Day 5 - If You Get To Sydney, You've Gone Too Far!

Today was our last full day on holiday, and for some reason I woke up an hour earlier than usual. I wonder why... Anyway, I didn't bother getting up because I thought it might annoy Pete, so I lay in bed until quarter to nine. In the end, I did annyoy him by turning on the lights once he'd woken up - There's no pleasing some people! Anyway, we got ready and I contemplated that my beard was getting a little annoying - I couldn't stop scratching it! After breakfast, we got ready and set off for Javea. Unfortunately the GPS was a bit confusing, but eventually we turned up at Javea's nature reserve. In the sunshine we followed a small path up to a rocky point which was 59 metres above sea level. We had time to take photos, and the place reminded me strangely of that beach outside Sydney, the name of which I can't remember...
Before long it was time to move on again, and we took the steep climb back up to the car. From here we followed the coast to a place where we could do some rock-pooling, but unfortunately we didn't see any creatures, which was annoying because I always see at least a crab when I go to the beach! It was great to get some fresh air, though, rather than being stuck in the car all day. A little further down the coast we stopped off at a cafe but unfortunately couldn't find anywhere which did churros, o we had to give those a miss, which was a shame. I still managed to order, among other things, some hot chocolate, inspired by yesterday's museum visit. It was made differently to what I was used to at home, with warm milk into which you put the mixture, rather than starting with the mixture, and because it was made with milk rather than hot water there was not as much froth, which from my point of view is the best bit, but it did have a much smoother, more relaxed texture.
We went for a walk on the marina, but as this was only a small town it was nowhere near as extravagant as Darling Harbour, although there were a few good-looking yachts around. So next, we headed back to Altea, this time to get lunch on the promenade. We ended up in was a little basic, but adequate enough. The service was uite slow, as there seemed to be only one lady trying to do everything, but the orange juice really was freshly squeezed, and the lady even gave us some grapefruits from her garden! I haven't had a chance to try them yet, but Mum and Dad have and apparently it's pretty good. I managed to order sandwiches and a round of drinks, and soon I was tucking into a squid baguette! Unfortunately this combination wasn't brilliant - I could have done with some mayo, at least. No matter; before long we were on our way abck to the hotel.
Once there I started to think about packing, and managed to get a few things sorted out, but soon it was time to go swimming. I was still feeling quite stiff from yesterday, so the thirty circuits today were a bit harder work than in the past. Not that I'm complaining - swimming seems to be doing me a lot of good, so I might make an effort to get down to the pool more often when I get back - apparently it's really cheap. For a while Mum and Pete joined me, but they chickened out early! Afterwards, I showered and did some more packing, and then joined Mum and Dad to have a shandy, which made a change from the usual fanta. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, and this continued through our final dinner in the hotel, during which we reviewed the holiday and chose our favourite moments. Mine was visiting the old village at Altea, and wandering through all the picturesque streets up to the amazing church at the top of the hill. On the other hand, I'll be gald to see the back of all the tackiness and depressing hotels.
Back in the rooms, having settled the bill, we reviewed the paperwork and packed some more, leaving out only the bare necessities for tomorrow morning. This occupied most of the evening, and soon we were sleeping away our last night in Spain.

So, almost there. How will this thrilling tale conclude? Will I finally get to a Spanish music shop? Will there be any showdowns in Customs again? And will the weather in England be as depressing as always? Bear with me one more day, and all these questions will be answered! In the meantime, go to iTunes and download this week's Single of the Week, by Emmy The Great - It really is great! For anyone who likes quiet songs, it's kind of a parody of Halleluja, but in a proper song....think Fall Out Boy's Hum Halleluja but with a girl singing instead. A lot of her stuff is quite samey, but at least it'll plug the gap until Rose Walker gets round to releasing her next CD. And in some of the songs the guy from the Submarines (or at least, it sounds like him) sings as well, so if you liked them, get this!

Jack