MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

GUARDAMAR CHRISTMAS TREE 2010

Manjaballos giant and big heads

Yesterday was the parade of the Guardamar giant- Manjaballos and the big heads, the parade started around midday and roamed through the streets accompanied by a large crowd and a folk music band, ending up at the town hall square, the children danced in a circle with the giant in the middle and afterwards everyone had free Mona cakes and chocolate.

New Alicante airport terminal

Alicante Airport has now completed the new terminal which will allow it to increase capacity by up 25%. In the past the airport apron could take 31 aircraft an hour. The new terminal will increase this to 46 aircraft with a maximum of 22 being processed in an hour. The new terminal has 92 check-in desks, 40 gates, of which 16 has airbridges and 14 baggage reclaim carousels. it will enable the airport to process 6,000 passengers an hour.
Before the terminal opens testing will take place by the general public, as `extras' if you are available from February and would like to participate you can register on this web page - http://aena.crezca.es/web_aena/inscripciones.aspx

Easy Horse Care rescue centre

The Easy Horse care rescue centre is situated between Rojales and San Fulgencio on the service road next to the CV91 to Guardamar.
The Centre is open for visits on Wednesdays and Sundays from 13:00 to 16:00, where you can see the horses, have a guided tour and hear their stories, We visited the centre this afternoon and had a very interesting afternoon, it is hard, listening about the cruelty, abuse and neglect that most of the horses here have been through, but nice to know they are all in a good place now, Volunteers, sponsorship and donations are needed to help the centre that provides the rescued horses, ponies and donkeys with a safe haven where they are rehabilitated with kindness care and love.
On Wednesdays and Sundays a BBQ lunch menu, drinks and snacks are available in the garden cafe or to eat indoors.
There is a pony club every Saturday and Sunday from 13:00 where there are supervised sessions with qualified staff for an opportunity for young people to learn about caring for ponies and miniature horses with a lead ride later, membership of the Pony Club now stands at 50, so booking is advisable.
Riding lessons and Hacking are also available.
Easy Care also has one stop shop with everything for the rider and horse,this is open every day.

Quesada fish and chips

Yesterday lunch time we nipped over to Quesada, primarily to have a look at "Tony Ellis" second hand furniture store, we had been the day before and the sign on the gate said NEW OPENING hours 10:00 - 14:00, we got there yesterday at 13:00 and it was all closed up, Permanently or not who knows!
Anyway decided on Fish and Chips as we keep hearing the adverts on TKO radio. Quesada fish and chips have pies, gammon and much more, We had the day menu of Fish and chips peas and bread and butter which is 6 euros, this is between the hours of 12:00 and 17:00, you get a good size piece of fish and plenty of chips, very fresh and tasty. service is fast and efficient even though the restaurant was 3/4 full.
Would definitely recommend it.
The Restaurant is located at C/ Los Arcos 1 -turn left at the roundabout before the arches on the way into Quesada and keep going nearly to the end of the road.

N332 work starts

Work has started again on the N332 between Guardamar and La Mata, In the last few days,heavy plant, diggers and trucks have arrived and the road construction is taking place again, hopefully it will be finished by the summer, and also we will not have the 5 kilometre round trip to get from the Lemon tree road to Guardamar, mind you, it looks like the Lemon tree road/N332 junction will be pretty daunting with underpasses,flyovers and sliproads.

Facts about the Pomegranate

Around the campo we quite often see pomegranate trees. the pomegranate is an ancient fruit that was mentioned in iron age greek mythology, it is actually native to Persia and the Western Himalayas, but has been cultivated in the southern meditteranean countries for thousands of years. Granada was renamed after the fruit by the Moors, and Spanish colonists introduced the fruit to the Caribbean and latin America, the syrup Grenadine, used in cocktail drinks is thickened and sweetened pomegranate juice. The medicinal qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark can be used for nose bleeds, toning skin, sagging breasts and hemorrhoids, and can be used as eye drops to slow the development of cataracts. The juice of the pomegranate reduces heart disease, blood pressure and viral infections, and clinical trials are in progress for the effect on various cancers and kidney disorders
Pomegranate juice is also used as a natural dye on non synthetic fibres,
And every pomegranate has exactly 840 seeds.
If you dont believe me count them.

El Gordo time again

Are you buying an El Gordo ticket this year? for a chance of a share of 3 billion euros, each number ticket is divided into 10 decimos (a tenth) a ticket costs 200 euros so a decimo costs you 20 euros, if you buy from a bar or somewhere like that it might cost you 23 Euros because 3 euros that goes to a charity.
Many people search around to find lucky numbers - numbers with 777 in them are popular - so hard to find, but because there are around 180 series of tickets of 85000 numbers, with patience you can find your lucky numbers.
Bars, restaurants and workplaces buy one or more decimos and sell it off in parts to customers, friends and colleagues, so if there is a big win a whole community can be celebrating, and be seen dancing, hugging and drinking cava on the TV on the 22nd of December - the El Gordo Draw date.
Unfortunately there are many internet scams where you will get an email to say you are a winner and to send personal details, so remember the bottom line is that if you didn’t buy a lottery ticket, then you have not won, so don't fall for anything without checking at the official organisation in Spain.
Good luck everyone

Santomera Services

Nearly every week we take a trip over to see Bec and Joaqiun in Blanca, its around 80 kilometres, not far, but we normally stop at the Santomera Services for a cup of coffee and a snack. this service station is around 15 kms from Murcia on the A-7/E-15, we always find you get a nice coffee and some decent food,that is not overpriced, The toilet facilities are good and clean and there is a filling station and plenty of parking, the Centro commercials of Murcia are around 12 kms away and easily accessed from the A-7/E-15, Ikea, Decathlon and Leroy Merlin are just some of the large stores located at the Centro commercials.

Going solar

If you are in Spain for the long term its well worth investigating the installation of Solar power for heating and power, over the longer term you will make a saving on your household bills and also help the environment. Equipment can be installed to heat your swimming pool, power a ventilation system, provide hot water, and electrical power.
Grants are available for hot water and electrical systems that are certified by the Spanish government and by accredited installers.
A company called Solar in Spain are one of these companies and have been on the go for the last 10 years, and are at the moment offering a 100% finance package over 5 years in association with a national bank. They have an information day scheduled at the Museo Del Vino in Jalon on 16th December between 9:30 and 12:00 AM, Pre registering at info@solarinspain.com is reccommended.
While you are there have a tour of the museum and a wine tasting.