‘Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed, the speculating rook at their nests cawed’
Edward Thomas (1878-1917)
First I must apologise for the delayed appearance of this month’s journal. We were away skiing in Andorra for the last week of the month (hence the above quotation) and have been extremely busy since our return.
February is usually one of the quieter months –almost an anticlimax after the festivities of the previous period. Weather-wise, February – usually our coldest month it seems - has brought an early end to our winter. The almond blossom survived without a final cold snap and nature’s confetti has now fallen and given way to the new season’s leaves; next in the blossom cycle will be the nearby cherry orchards of the Vall de Gallinera (see March journal). Meanwhile, in several corners of the Garwood gardens, many flowers and succulents are bursting into bloom, also supported by various shrubs and climbers such as Hibiscus, Bird of Paradise and good old Bougainvillaea. Not only is our venerable lemon tree heavily laden with ripe fruits, but also bearing this season’s new fruit, together with the new season’s blossom.
Having known and loved this area for almost a quarter of a century, Linda and I can confess that we have finally heeded the recommendations of many friends and visited the Benidorm Palace. Neither of us are particularly ‘show type’ folk, we would usually prefer opera, a concert – classical or rock, or a good film, and for a meal out we would choose to visit a restaurant. However, we must report that our resolve weakened at the invitation of our local C.B.Anglo-Spanish Assoc. who arranged a trip there earlier in the month; and, yes it was very, very good. The food and service was much better than we would ever expect given the number they were catering for. We had a spacious table for eight with an excellent view of the stage and were really impressed with the variety and quality of the various acts which ran non-stop from 8.30 through to about 1.30. Apart from the high-rise and the peak season package tour crowds, Benidorm has many charms and attractions, it also remains much more Spanish than most people would believe, and that was also reflected in the clientele at the show.
Talking of shows, February is traditionally a very busy time at the Valencia motor circuit with all the Formula One teams choosing to avail themselves of our mild and predictable weather to carry out several weeks of pre-season testing. As an alternative to spending GBP200 on a Grand Prix ticket, one can visit Valencia on a test day and watch all the teams and their drivers at ‘the office’. It costs just €5 for a grandstand seat from which one can see the entire circuit, or €10 which also includes access to the pit areas. The occasion was comprehensively trumped by the McLaren F1 team who chose to launch their new cars and drivers: Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, at Valencia’s suitably futuristic City of Science and Arts (La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias). This was a €7m.extravaganza featuring the Cirque du Soleil, music, lasers and, inevitably for Spain, firework displays. Over 4km of roads were cordoned off for the drivers to perform with both Mercedes sports cars, as well as their Grand Prix cars. Apparently (the Spaniards never wishing to miss a party) over 200,000 people turned up to watch the hullabaloo – it would have been 200,002 if we had realised in time that this was all taking place!
As indicated earlier, we enjoyed our fourth annual visit to Soldeu, Andorra for a week’s skiing. Many UK and German skiers seem slow to realise how Andorra has morphed itself into a really first class ski area. Soldeu is now part of the greater Grandvalira ski area which has linked 110 pistes and 66 lifts to provide almost 200km of skiing, plus direct skiing access to France’s Porte des Neiges ski area. Snow conditions are rarely a problem with the resort usually open until Easter, but this year the spring thaw has started exceptionally early and as it was too warm to even use the 1008 snow cannon, consequently the skiing was rather hard going with the snow turning to sorbet in the afternoons before chilling down again overnight. It has to be said that by mid afternoon we were glad to return to the luxury of our hotel’s health spa, and after sessions in the indoor/outdoor pool, hydro massage, steam room and sauna we were ready to take on all that the restaurants could tempt us with (well almost)!
We decided to take advantage of the rare opportunity to return home via the Pas de la Casa, then around the north-east of Andorra, thereby visiting France for the first time in 4½yrs. – a token gesture really, as the only difference we noticed was the French writing to the shop-fronts and restaurants. The landscape of neighbouring Catalunya (the Cava capital of Spain) is more like Northern Europe than our area of the Costa Blanca – lovely to see and drive through with green rolling hills, but much wetter and cooler than the climate we are blessed with. Now its back to work with much to catch up with.
Chris Garwood
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View my other journals
2007
January / February / March / April / May / June / July & August / September
2008
March / April
