Notes From The Costa Blanca (Part Two)
In this second edition of my trip notes from Spain, I muse some more on the Spanish and Spain itself, I have a splashing time at the Water Park and we visit the smart and sophisticated city of Alicante. Sun block and hats at the ready! Let’s go!
Monday
0057 CET Spain is an odd place. Everyone stays up very late, even on a Sunday night. Right now, I’m ready to turn in, yet down on the street, people are having lively conversation, cars drive past with music blaring and the bar/restaurant is playing music which is audible up here. For all you can critise Britain and the British for, at least it’s built into almost the entire population that make unecessary noise past 2300 hours is not cool. Only drunks break this rule. Everyone else tiptoes about as if it’s ilegal. Here in Spain though, it’s perfectly acceptable to play music in a residential area at 1 in the morning or have a fireworks display at 4. Thankfully, the bins are being emptied as I write this so at least I won’t be woken up by that like I was at 3 last night. Still horribly sticky tonight. The crikets are playing their soothing music. Aqua park after a sleep. Goodnight.
1836 Man am I beat! And also, man, am I burnt! Spent the day at the local Water Park, Aquopolis, with slides, flumes, wave pool, etc. Good fun, but rather expensive. Bit cooler today, helped largely by a steady breeze. Everyone seemed to have fun, even Jill who conquered her fear of putting her head underwater by going on a couple of rides. Near the end of our time in the park, I had a nasty reaction to the chlorine in the water and couldn’t keep my eyes open. Right now, we’re all shattered. Oddly, just mentioning my eye problem here has brought the pain back slightly, suggesting it might be partly all in the mind. Later, Jack and I prepare dinner; a tomato, rice, chick peas, spinach and chicken concoction. Mmmm. 2316 Dinner was a success! Really tasty!
Tuesday
1046 On the bus to Alicante. Hopefully it’ll provide an opportunity to experience some real Espagna.
1204 Really enjoyable journey. Now to see some sights.
1759 Wow! Alicante is nice! I thought it was a typical seaside town, but it’s actually a smart and sophisticated city with attractive plazas and squares, interesting architecture and lots of of attractions. We wandered the streets, visited the Castillo de Santa Bárbara (a castle) on Mount Benacantil and generally chilled out as best we could in the heat. The castle is well worth a visit. It’s surprisingly large for a free attraction. You can walk up, or you can pay a couple of euros and take the lift. Glad we came! Very hot today. Some temperature displays were indicating it was 36 degrees, although I doubt their accuracy and think it was nearer 30. On the bus back now.
2050 Nothing better than cooling off in a pool after a days sightseeing in the sun. Now, where’s my dinner?
Wednesday
1015 Well, that’s it. That’s Spain done and dusted. What did I learn? Well, the Spanish don’t clear up after their dogs. Spanish streets smell of urine. It’s mostly paralysingly hot. Spain can be generally pretty ugly. The Spanish are a noisy lot who don’t seem to need much sleep. But above all, there’s nothing like good friends. I came to Spain thinking this trip would be dominated by me trying to decide whether I like Spain or not, but in actual fact, it was about spending time with the people I care about and having fun. And I did. While Spain might not be my ideal holiday destination, I learnt that that didn’t actually matter. So long as I was with friends, I could have been in Baghdad for all it mattered. Sometimes, it felt a bit like I was in Baghdad too. So, as I choke back the tears, I’m pootling along the coast road one last time, en route to the airport.
1050 I swear I just saw a flock of flamingos grazing on the salt lakes. They were so pink and flamingo-shaped, they had to be flamingos.
1316 Alicante Airport is one of the best airports I’ve been to. Really big and cool with plenty of space and plenty of shops and comfortable seats. Because it’s so big, it’s very easy to find a quiet spot to write trip notes. Flight starts boarding shortly.
1340 Just finished eating a massive Valencia orange. Oranges really aren’t a good fruit to eat in public unless you don’t mind people watching you dribbling juice over yourself and over the seats and floor. What a mess! It was a delicious orange though.
1621 GMT Back in Britain after a mostly smooth flight. A huge jolt on the approach resulted in a few screams and messy pants though. Noticably chilly and fresh here. I’ve had to put a jumper on for the first time in days. Earlier, I did a really nice sign-off, so now I’ll do a nasty one in the interest of balance; that was Spain, now bog off!
