungry for dinner that night.

We came back to wind down, to read and rest. That evening I sent off what I hoped would be the final manuscript of my father's biography to my friend Amanda. I know it is in her good hands and she will be a wonderful editor. It actually turned out not to be the final version as I have kept adding things. Yesterday, I read through all the letters my father  wrote to his sister Gloria during and after the war. Oh what a find because of his great descriptions of his time with the British Admiralty in Oslo and later in Germany as an Intelligence Officer for the Allied Commission. At lunch yesterday I asked him what he was doing on VE day and how he celebrated. VE Day remember was the day the Germans surrendered, 8th May 1945. He told me he did not really celebrate as for him the war wasn't over because of the Japanese war and the fact that the atom bomb was to come. I was a bit disappointed as I had hoped he would have been out reveling but no of course not. That is not like him. Later I found his exact description in one of the letters to his sister dated 13th May.  VE Day found him in Orkney at the RN base in Lyness for Scapa Flow, the main base for the RN in the  Atlantic. His words are priceless. "Your remarks about VE day celebrations and the way it affected various people correspond very much to the incidents that took place up here. There were hundreds and hundreds of drunkards reeling about the place from lunch time to well on into the next morning. Service cars were swiped and taken for joy rides and then trashed and left in a damaged state. We were all privileged to “splice the main brace” (naval order to issue crew with alcohol) whereby all and sundry including officers were allowed to have a free tot of rum on the navy. All the ships in harbour sounded their sirens at midnight and really the noise was tremendous for a place which is normally so quiet”. 

I also found a great letter he wrote to me while at University at the beginning of 1976, my first term at Nottingham. I have a whole bag of our letters as he wrote to me religiously once a week. They are funny to read. This particular letter he wrote  while supervising detention at Bradford Grammar School. These are his words: “I am writing to you in the most dreary and uncomfortable classroom in the school while supervising detention for such misdemeanours as smoking in the toilet (8 culprits), repeated failure to hand in work on time, laziness, calling out, persistent giggling, pulling another boy’s hair, cutting assembly. So you can see how much I am enjoying my so-called “feet up” afternoon. If I really had time off and there were no chores then I would be reading some Spanish or Russian book. As regards marking in the same letter he writes: “I have a most desperately boring set of French exercise books in front of me which I shall have to start marking sooner or later”. Poor Daddy. But what a find for my biography. Poor Amanda too, as I keep adding stuff. The biography is now 104 pages long and has 43.000 words which should make a 250 book. Wow. 

I am digressing, the next day, Tuesday, I couldn't believe it when I woke up at 7.50, so late for me. I had had the best night's sleep in a long time. We woke up to another sunny day when the temperature would reach 21c and had breakfast on our terrace; what a luxury. It was warm all over Spain that day with very high temperatures even in the north. I heard on the news that my home country, the UK, was also experiencing great weather and that on Tuesday had broken a record and reached 20c in some parts. 

We did another road trip that day, this time to a small mountain village called Finestrat. I had last been there with my Aunty Masha, my mother and friends to see the Fiestas. That must have been in the mid 70's. In those days, Finestrat was more or less an end of the road sleepy little village. Today a direct road from there through the mountains to Benidorm has made it prosper and it looked very well kept when we visited it. Today many expats, mostly retired Brits, live there, enjoying the more or less all year round sunshine and peaceful way of life. We explored its windy old streets. 

The old church in Finestrat. Nearly all the churches in this area have blue domes

A pretty narrow street in Finestrat

The village is perched on a mountain and the views from the top are spectacular.

View from the top of the mountain village, Finestrat

The main mountain overlooking the village is called Puig Campana and is 1.400 metres high. I think it is the same mountain one can see from Callosa where we used to have a house. It looks impossible to climb so probably only rock climbers have a go at it.

The Puig Campana mountain overlooking pretty Finestrat

Being out of season, we had the place practically to ourselves and enjoyed walking along the pretty streets of this well kept and seemingly prosperous village. There was something to see at every corner and I took loads of photos like this one of a house with its yellow window frames and bench outside.  People in these parts often sit outside their houses on the streets to chinwag with their neighbours so there were many chairs and benches outside the houses to be seen everywhere.

An inviting little house in Finestrat

Finestrat was a very inviting little village to visit but there was not much on offer restaurant wise, just bars. Thus we looked elsewhere for lunch that day. Tripadvisor  didn't help much as all the good restaurants in the area were either closed or fully booked. Finally we found a place in nearby Polop called El Castell and we headed there.

Polop is one of my references from our "Callosa Days" and is another pretty village nestled in the rocky mountains of inland Alicante.

Pretty Polop de la Marina

El Castell was right at the top of the village which I had only ever seen once. The restaurant commanded amazing views but had little to offer. There were only sandwiches and unappetizing looking tapas so we left. In the end we had lunch in Callosa itself, our old village, at the best place in town according to Tripadvisor, Bar Pere. It was a modest little place but actually the food was excellent. We went to have an ice cream afterwards at La Jijonenca, another place of my youth and which hasn't changed since my parents bought the house in the early 70's. 

Then we had to rush back to be home by 5 pm as a curtain man was coming. We had put up new Ikea curtains a few years ago but Eladio never liked the railings and wanted them changed. Not interested in curtains and actually a hater of anything that shuts the light out of houses, I left them to it. There was talk of adding lace curtains, reminding me of the Spanish national sport of "curtain twitching", well described in the Federico Garcia Lorca play, The House of Bernardo Alba. I put my foot down here. No curtain twitching in a house I live in please.

I didn't pay much attention to the curtain issue as I had just seen an interesting email arrive. It was another invitation to give a master class.  I have to give a 1.5h lecture on pitching press releases to the media on 13th March next. I think I will enjoy the topic although it will mean at least 3 hours of preparation. That will be my second master class. Maybe this is the start of something new. Let's see. 

When the curtain man had gone, we both read and rested until dinner when again we were not hungry.  We ate something though as we watched the news. The main item was the meeting of dear Donald Trump with that horrible dictator Kim Jong-Un in Vietnam.  What good can come from talks between these two men I wondered to myself? The day ended with yet another cliff hanger episode of "Vivir sin permiso". 

After two day trips in a row we decided to stay at home on Wednesday. Besides I needed time to work on a press release, this time my own, to pitch the story of father's upcoming 100th. Who knows, it may well be of interest as he is after all one of the few WW2 veterans still alive.

It was a warm but windy day and part of the morning was spent sitting on our terrace with the shining down on me, reading more of the fascinating biography of Clementine Churchill.  As I read her story and Winston's story, I realised of course that he will have been the foremost political presence in both my grandparents' and my father's lives. I well remember his funeral in November 1965 and what a state funeral it was. I was 7 and spent my pocket money, "half a crown", on a memorial booklet. I do wish I had kept it. I have been fascinated with him ever since. 

Our walk that day was on what I call "our beach", the beach nearest our apartment called both Arenales del Sol and Carabasi. We had it nearly to ourselves as you can see in the photo below with Eladio and Pippa.

"Our beach"

We call it "our beach" as our apartment looks over it. Our apartment is one of the white buildings you can spot on the cliff at the end of the beach. Last week I sung the praises of Spain's beaches, telling you they were of the best to find in the world. Well this week I have proof. In Tripadvisor's top ten beaches in Europe for 2019, La Concha in San Sebastian was voted best beach. That doesn't surprise me, it's one of my favourites. 

We came back to watch Olivia on TV. That day she was reporting on Arco, the big contemporary art fair that took place this week in Madrid. Here she is showing viewers the most talked about exhibit at the show. The exhibit in question is provocative and has a very political slant. It is a 4 metre high replica of Spain's King Felipe VI which is on sale for 200.000 euros. Fine you might think, but no. The condition is that the buyer burns it within the year. Is that art? Not in my mind. Here she is next to the  provocative exhibit. It's the talk of the show but that is not art, it's sheer provocation. The artist, unsurprisingly is Catalan and a republican.

Oli on TV on Wednesday reporting on the controversial statue of the King

It's a pity that was the main news of Arco as I'm sure there were a lot more worthy exhibits than this "ninot" as it is called.

Dinner was a minor affair, except for the 4 chocolates I ate afterwards and which would give me a blasted headache. That night there was a "clásico" match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. It was the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi final and not of much interest to me. After Barça scored 2 goals and it was obvious who the winner would be, we turned to Netflix. We had two more episodes to watch and watch it we did until the end. What would be watch next I wondered?

Thursday came, our last full day at our apartment. It was to be the warmest day of our stay. The temperatures here and in many places in Europe have been unusually high for this time of year. We had breakfast on our sunny terrace. Later we walked leisurely with Pippa to the Thursday open market held virtually across the road from our place. We went to buy fruit and veg to take home. It's nearly all locally sourced and the prices were very low, especially for oranges, at less than 50 euro cents a kilo. I learned this week that due to the surplus or rather to cheaper oranges from countries like Morocco, farmers here are being paid just 12 euro cents a kilo. Often it is not even profitable for them to pick them off the trees. Here is Eladio choosing ours. They are so juicy at this time of year.

Eladio choosing oranges at the fruit and veg market on Thursday

Everything was pretty cheap. I even saw a clothes stall where literally every garment was being sold for 1 euro. How can that be I wondered? How much would the workers who make them be paid?

From the market I went to Quicksave, the little British supermarket across the road from our flat. Here I stocked up on decaf tea which is impossible to find in shops in Madrid. I also got chocolates for my father and I have to admit it, some for myself. My favourite? Well, Cadbury's cream eggs and Aero chocolate mint and bounties too. My father's favourite are Turkish Delight, Mint Aero and bounties too as well as polos. So I got plenty of them for him.

That day I went on strike about making lunch. Besides our cupboards were a bit bare. Thus we went to have another curry at Azafran India. I loved it but Eladio was not so impressed. He thought the quantity was very small but then again we opted for the "menu of the day". It's such a pity the fish and chip shop, Darby's Chippy, has closed down. Now our choice or restaurants is somewhat limited.

We came home on time to watch the news. The main story was the abrupt halt of the Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump summit in Hanoi. They had not reached a deal and cut the meeting short. Apparently the North Koreans wanted the complete lifting of sanctions in exchange for just dismantling one nuclear complex. Who knows what will happen now but we were assured talks would continue.

I read in the afternoon while Eladio and Pippa had a siesta. At about 5.30 we went for our walk, this time to the Cape of Santa Pola where the lighthouse is. This time we took the right paths and did not get lost. We had the place nearly to ourselves which is how I like it. Visibility was good that day and you could see the Island of Tabarca very well. If I call the beach below our apartment,  "our beach" I also call   the island  "my island", although of course they aren't.

"My island". The island of Tabarca near Santa Pola

We could clearly make out the church, the old prison, the lighthouse and the cemetery. No doubt we will visit it again this summer and enjoy a dish of "arroz a banda" at Casa Gloria when we go.

We were home just on time to see Olivia on TV. That day she was reporting on the pollution alert in the city of Valladolid, some 3h north west of Madrid. The unusually warm weather and lack of rain has brought with it high levels of pollution in many cities in Madrid where traffic has been restricted. Here she is explaining the measures taken by the city council. One of them was free public transport. What a great idea. She does get around with her new job as reporter for TVE's "España Directo". She must get tired though.

Oli reporting from Valladolid on Thursday

I also came home to news from my new found friend Joanna, my family researcher, or researcher for long lost cousins. Well, she had found one, "Aunty Angela". Aunty Angela is my father's first cousin, the daughter of his mother's only sister Gwendoline. We knew she lived in Pontypool in Wales and was still alive. Joanna wrote to her last address and her letter was passed on to a friend, Susan. From Susan we learned that Angela is now living in a care home called Mayflower in Cwbran, Wales. We also learned that she is faring well and her head and mind are intact. She well remembers her cousin Courtenay. As a child, Aunty Angela always used to send George and I Christmas and birthday presents, although we never met her. We used to have to send thank you letters or bread and butter letters as they were often called them, addressed to Aunty Angela and Uncle Walter. Uncle Walter was her mother's second husband after her first husband, Arthur Benson, died in the 20's due to WW1 wounds. When her mother Gwendoline died, Angela continued to live with "Uncle Walter" until his death. Until just a few years ago, my father and Angela exchanged Christmas cards. But in the past 5 years or so we had heard nothing. I would ring Susan, her friend and carer the day we got back to Madrid. Oh how lovely to have found my father's long lost cousin.

Later that night we started a new series,  this time on Amazon Prime Video. It was another Spanish produced series and it's called "Asuntos de Estado" (State Secrete) and is a fictional thriller about the Spanish government. We liked it and would watch the rest avidly.

Thus we went to bed quite late, at past midnight. I woke up early on Friday morning at about 6.30, our day of departure.

We spent the good part of 2 hours or so to clean, pack and vacate the apartment. We love going there but I do so hate the arrival and departure as it means cleaning, something I have never liked. We left at about 11 am on another glorious sunny day. We only stopped once and it was for lunch. We chose "Los Rosales", one of our favourite places for our midday meal. 

Los Rosales where we stopped for lunch on our way back on Friday

Eladio loves their menu as it is full of his favourite soup and casserole type dishes. He chose bean stew and I chose lamb cutlets. Thankfully they were quick in serving and we were soon on our way again. We arrived home at about 4.30 pm to find the house in good order. I went to see my father to greet him and also to give him the chocolates I had bought for him at Quicksave. He looked in good shape and told me he had been well looked after by the new Lucy. That pleased me.

I had to unpack, another task I don't really like and soon I was at my desk again with Pippa curled up on the sofa in our study. I had lots to do and all involved with the biography and family tree. That evening I rang the lady, Susan, the friend of my father's long  lost cousin Angela who Joanna had found for me. We had a long chat and even agreed to setting up a skype chat for my father and Angela. Later I wrote to her to ask for photos, dates and places of the birth and death of her parents and other information I needed from her to fill a few blanks I still have regarding my father's family.

Dinner was  a minor affair - neither of us was hungry - and we went to bed early. It was wonderful to get into our comfortable bed and watch the news and our series on the great big screen in our room. Eladio was tired from driving and by about 11 pm we were both ready for sleep.

On Saturday I was up to a quiet house at about 7 pm. We had guests, of course, Andrew, our long term lodger and the two students who come three nights a week, Alba and Javier. But we didn't see any of them. They are the best sort of guests.

Saturday morning was spent reading my father's old letters to his sister Gloria in the war. Thankfully Lucy made the lunch so it was great, for once, to sit down to a ready table. Just as we were about to sit down, Suzy video called us and she even spoke to her grandfather He was delighted to see her. Later, over the table and after lunch I sat with my father, asking him more questions about his family. He loves these questions and I love asking him them. Everyone went to have a siesta but I rushed to my PC to add all his answers to the biography.  I only stopped for our walk in the evening at about 5.30. It was another glorious evening with pink skies and a mild temperature. It was so mild I had to take my coat off.

I came home to read a bit of my Clementine Churchill book and then made a simple dinner for Eladio and myself. Later we finished watching the 3 episode series "Secrets of State" and shortly after fell asleep.

Today is Sunday and I have my French lesson with Olivia at 11h. Thankfully I did my homework - the present subjunctive - yesterday. I'm not sure how the rest of the day will pan out but of course you will hear all about it next Sunday. Next week I shall be publishing from Brussels. Lucky me, I am off there on Wednesday for just under a week for girly time with my University bosom friends, Sandra and Adele. It is going to be a blast I can tell you.

Cheers for now everyone,
Love you and leave you, Masha

ooo