Buenos amigos of the Cruz Roja (Red Cross)

Given that Javea had a disproportionate population of EU expats, it was often hard to get to know the locals. One of the most valuable and rewarding experiences for me personally was to sign up with the local Javea Red Cross. They had just started up a new environmental program, called Medio Ambiente, with the purpose of improving and preserving the local environs around Javea. This group was made up of a handful of young people (30-somethings), all with a common love and passion for the outdoors. For me it was a perfect opportunity to meet and connect with other like-minded individuals, practice my spanish and get out to see everything Javea had to offer. We met in the evenings on a weekly basis to begin building a "business plan" for how to care for the various parks and trails in the area by hosting montly cleanup days. I learned a great deal about budgets and local politics (particularly the region of Alicante versus the national directives) and did my best to keep up with my colleagues when they would break into passionate, rapid-fire dialog, often reverting to Valenciano, a dialect I could not speak and barely understood. Often during the weekends, we would go off on hikes to document areas that had been degraded or worn due to heavy use in the hopes of convincing others to support and fund our cleanup and preservation effort. We would also attend lectures from local park guides in Denia, who would give fasciating lectures about the geology and flora and fauna of the area. Raul was the ring-leader of this effort, and his dedication and tireless efforts to make Javea a better place were an inspiration to me. Plus he was a good friend, who would go out of his way to include me in conversations and invite me along various excursions. Other key people included Lorena - the organizer driving the effort through the Red Cross, as well as other local volunteers like Jordi, Marco, Santi, Johanna, and Bianca. Everyone was incredibly friendly and would go out of their way to bring me in to their conversations and make sure I was understanding what they were saying. All in all, it was a fascinating group of people and an amazing experience. Through the Cruz Roja, I have made some wonderful life-long friends and I look forward to following their future endeavors to keep Javea beautiful.

More Cycling Bliss

While Javea has not turned out to be the quintessential Spanish town we might have hoped for, one of the key pleasures for me has been in the quality of the cycling in this region (Marina Alta). I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that a number of professional teams train out here during the winter. I have seen the Katusha (Russian), Post (Irish) and Vacances (Belgian) teams training through the local valleys earlier this year. It makes it all the more fun to go out riding because you never know who might show up. Furthermore, there seems to be lots of good local talent on the roads, which gives me all the more incentive to get in serious cycling shape. And the scenery really is spectacular. Now that the almond trees are in blossom and spring is in the air, the rides through the Jalon valley have been stunning and I enjoy the blend of steep mountain passes, lush valleys and quaint mountain towns (for an occasional pit stop). I have done some rides with the Club Ciclista Javea and have been introduced to the custom of enjoying a bocadillo, wine/beer and shot of espresso during the mid break on our rides - sure beats power bars and energy drinks!

Javea Windmills

On a recent weekend, we headed across the valley to Cap San Antonio to explore the remains of Javea's windmills. Javea has the largest concentration of windmills found in the Marina Alta district, which were built in the 17th century to harness the wind to mill grain into flour. These basic structures have been partially restored and now sit like sentry posts guarding the town below. Although some are now on private land, we were able to walk through a number of them to get a better appreciation of what they must have been like when functioning.

Weather woes

"I've lived here for 20 years, and this is the worst ___________ I have ever seen!" We hear this quote so often it is almost laughable, were it not for the fact that we are experiencing all of this at once. You name it - cold, clouds, rain (okay, except for the flash floods in 2007) and now wind. All setting local records. Yikes. Last week we had a wind storm that brought 75+mph winds. Javea was not built for this and hundreds upon hundreds of pine trees came down, causing widespread power outages and damage throughout the town. Signs were twisted or upended, tiles came off the roofs and canopies and garden pots were destroyed. In spite of crystal blue skies, we stayed indoors for fear of being struck by flying objects. Either there is something true to this global warming thing, or if you throw in the economic meltdown, perhaps this is a sign that the end is near! To be fair, this bizarre weather pattern is impacting all of Europe, not just Javea. When the weather is crappy here, it is often worse throughout all of Spain and the rest of EU (and apparently now the eastern US), but that is only a small consolation. It is ironic that we ruled out several great areas in Northern Spain part predominantly because of the weather - had we known things would be this bad, we pretty much could've lived just about anywhere. Oh well, chalk it up fate and perhaps another lesson learned. On the bright side, in spite of all our bad luck, it looks as if we might be turning the corner. Perhaps the weather "insurgents" are just lashing out at us - a sure sign that they are in the throes of defeat! Actually, spring looks like it will still come early to the Marina Alta as the almond and cherry trees are starting to blossom. In about a week or so, the valleys should be spectacular.

Conquering Montgo

"I climbed Montgo and that is the 2nd highest mountain in Alicante" - Christian Roy, January 2, 2009, Javea. After months of hard work, hours of preparation, broken promises, infighting at base camp, and a seemingly endless wait for the weather (and for daddy's New Year's hangover) to clear, we finally got a rare window of opportunity to make our ascent on the morning of January 2nd. Just one day after Christian made it his New Year's resolution to bag this formidable and elusive beast - and just two days shy of his 7th birthday - we found ourselves ready to seize the day. Every morning this past week, Christian has been waking up and looking pensively across the valley to the Montgo, wondering if today would be his day. One by one, the other promising climbers backed away from the challenge, until only Christian and his dutiful sherpa remained. As the summitting season was nearing its close, pressure was mounting on the climbers and the tension weighed on the camp like a wet wool blanket in the cold, damp Javea air. A sliver of dawn peaked out across the horizon as we packed our bags, kissed our loved ones goodbye, and headed for the trailhead. The fog hung thick across the valley as we drove through the orange groves in silence, wondering if we had what it would take to summit and return... Today, fate was on our side and the mountain gods smiled upon us as we began our ascent. Christian was more than prepared and he bolted up towards the summit with hardly any need for rest along the way. I had planned for 2 1/2 hours, but we made it in less than 1:45 - plenty of time to relax and enjoy the views from the top, savoring our accomplishment. I must admit his agility surprised me, particularly on the rocky scramble at the base of the summit. Sure, he started to poop out towards the end, but by then we were only a couple hundred yards from the car and adrenaline more than compensated for his tired little legs. It was great to watch him parade into base camp a hero - he was so proud and couldn't wait to share his accomplishment with everyone. I too, was a very proud sherpa, and it looks like I might have at least one budding backpack partner in the mix - perhaps sooner than anyone might have anticipated!

Exploring Cap San Antonio, Javea

We woke up to a huge rainstorm in Javea the morning after getting back from Santiago. Yikes, more rain? Then suddenly, the clouds blew past as quickly as they came in and the sun came out. It was almost shocking to see blue skies after so much foul weather in October. Perhaps this was a good sign for the rest of November... We packed up the kids and headed just over to the far side of town (above the port) to Cap San Antonio, where the lighthouse is situated. Kellen had gone there on a school field trip a while back and he wanted to go back to the "diamond mine" (an inconsequential pile of quartz crystals) to collect some more diamonds. So off we went, enjoying the sun and the spectacular views of the mediterranean and the town below. As much as we loved Santiago, it was nice to be reminded of the stunning vistas in our own backyard.

Nobody told us about the Monsoons!

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain…and in Javea. In just about every place we’ve ever been, September is the nicest time of year – not too hot, not too cold, changing light patterns, etc. – but we have experienced something quite new while we are here. We are now on day 7 of rains, some of which have at times been torrential. Lots of cool thunder and lightning storms as well. People have mentioned in passing that rains can be heavy at times here, but we figured they wouldn’t start until much later. As it turns out, the rainy season kicks off in mid-September and we have no idea how long it lasts. For a region that boasts over 300 days of sunshine a year, they sure don’t mess around with the other 65! Last October, they had one of the worst rains on record. Cars were submerged under water, rivers turned to muddy rapids and overflowed their banks and the sea surged into town leaving boats and debris in its wake. Given that we still have no television signal, (for Steve a blessing from heaven), we went into town yesterday to buy a bunch of “rainy day” games and toys for the family. As far as we’re concerned, Christmas came on September 27th!

Out with the Old (Villa), in with the New..

As we wrote about earlier, we had been having many issues with our initial villa, so we finally decided to make a change. After contacting almost every realtor in town, we came across a place we could call home for the next 9 months. The property is called Villa del Sol and is not far from our old villa. However, it is in a newer area and was only recently rented out as of this summer. Everything is brand new and it is huge (5 bedrooms!), bright & airy with a large open kitchen. This is very unusual by Spanish/EU standards. The villa has an amazing deck looking across the entire area towards Mt. Montgo and the Old Town across a small agricultural valley. The kids are fascinated by Montgo and love to watch the clouds roll in and sit on top. Christian is set on climbing it someday. We are in the process of supplying the final touches on linens, supplies, etc. as it was originally built for sale and until the market crashed (yes, they are feeling the heat big time in Javea), was not intended to be rented out. Our big purchase yesterday was a small espresso maker - this is one material thing we will quite enjoy while we are here! Now we just need to navigate the phone line/internet installation process (aargh, more bureacracy!), and we'll be pretty darned comfortable.

First Day of School, Xabia International College

Today marked a big day for Kellen and Christian - their first day at Xabia International College (XIC). Casey has not yet started as we are still working through the paperwork required to enroll her in a local all-Spanish school. XIC is a great little British school which is located high up on a wooded cliff above the sea in a restored building which used to house a restaurant. There is a strong sense of community within the school and the parents and teachers seem very friendly and involved. The kids are a mix from all over Europe and from Spain. The boys were quite excited to put on their new uniforms and meet their classmates. School runs from about 9 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, with a break for lunch (school lunches provided) and various activities in the afternoon. They get about an hour of Spanish per day, but the rest is taught in English. Interestingly, they do not siesta here, so the boys will need to get plenty of rest at night. Overall, they seemed to enjoy their first day and it was cute to see them come out of class in their surprisingly clean uniforms!. We figure it will take a few days for them to get comfortable with the curriculum and their new classmates - many of whom have been together in previous classes - but overall their first impression was promising. Christian struggled with the Spanish portion of the day. We explained to him that one hour was far easier than having a full day in Spanish! Suzanne and I are very much looking forward to having all the kids in school, so we can settle into things and perhaps relax a bit more!

Our Villa, Javea, Spain

Okay, let me just get it out in the open. I am/we are terribly spoiled. Our house at Lobo Canyon has forever changed us and we will be hard pressed to find a living situation that can adhere to the standard we have inadvertently set for ourselves. What I learned about myself is that I have become extremely sensitized to a comfortable and beautiful environment and in spite of lowering my expectations significantly, I was doomed to be disappointed. To be clear, our Villa is not so bad, and for most people would be perfectly fine. Split level, fairly roomy by EU standards, full kitchen on each floor, private yard with fully enclosed garden foliage, nice clean pool. For only $2,200 US per month, this is quite a deal. But this Villa has been run as a vacation rental for quite some time and you can definitely tell. The furniture is old, the house is somewhat musty and in need of repair and it just doesn’t have the feel of a home. Oh – and then there were the multiple power outages, frequent lack of hot water, some sort of mosquito or flea or bedbug infestion, and well – lets just say though roomy – we can definitely do better! Forget about soft, comfy beds and spacious kitchens! Suzanne took it much better than I did, as I was reluctant to start unpacking our bags and was ready to go out looking for another place immediately. As reason prevailed I began the process of settling in and started to help Suzanne unpack.

Arrival in town, Javea, Spain

So finally after almost 2 weeks of travel, with our 16 items in tow, we arrived at the Valencia airport and headed out to Javea. Surprisingly, our bags all arrived intact, although one of our biggest suitcases arrived early and it took a bit of time to track it down. The biggest stress point was whether we would be able to fit our luggage into the rental car, which was a Ford Focus station wagon. It was big by Spanish standards, but took quite a bit of creative engineering to get all the bags to fit. Suzanne and I were very much looking forward to settling into one place and putting these @#$%^ bags away for a while! Valencia is just over an hour from Javea, but there is a fantastic toll road/motorway that takes you straight there. I figured it would be easy to find, given I had been there in January. What I didn’t figure was that there was a non-toll version of the same road, veering inland and completely bypassing the coast. After about 45 minutes and seeing no signs anywhere pointing to Javea, I realized I had screwed up. Of course, we did not have any proper maps of the region handy, but we were able to dig up a map of Spain, which showed we were directly east of Javea, with a whole bunch of mountains between us and a few roads on the map that looked like they may be heading west. Suffice it to say, what should have been an hour trip ended up taking three, and what should have been a relaxing early entry into town turned out to be somewhat exhausting first day. However, we did see some very interesting small towns and some cool rural areas with old castle ruins in the countryside that will warrant further exploration when we have more energy.