Bonfires of San Juan (Alicante).
Thousands of people throng the streets to pay a tribute to fire and experience a celebration ful of music and fireworks and bonfires to celebrate the arrival of summer.
The people of Alicante would traditionally flock to the countryside on 23 June for a festive dinner: they feasted on typical products, and at midnight they would light bonfires and dance around them, set off fireworks and go swimming in the sea. This custom endured over the years, and in 1928 the fiestas of the Bonfires of San Juan were formally constituted. For several days, Alicante celebrates this great homage to fire, where the stars of the show are genuine works of ephemeral art: the bonfires and the enormous cardboard and wooden figures which go up in flames on the night of San Juan.
The queen of the fiesta, known as the “Bellea del Foc” (“Beauty of Fire”), is chosen in May from among the candidates presented by a committee in each neighbourhood. The festivities officially begin on 20 June with the “plantà”, or building of enormous bonfires with their tongue-in-cheek cardboard figures which fill the streets of Alicante with wit and good humour. That day the “barracas” or large tents are also put up to serve as a public dance floor, and where fiesta-goers can sample the typical figs and “cocas” (a kind of pastry with tuna, onions and pine nuts). Some of the highlights of the festivities include the Entry of the Bands and Committees, with their respective “beauties” and their ladies-in-waiting wearing traditional dress; the floral offering to the patron saint of the city, the Virgin of El Remedio on 21 and 22 June; and the international folklore parade, a spectacular procession featuring dance troupes from all over the world. In addition, every day at two in the afternoon from 19 to 24 June, there are firework displays in Plaza de los Luceros square: these are the ear-splitting “mascletàs”, for which ear-plugs are highly recommended due to the racket of the exploding firecrackers and rockets. And finally at midnight on 24 June comes the “cremà” (burning), the high point of the fiestas. After a spectacular white palm tree of fireworks, the bonfires all over the city are set alight and blaze away amid much merriment and dancing and singing, while fire-fighters shower the merrymakers with water in what is known as the “banyá”.But the fiesta is not over yet. From 25 to 29 June there is a fireworks competition on the El Postiguet beach, and the historic centre of the town comes alive with a medieval market and a range of shows.
Category: Travel Gadgets
Travel Gadgets: Handy Gizmos for Stress-Free Travelling
There are so many things about travelling that can cause stress, that sometimes we wonder why we bother leaving the house at all.
For one thing, there’s the packing. Stressing about whether or not there’s room in your suitcase for everything you need on your trip can be a real headache – and if you go over your baggage weight limit, you’ll either have to pay the airline an excess baggage fee, or leave a few things behind.
But we say: Stress not! There are some excellent travel gadgets and accessories that can significantly reduce the stress of going on a trip, and we’ve selected a few of our favourites that can help you have a happier holiday.
Trace Me Luggage Tag
One of the things most likely to spoil your holiday is losing your luggage. Spending your entire trip wearing just the clothes you arrived in is painful enough, but knowing you’ll never see your precious suitcase contents again is deeply distressing.
With the Trace Me Luggage Tag you can greatly reduce the chances of losing your luggage forever. The Trace Me Luggage Tag is strong and durable, and contains an individual serial number and 2D bar code, linked for life to your registration details on a secure data storage system used by law enforcement agencies, airport baggage handling organisations and lost property services worldwide.
If your luggage goes astray, a simple scan of the Trace Me Luggage Tag will identify it as your property. Registering your Trace Me Luggage Tag is quick and easy to do online, and there are no recurring fees or subscription charges.
Travel Charger Adaptor
If you rely on mobile phones and other gadgets to stay in touch while travelling, the Travel Charger Adaptor is probably the most useful travel gadget you will ever own.
The Travel Charger Adaptor combines adaptors suitable for use throughout Europe, North America, Africa, Australasia and the Far East, as well as featuring a handy USB power socket for charging MP3 players and other gadgets that you would normally charge through your computer.
Digital Portable Luggage Scale
Airline baggage weight limits can be very confusing – they differ from one airline to another, and when you check your bags in at the airport there’s always that little nagging worry that you’ve exceeded the limit and will have to leave something behind or pay an excess baggage fee.
With the Digital Portable Luggage Scale, you’ll never have this worry again. This handy travel gadget can handle up to 50kg – before you leave home, simply attach it to your case, wait for the beep, and read the weight. If you’re over your baggage weight limit you can remove a few things and leave them at home, or pack them into your hand luggage instead.
The Digital Portable Luggage Scale can then be carried in your hand luggage so that you can check your bag weight again on the way home – which is very handy if you’ve stocked up on souvenirs and duty free goods during your holiday.
Paper Toiletries
Camping and backpacking holidays are lots of fun, but without a car to carry all the equipment in, you need to be quite strict about what goes in your luggage. Bottled toiletries can be heavy; even travel-sized bottles, if you carry enough of them, will weigh you down and make walking uncomfortable.
The best solution to this problem that we’ve seen is a fantastic range of paper toiletries that are ideal for travelling light. The range includes paper shampoo, paper shaving foam and paper anti-bacterial soap – simply remove a sheet from the small, lightweight pack, add water, and lather up.
Paper toiletries are also ideal for carrying in your hand luggage on flights; they’re not liquid, so they won’t break any no-liquid regulations when you go through security checks at the airport.
Portable Solar Charger
The Portable Solar Charger is another travel gadget that’s ideal for camping trips, when access to an electricity supply might be restricted.
The Portable Solar Charger contains a Li-Ion battery which is charged by the sun during the day. Once charged, the Portable Solar Charger can charge your mobile phone with enough power to talk for two hours, or load your MP3 player with power equivalent to six hours of listening time.
The Portable Solar Charger comes complete with cables and a selection of adaptors, making it suitable for a huge range of mobile phones as well as many iPod models.
Anna Clare is Website Manager at ShinyShack.com, one of the UK’s leading sources of unusual gift ideas and suppliers of travel gadgets.
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_897259_29.html
About the Author: Anna Clare is Website Manager at ShinyShack.com, a leading UK supplier of unique presents, unusual gifts and great gift ideas.
