[Leica] Nathan's PAD 22/6/2019: life in Relleu

[Nathan Wajsman]

Relleu is a village about 35 km NW of Alicante, surrounded by mountains. It is quite old, dating back to Moorish times, and reached its peak in terms of size in the year 1900, when population exceeded 3000. In the following decades, like much of rural Spain, the village declined as young people migrated to the cities to look for work, hitting bottom at 700 inhabitants in 1990. Since then, an influx of foreigners (mainly British and Dutch) has lifted the population to around 1300. This is a pattern seen in many of the inland villages around here; some people who want a house in Spain do not necessarily want to be on the beach—they come here in search of the peace and quiet of village life—and of course, houses are far cheaper than on the beach.

Relleu is one of my regular cycling destinations. The central square of the village is just over 31 km from my house, with a significant amount of climbing involved, so it is a nice and challanging ride. This is the view of the village as I approached it yesterday:
https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-vGmXN8Q/A

I took a break on the main square, which contains the church and a couple of bars but is otherwise residential. A man and his dog were relaxing in the shade, a very typical village scene:
https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-9qxXf6Z/A

And then, another man and dog came by, and since in a village like this everybody knows each other, human and canine social life ensued:
https://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-4HDVNsZ/A

Oh, and the ride is here for those who are into the cycling aspect (although the Garmin site seems down at this moment):
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3772350028 <https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3772350028?fbclid=IwAR1myKvr37y7jduEbWFDVmJ-7lpk-mrvvChYF5eJxoG3BTqc68q5pIYfylo>

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman

Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/>
http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws <http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ <http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/>

Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator <http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator>

YNWA