Oct 19-20 Tarragona

The train trip from Alicante to Tarragona went smoothly, 3.5 hours, and a good time to have a snooze. We're entered a region, with lots of vegitation, and that means cooler temperatures and more rain. But we lucked out. A few showers Sunday morning, but nothing to stop our walkabout.

Tarragona is a fantastic town - large, but easy to get around. And many of the Roman ruins are concentrated in the old town. The stores were closed on Sunday, but there were many restaurants.

A walk along Rambla Nova, a very popular stroll 

The beach near the old town

 Many Roman ruins

Sunday artisan market and cathedral in the background

All of the vendors providing free samples.

This cat ran off when the drummers came by

 We are in the Catalonia region of Spain, and there are now regular protests over the jailing of separist leaders. The Catalonia flag has been flying on balconies well before first visiting this region in 2010. This conflict has been going on for centuries, and today there was a protest march in Tarragona. In Barcelona the protests were more violent.

Oct 19, Alicante last morning

Sunrise in Alicant as we look for a cafe at 8am. It's sad to leave such a beautiful town.

Oct 18, Alicante

Our last day we did a city walkabout.

A view of the city from the fortress.

 City centre

The Plaza de Torros

The picador's job is to irritate the bull by spearing it's butt. Thank goodness bull fighting is now banned. It was such a cruel sport. 

Many cafes and restaurants along the promenade 

There was an event nearby to make people aware of poverty

As the sun sets, goodbye Alicante!

Oct 14-17 Alicante

By the time we finish a trek the long-term weather outlook in Galicia is usually rain, and therefore Alicante is an ideal destination. Sunshine and plenty of it. And no surprise the hotels fill up, even in the Fall. The train left Santiago at 5:48am and it was a cold trek at 4:30am to the train station. No cafes open, but we had fruit and yogurt on the train. A 5hr trip to Madrid and 3.5hrs on a different train to Alicante. 

We love Alicante. Lots of historical sites and many restaurants with varying cuisine. All close to our hotel. Fantastic beaches. We've added Playa San Juan to our walks. Total return walk 3.5 hours. I had expected to take the tram back, but it was such a beautiful day we walked back. And Playa San Juan is a big tourist destination. The beaches are long and great for walking, and there are many restaurants. Our favourite is 100 Montaditos, serving many tapas beers, wines and sangria.

Mario, forget your dreams of becoming a gymnast.

Lunch at 100 Mantaditos

Playa Albufereta

Julie's favourite mushroom street

Playa San Juan

The beach in Alicante

The promenade, a great place to hang out

Castle on the hilltop

Alicante harbour

Oct 12-13 Santiago

We went to the train office to book our train to Alicante and discovered the train to be full on Sunday and only two seats remaining for Monday. We wanted to leave Sunday because of the rain prediction for the week. Sure enough, the rain started Sunday morning and we looked for indoor activities. Apparently Oct 12th was a national holiday and a long weekend. Not surprising there were so many visitors in town. 

 These two guys from Equador, wearing their team jerseys celebrating completion of the Camino. Notice the bottle of wine. They were very happy and were oblivious to the rain.

Saturday market.

The throng of visitors arrive. Tour buses unload their passagers behind the Parador(medieval hotel)

The fountain in front of the cathedral.

 Unfortunately there was limited viewing inside the cathedral, as the restoration moved indoors

 The feet on the Camino are well respected.