Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Half a million visitors

The twelfth edition of the Medieval Market in Orihuela has been hailed a success. According to sources, over half a million people visited the market, up from 300,000 last year.

As you know, Pam and I went on Friday because that was going to be the least crowded day. It meant that we could get around comfortably and I could take lots of photographs. Although there was plenty for us to see, the main events were due to take place on Saturday and Sunday so we missed them.

The consensus of opinion amongst our friends was that, although there were more stalls this year, many of them were selling the same things. Added to which, very few stalls had prices on the goods. Whilst there were bargains to be had, some of the items on sale were felt to be way too expensive. By far the best bargains to be had were on the catering stalls.

The other issue, which has been reported in the local press, were the problems with the free coaches laid on to bring people from Orihuela Costa to the market. Confusion about the pick up point, coaches not turning up at the specified times and the lack of awareness of the number of passengers lead to many having to wait for hours to get to the market and then return home.

PS Did anybody see the flock of geese that were wandering around?

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