Category Archives: Costa Blanca News

May Fiesta. Moors & Christians in Abanilla

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Abanilla Moors and Christians festivalOne of the great Fiestas across Spain is the Moors & Christians Festival which come in all shapes and sizes. The grandest ones being in the major Valencian cities & towns. They are well worth making a journey for.

>>> Google Map Location
>>> Panoramio Pictures of Abanilla

One of the most spectacular near to the Hondon Valley takes place in Abanilla (Murcia region) where colour and ornate costumes are the order of the day as the festival of Santa Cruz gets underway. This year the “May bank holiday” is a week of celebrations in Abanilla with the main event being the  parades of Moors and Christians.

Moros y Christianos [Wikipedia] – is a set of festival activities which are celebrated in many towns and cities of Spain, mainly in the southern Valencian Community; according to popular tradition the festivals commemorate the battles, combats and fights between Moors (or Muslims) and Christians  during the period known as Reconquista  (from the 8th century through the 15th century).

The Abanilla festival features parades of armies of Moors and Christians. The armies are made up of societies (28 of them in 2009 !!! ) of local people, dressed in ornate outfits. Each society wears a unique costume and carries banners and each selects a queen every year to represent it. On Monday 3rd May the main event is a pilgrimage to the Mahoya Chapel, where the town’s people carry a cross in procession.  There is usually stalls, music and other entertainment laid on – the Spanish love the festival and you’ll be sure to see some amazing costumes – they put a lot of effort into their fun !!

Abanilla is about 20/25 minutes from Hondon and a nice drive throught the Hondon Valley into Murcia.

If you can’t make Abanilla there are sure to be other Moors and Christians festivals taking place in Valencia province throughout the spring and summer.

Alicante Wine Route

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Well Hondon Valley is now on the Alicante Wine Route !!

The Provincial Tourism on the Costa Blanca has organized a day for the familiarization of the Alicante Wine Route. Interested groups such as local hoteliers, representatives of travel agencies, tourist guides, councils and commerce of the Alicante region are involved in the promotion.

>> More info on Alicante Wines
>> Bodega Cerdas (Hondon)

Members of the Alicante Tourism Board are working together with these groups to promote and encourage the Alicante Wine Route for tourists and visitors in a bid to boost tourism and income generation to the province.

“The wine tourism is an important tool to attract more tourists to our province and we should exploit potential and consolidate this with our range of sun and sand services“.

Members and parties have been dispatched to many wine related locations such as the Bodega Heretat Cesilia in Novelda, where they visited the facilities and where they have been introduced in the wine route and the wines with denomination of origin of Alicante.

The group has made a tour of vineyards and other crops Monóvar, Pinoso, Jumilla, Villena, Novelda and where he finally visited the Bodega Francisco Gomez and know the wine tourism of the province through Alicante winemakers and restaurateurs.

“The offer complementary to the Costa Blanca also focuses on the environmental fate and interior, where wine tourism, wineries and the wine sector form another attraction for visitors, while we promote the quality of cuisine and wines of the province” , pointed out Deputy of Tourism.

The Alicante Wine Route will include the towns of Pinoso, Villena, Novelda, Petra, Monóvar, Algueña, Hondón de los Frailes and Nieves , Salinas Vall del Pop and about 100 hotel establishments, restaurants, houses and wine shops in the province.

The route will also help promote the region’s traditions, monuments, treasuresand it’s typical local cuisine.

Costa Blanca Magazines & News

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Costa Blanca NewsIt helps when living on the Costa Blanca South and surrounding areas, that there are many ExPats / Brit newspapers and magazines, many are free and canbe found in bars, tourist info’ and  local shops. They are full of up-to-date information, news, social events and business services.

Whereas in the UK – most seem to end in the rubbish bin – here in Spain they are valuable and essential resource. Thankfully many of them also have web sites… here are a few worth looking over:

  • Costa Blanca News: A well established newspaper – about €1.50 but jam-packed!
  • Roundtown News:  Free Costa Blanca South Edition online and printed free from bars and shops.
  • AngloInfo: Online, almost encyclopaedic resource for classifieds, lifestyle hints & tips, Spanish news, info and public services that you could ever need.
  • Inland Magazine: Downloads, Property, Forums and blogs about the Costa Blanca South… also Free from bars and shops.
  • The Leader: Newspaper mainly on the CB coast… new, features and comment about the area. On-line and print.

Happy reading…

Tourist Wine Route for Hondon Valley

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The Agency for Economic and Social Development Petrer (ADESPA) has welcomed this morning the first general meeting of the Wine Route Alicante.

As explained by the Councillor and representative for Petrer Villaplana Pepa, “the meeting was very important because once set up the Wine Route Alicante  have added a total of 71 wineries, restaurants, lodging and foodservice companies and private partners tourist route. ”

The Wine Route of Alicante includes the municipalities of Petrer, Novelda, Monóvar, Salinas, Alfaz del Pi, L’Algueña, Hondon de los Frailes, Pinoso, Villena and the Commonwealth of the Vall de Pop, as well as private partners found in each of these locations. The route will be promoted through the Tourist Board of the Costa Blanca and Alicante.

The Assembly will publish a new web site to promote and inform about the wine route and the 71 private partners taking part. The publication of brochures and maps will also be commissioned in 2011 for “positioning of the various products and the promotion of the Wine Route Alicante. ”

Look out for the brochure and support the area !

(I hope the Bodega Cerda is on the map ?!?!)

All White? Flour Throwing in Alicante

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BBC NEWS: Day of the Innocents

An annual flour fight festival, “Els Enfarinats” has taken place in the Spanish town of Ibi in Alicante. (see the Video here)

A spoof army dressed in full uniform and other bizarre characters engaged in a boisterous battle using flour and eggs as their weapons.

The 200-year-old event takes place every year on the 28 December to coincide with the Day of the Innocents, the equivalent of April Fools’ Day.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12087635
includes a video too !

New Health Centre for Hondon Valley

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According to the ELPERIODIC.COM the Hondon Valley is to get a new Health Centre next year. It is currently being built and is to be  known as the “Hospital del Vinalopó”. [Article here]

Although the article doesn’t tell us where the exact location of the new health center is ( ! ), it’s PR people have been inviting Hondón de las Nieves’ residents to  look it over using the free courtesy bus to get there.

The centre is to also cover Frailes, Aspe, Elche and Crevillente areas. The health centre is to include an outpatients area, day hospital, emergency, diagnostic imaging and consultation rooms.

UK Expat’ Forums and Discussions about Spain

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There are quite a few on-line British Expat Communities to choose from.

They can be a good place to find out info’ for your area, ask questions, get help on all manner of  ‘Spanish’ topics and to generally tap into other Expat’s experience and knowledge.

… or even just a good old gossip !!

Here are a few well established Expat’ Forums and Chat Rooms:

… but be careful what you say and do… the Internet has virtual ears !!