Benidorm evokes images of the worst of mass tourism but since it was only just over 70 minutes' tram ride from Alicante, I had to see what it was all about. The tram departed from the Luceros station, which I had scouted out the day before.
The line took the coastal route and through isolated valleys. The line, which existed in older forms in the past, must have been an important transport connection for those small communities. Unfortunately the windows of the tram were not conducive to photographing the landscape we were going through.
I alighted at the station just outside Benidorm. One can change to a train service continuing to Dénia.
It was about 20 minutes walk to the water, first along a busy avenue, then through a pedestrian street.
A restaurant courtyard and the multi-lingual menu boards.
Finally, the seaside.
Lots of trinkets.
The main pedestrian street, running parallel to the shore.
The Mediterranean is subject to winds from all points of the compass, and the inhabitants have names for all of them. This wind rose on the ground names many of them. The Llevant comes from the east.
The Ponent comes from the west. You can see a wind rose with the other names on the linked Wikipedia page.
By this time I needed midday sustenance so on a side street (maxim: never eat at a place on the main drag) I found a hotel restaurant serving platos combinados. I had a simple steak, egg, and fries combo. It was a bit bland, no seasoning on the steak but edible.
This is the Benidorm of high rises quite visible from the hinterland and probably kilometres out to sea. These young people were doing a musical routine, perhaps for practice since they didn't seem to be soliciting anything.
A sea of blue chairs.
A tilted island off the coast.
A headland divides Benidorm's beach into two sections.
The Iglesia de San Jaime y Santa Ana sits on the headland.
From the Balcón del Mediterráneo you have this view overlooking the main beach.
And into the distance towards the next headland. So many highrises.
The balcony itself is actually a respite from the crowds down at the water's edge.
The western beach, not quite so attractive.
In the hinterland there is a mountain with a gash on the top. I thought it was man made, but on checking the Internet on the trip back, this turned out to be a natural feature of the mountain, Puig Campana. It is associated with several colourful legends of Roland. So the people who spun those tales thought it was man-made too.
There is another mountain further inland, Sierra de Aitana, which is the highest peak in the province. The Spanish poet Rafael Alberti gave that name to his daughter because the mountain was the last thing he saw from the plane into exile. That daughter, Aitana Alberti, became the godmother of the Spanish actress Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, who was born in Rome to a Spanish father and an Italian mother. The name became well known because of her.
Fortunately Rafael Alberti lived to see the end of the Franco dictatorship and returned to Spain.
One last view of the balcony and the checker board pattern of tiles.
I can't say I'm surprised at the mass tourism in Benidorm. People do like sun and sea. My gripe is that these tourists also import their customs, so it's like they never left home, except for the weather. I lost count of the eateries proposing English food.
Outside of the tourist area, Benidorm looked a bit tatty with dilapidated apartment blocks.
Sunday, so slept in as much as I could given the jet lag causing me to wake early. Streets were quiet and the shops were shut so shopping was not a viable activity. At Av Federico Soto there was a book fair in progress. Spring seems to be book fair season in Spain; back in 1993 I encountered one in Madrid and another in Sevilla.
At the Plaza de los Luceros I found this fountain. Luceros probably means inhabitants of Lucentum, the Roman name of what would become Alicante.
Underneath the plaza is the terminus of the tram service. It's strange that they didn't extend this to the train station; there is a sign at the station indicating a 300m eastward walk to Luceros. Maybe the city ran out of money. So plans to extend it to the airport and points west may take a while. I browsed the network map and remembered the information for future use.
More social media in Alicante.
It was now the lunch hour and I decided to try the restaurant 100 Montaditos, which is a chain of stores mostly in Spain but also in other countries. A montadito is a small submarine sandwich and there are 100 varieties on offer, all at €1.
You mark your selection on a form and pay, then collect when your buzzer goes off.
This is what I ended up with: a couple of subs, fried chicken wings, salad, and a beer. Not a gourmet lunch but sufficiently satisfying and filling.
Back to the sightseeing trail, this is the fountain at the Plaza Puerta del Mar.
Finally the Playa del Postiguet which is a very convenient urban beach. In the background is the Castillo de Santa Bárbara on the outcrop of Mount Benacantil.
The water looked reasonably clear too. However a signboard indicated the water temperature was 16C so I didn't go into the water. I wasn't prepared anyway; no place to store my belongings while bathing.
I could sell a postcard of this scene.
I walked on the breakwater heading south away from the beach, passing the Casino and the Melia Hotel. From this vantage point you can see further up the coast at the hinterland backing the other major beach, Playa de San Juan.
One can walk on top of the storm barrier.
The Volvo Ocean Race Museum is here. Alicante has been the starting point for the last 4 of the 3-yearly races.
Looking back at the Melia Hotel and the Castillo.
A naval rescue ship.
A concert was being set up in front of the hotel.
The harbour and marina.
Back in the city, I looked at the prices in this real estate agency window. They were about half of Sydney prices. But of course it's Sydney prices that are insane. Looked like they had customers from all over Europe.
Some of the plump pigeons.
This air raid shelter door in the park opposite my apartment is a relic from the Civil War days. I didn't try to find out if tours were given and when.
And that was my leisurely Sunday in Alicante.
My first breakfast in Alicante of müsli. It's not a normal Spanish breakfast, which tends to go for bread, the packet was imported from Germany.
My apartment was on the mezzanine floor (E for entresuelo on the lift button) of a block facing a park with an outdoor café.
I later discovered that this building in the park was the former bus station, used for events, and awaiting further works.
The plan that morning was to walk to the central mercado, which would be in full swing, being Saturday morning. Along the way I walked up the rambla on Av. Federico Soto. Some families were already out.
At Plaza de la Puerta de San Francisco I paused to admire this fountain. I noted that the pigeons in this part of the world were plump (well fed by people) and about evenly distributed between gray and white. Maybe being white had an advantage in a warm climate.
This is an aquarium at Plaza Nueva displaying some of the underwater life off the coast.
Facing this is a row of cafés for enjoying drinks, often with tapas. I called this social media in Alicante in messages to friends.
The Teatre Principal d'Alacant (the Valencian name for Alicante), showing that the city has a thriving cultural life.
The exterior of the mercado.
A meat vendor.
Bread shop.
Nuts.
Cafeteria.
Fruits and vegetables.
I wondered how long I would have to live here to be confident enough to buy most of my produce at the market instead of the supermarket.
A Japanese themed eatery.
Outside, the florists.
Glorious trees in flower.
Close up.
The temperature was in the low 20s, just right.
Close up.
It seemed that these friends were celebrating the imminent marriage of one of their number. The shirts say Superana is getting married.
The plaza is named in memory of the over 300 civil victims of a dastardly bombardment by fascist Italian planes on the 25th of May 1938. Alicante was the last city held by the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War.
After that it was time for lunch. I found the Alma del Sur seafood shop and had a good feed of mixed fried seafood with patatas bravas (fries with spicy sauce).
And after that a couple of scoops of gelato from Livanti Gelato di Sicillia, bacio chocolate and liquorice, if I remember correctly. Nice blend of sweet and bitter.
A wedding ceremony at Ajuntament d'Alacant (City Hall).
Finally I reached the explanada. This is number 1, a fish restaurant.
The wave pattern in the paving stones is common in Spain.
A vendor selling prints made by the old fashioned chemical method.
Sculpture by Manolo Valdés, Mariposa, of a butterfly on a woman's head.
This street entertainer was making soap bubbles to entertain children.
