Well we knew that the unseasonal warm weather couldn´t last and for the last couple of weeks it´s been blowing a gale, with snow even making an appearance inland, in particular around the Murcia region and on the ski slopes of Valdellinares, inland from Valencia.
For those that believe it´s always summer-like here then think again – winter has well and truly arrived. The last week has been positively Baltic, especially in the early morning and as soon as the sun goes down – assuming that it has even bothered to make an appearance.
Today we had a few hours around lunchtime then the grey clouds rolled in and temperatures quickly dipped. Night time temperatures for this area are well into single digits for the foreseeable and the day time highs are only just making it into double figures - Southerners are advised to get the thermals, anorak, hat, scarf and gloves out. Northerners you will need your cardigan!
As we are now in low season many businesses here are taking advantage and are having a break – or in some cases, gone ahead with renovation works, which means it is high season for builders! The eyesore attached to the hotel Ambassador, opposite Morgans has at long last been demolished.
Although nothing has officially been announced, it will no doubt be another bar with a huge sun terrace, creating competition for the terrace bars of the Flash and Calyso hotels opposite. There really isn´t anything else it could be in all honesty!
The ever-popular Mariano´s chicken restaurant in the heart of the Rincon de Loix, open 24 hours and a mainstay for party goers who pop in at 6am on their way back from clubbing, is currently closed for their annual “deep clean” – re-opens on February 10th.
I have heard many comment that it doesn´t taste quite the same and it needs the accumulation of grease to get it at its best. There is almost always a queue outside, either waiting for a table or to collect a takeaway rotisserie chicken so thousands can´t be wrong. The Piccadilly bar next door is also have a major overhaul and fenced off with the sound of builders inside.
The Flash hotel is closed until February 10th and the popular Benidorm nightspot – Talk of the Town is closed until mid-February but they announced not because there aren´t any people around but because they are short staffed – sadly a reoccurring problem here and likely to get worse.
Benidorm council have also taken the opportunity, before the season begins to replace all the lighting along the Levante promenade, changing them all to low energy bulbs that are centrally controlled. Like the lights illuminating the mirador at the top of the old town, the colour can be changed at the flick of a computer switch to relate to a specific occasion. The upright posts are also being replaced and so every few metres the area being excavated on the beach has been fenced off – certainly a job for when there aren´t really many holidaymakers.