Rest, relaxation and a bit of rain in Spain COMPLETE 11/10 - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Monday 12 October – part two: reason to celebrate!
From there, we drove into Calpe, not sure if we’d find somewhere to park or not, as it was a fiesta day and everyone was sure to be out celebrating. We headed for the fishing port, as we were thinking of taking a boat trip out and lucked out with the parking, finding a spot really nearby. Just as we got out of the car, a guy in a uniform approached us, looking at our English number plate on the car and told us “two Euros”. Well, we had our doubts, although in fairness, we did see him later taking money off some Spanish in the car park later, so maybe he was legit. Anyway, it wasn’t worth the argument, so we just paid up.
We headed over to the boat tours and found one had finished for the season, which was the one I was interested in, so that was a shame. There was another one, a glass bottomed boat that did 40 minute trips out to Penyal d’Ifach, the huge rock that overlooks Calpe, but there did seem to be a lot of people heading for the 1pm sailing, so we decided to get some food instead, but only after a few photos, most of them based around the Penyal d’Ifach!
We headed to one of the nearby cafes and got a cheese baguette for me and bacon sandwiches, of differing kinds, for everyone else. The bill for that plus soft drinks and a couple of beers? €22 (about $33), which was more than we’d paid for dinner at the Chinese the other night. That really brought it home to us, just how cheap that place was.
As we sat there eating, we all commented on how hot it was and how sticky and we came to the conclusion that we’d abandon the boat ride idea and just head back to the villa instead. It was certainly exceptionally hot for mid October.
Once we finished up eating, we wandered along the front, as I’d earlier seen an heladeria, or ice cream shop and I felt that a visit to it was a must to cool my core temperature down. There, we were served by a girl who turned out to be from the north east of England. She came out here seven years ago with her parents and hasn’t looked back. The funny thing was the more we spoke to her, the more her thick British accent came out. I went with a coconut ice cream and very nice and cooling it was too.
We drove back to the villa, stopping at a supermarket on the way. Considering today was a national holiday and everything we had read inferred that the country would pretty much grind to a halt, we were amazed at just how much was open today. Certainly, we hadn’t been expecting to see supermarkets open. : I never cease to be amazed at how big the fruit and vegetables are here. The plums were about the size of tennis balls and the melons were like basketballs. We got a few bits and pieces, including a few postcards for me to write up later, and headed for home.
The afternoon was mainly spent inside the villa, a) because it was too darned hot outside and b) because some idiot somewhere down the road was burning what we thought was vegetation and was stinking the area out. It smelt disgusting. What a lovely way to spend a national holiday!
I’d also been keeping an eye on my trusty work BlackBerry, not because I wanted to stay in touch with work, because I didn’t, but because the results of my diploma assignment that I’d completed in the summer, while I’d been really ill, were due out and I was delighted when those arrived. I’d got a distinction! I had to celebrate, of course, with a quick hazelnut liquor!
Eventually, the stench outside lifted enough for us to sit outside for a couple of hours, then we went out for a drive, so that we could get some photos of the area. Oh my goodness, it’s only when you get up high that you can see how beautiful this part of Spain. How wonderful that they safeguarded this area and you’re not allowed to build the appalling high-rise buildings that you see elsewhere in places such as Benidorm or Calpe. This is what you imagine Spain to really be like…
It also gave us an idea of how big the area is, much bigger than I’d thought, although in fairness, a lot of the places do seem to run into one another along the coastline. Photo session done, we headed back to the villa.
We had sea bass for dinner, unbelievably cooked from frozen. It tasted so good, I’d never have known it was frozen, had I not been told. Along with that was French bread stick, potatoes and salad, followed by fresh melon. What a superb dinner! And you should see the size of the spring onions that went into the salad.... amazing!
Unfortunately, even before we finished eating, I was really starting to go downhill. I don’t know if it was swimming in the sea earlier in the day or how hot it had been all day, but I was so tired by 7.30pm, it wasn’t true. Somehow, I managed to stay up until 9pm, but then I gave in and crashed, knowing that tomorrow would be an early start, as we were off to the market at Altea, just further down the coast, that we’d enjoyed so much last year.
The weather today was in the mid 90s, really hot and sunny. The best thing today was swimming in the Mediterranean. The worst thing today was that it was just too hot to do much. Today we tried swimming in the Mediterranean. And the result was it was a lot of fun. The most magical moment today was getting the news I’d got a distinction for my assignment.
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First, I have a little bone to pick with your report. I, am the first to admit, that I could be wrong. However, I do believe your currency conversion has been in error. It's my understanding that the US dollar has been and is weaker than the Euro. I think at the present time the rate is about 1 USD = .64 euro OR 1 euro = $1.44. If this is the case, then your price quotes would be a bit more expensive for us 'mericans. The thing that tipped me off was when the prices would be smaller amounts in dollars than euros and I knew that couldn't possibly be the case otherwise Craig and I would have been in Italy last week as opposed to Peru.
What a beautiful Spanish villa you were staying in. It has charm and character. And a pool! Yay!
Heading to the beach was a great solution to the national holiday problem. Kudos to the smarty pants that came up with that. So sensible to head to the beach to cool off during an unseasonably warm October. Besides, I always love the water whether it is the sea, ocean, lake, or pool.
You look really good in red. You should wear it more often.
First, I have a little bone to pick with your report. I, am the first to admit, that I could be wrong. However, I do believe your currency conversion has been in error. It's my understanding that the US dollar has been and is weaker than the Euro. I think at the present time the rate is about 1 USD = .64 euro OR 1 euro = $1.44. If this is the case, then your price quotes would be a bit more expensive for us 'mericans. The thing that tipped me off was when the prices would be smaller amounts in dollars than euros and I knew that couldn't possibly be the case otherwise Craig and I would have been in Italy last week as opposed to Peru.
What a beautiful Spanish villa you were staying in. It has charm and character. And a pool! Yay!
Heading to the beach was a great solution to the national holiday problem. Kudos to the smarty pants that came up with that. So sensible to head to the beach to cool off during an unseasonably warm October. Besides, I always love the water whether it is the sea, ocean, lake, or pool.
You look really good in red. You should wear it more often.
Congrats on earning your distinction!
Ooops... you could be right on the currency conversion. Maybe I picked the wrong figure from XE and it should've been the other one... Isn't it typical, now XE won't load... I'll have a look at that...
Thank you for the comments about the dress - I think that will be coming to Florida with me and, strangely, red is my favourite colour, I just don't seem to have that much of it in my wardrobe - maybe I should put that right...
Just checked and yes, I've picked the wrong conversion for the figures I've been quoting. I'll go back and change those I've used so far and those that are coming up - suddenly everything does seem as expensive as I remember!
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Tuesday 13 October – part one: can you spot the palm tree?
I guess the first couple of nights of our vacation of me not sleeping had really caught up with me, as I slept for 10 hours, which is very unlike me. Fortunately, thanks to my early departure to bed, I was still up early, just after 7am. It’s just as well, as we had an early start to get to Altea market, not that the weather forecast – or the sky for that matter – looked that promising. There was a beautiful sunrise, but the other way and, of course the way we’d be heading later, it didn’t quite look so good…
Despite the overcast sky, we decided to chance it and set out for Altea, with me getting some photos on the way, particularly through Calpe:
When we got there, we began to think that we’d got the wrong day, as there was no problem at all parking and last time, we’d driven round for about 10 or 15 minutes before finding a parking spot. We quickly found out why – it was just after 9am and the stall holders were still setting up. Some already had their wares out, but others were just getting going and some hadn’t even shown up.
A cow stall – how cool!
We wandered around the whole thing quite quickly, but didn’t buy anything. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing, as last time, there had been lots of people selling kitchenwares, such as bowls and jugs, all in a wonderful Mediterranean style, and that’s what I was hoping to see, but no such luck. It was a bit of a shame, but at least the atmosphere here was much more relaxed than Benidorm. The place was almost deserted and you didn’t need to worry about pickpockets in the same way, which was a pleasant change.
After half an hour of fruitless browsing, we got back into the car and headed out through Altea..
… towards Alicante and then down to Elx…
Now this place is famed for its palm trees. My guidebook told me that Elx supplies 95% of the palm tree leaves used on Palm Sunday in Spain and, as we arrived in the city, I could see how that was true. Everywhere you looked, there were palm trees…
Palm trees make me feel relaxed no matter where we see them. I would have to guess that if you grow up with them around they are not as exciting. I will ask my LA born hubby if he finds them relaxing. Great TR and I am so glad you seem to be feeling well .
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Just as we got out of the car, a guy in a uniform approached us, looking at our English number plate on the car and told us “two Euros”. Well, we had our doubts, although in fairness, we did see him later taking money off some Spanish in the car park later, so maybe he was legit. Anyway, it wasn’t worth the argument, so we just paid up. 
: I never cease to be amazed at how big the fruit and vegetables are here. The plums were about the size of tennis balls and the melons were like basketballs. We got a few bits and pieces, including a few postcards for me to write up later, and headed for home. 
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http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/kazzamcgazza/dlp-1.jpg
Isn't it typical, now XE won't load... I'll have a look at that... 
Just checked and yes, I've picked the wrong conversion for the figures I've been quoting. I'll go back and change those I've used so far and those that are coming up - suddenly everything does seem as expensive as I remember! 
the palm trees!!
Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
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