Sixty years ago Benidorm, although not a fishing village as such, was still a modest beach side community, a place of sailors, fishermen and farmers who patiently tended almond, olive, carob and citrus trees. Early visitors would have looked out over a double crescent of virgin golden sand and rolling dunes that stretched out in both directions from a rocky outcrop that divided the two beaches where Benidorm castle is believed to have once stood.
My sister has a place in Spain near Alicante so we have been there several times.
In a week in Iberian Autumn we did the usual things, sat in the sunshine, walked the beaches, lunchtime tapas, joined the ex-pats Brits for evening meals and watched the golfers humiliating themselves on the first tee.
It was mid-November and the weather was just perfect. Shirt-sleeve weather in fact with sunshine and big sky so after breakfast we were away to the nearby city of Alicante which I was sort of surprised to discover is the eighth largest in Spain.
Posted in Beaches, Europe, Growing up in the 1950s, History, Literature, Natural Environment, Postcards, Spain, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Alicante, Benidorm, Costa Blanca, Culture, Flamenco, Flamingo, Life, Package Holidays, tapas, Valencia
Welcome to my latest theme. Monday Washing Lines.
I liked this one for the way the colour of the washing compliments the shades of the building.
Villajoyosa is a wonderful place, an ex-fishing town, now a Spanish holiday resort of coloured houses with twisted rusting balconies with rattan blinds decorated with overloaded washing lines and pot plants gasping for water, all looking longingly out to sea. It reminded me of Burano in Venice, Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera and of Milos in the Greek Islands.
It is a Challenge. Do feel free to join in…
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Europe, History, Spain, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Benidorm, Burano, Cinque Terre, Costa Blanca, Milos Greek Islands, Monday Washing, Torrevieja, Venice, Villajoyosa, Washing Lines
I am cheating this one a little bit because this is a ferry ticket to the Spanish islet of Tabarca on the eastern coast of Spain near Alicante.
We just about made boat departure time, which was a good thing because the next one wasn’t for about two hours or so (in high season they run a lot more regularly) and after purchasing our tickets we made our way to the top deck and selected seats in the sun ready for the short thirty minute crossing and after being invited to view the marine life through the glass bottom in the boat (really not worth it) we arrived in the small port and disembarked.
Before 1700, the island was known as Illa de Sant Pau or ‘Saint Paul’s Island’ on the basis that this is where Saint Paul was washed up about two thousand years ago. He must have got around a bit because he seems to have been washed up in quite a lot of places in quite a short space of time which begins to make him look very unlucky and me sceptical about the whole thing.
Personally, if I was inclined to believe any of it then I would come down on the side of the story of St Paul’s Island in Malta. The Acts of the Apostles tell the story of how Paul was shipwrecked on an island (somewhere) while on his way to Rome to face charges. You can call me a coward if you like but I wouldn’t have been going back to Rome to face charges that might result in crucifixion or beheading and I would have been inclined to stay on the island wherever it was but to be fair you don’t get to become a Saint by hiding in a cave!
In the eighteenth century it was used as a convenient base for Berber pirates from North Africa who regularly raided the mainland coast so in 1760, to put a stop to it, Charles III of Spain ordered the fortification and repopulation of the Spanish island.
A group of Genoese sailors who had been shipwrecked near the coast of Tunisia, mostly coming from the islet of Tabark, were rescued and considered convenient settlers and the islet was renamed Nova Tabarca. The Genoese were moved to the island together with a Spanish garrison.
The King ordered a fortified town and as a consequence of Royal Decree walls, bulwarks, warehouses and barracks were built. The garrison was removed in 1850 and the buildings began to deteriorate and collapse through lack of maintenance but the Genoese stayed put and now a hundred and fifty years later it is a tourist destination and a thriving fishing community.
We maybe could have done with another hour on the island but if we missed the next ferry back we would be there for another four which was too long so we made our way back to the small fishing port of the island and boarded the boat back to Santa Pola where we had previously found a nice pavement restaurant with a very reasonably price Menu Del Dia and we simply sat and let the afternoon slip through our fingers.
Later we sat on the terrace and drank wine and ate pizza and just wasted the rest of the evening away as well!
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Europe, Food, History, Literature, Natural Environment, Spain, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Bahia de Benidorm, Benidorm, Culture, Isla Benidorm, Life, Malta, Mellieha, Saint Paul's Island, Tabarca
One day in 1995 I was at work and driving through London and on impulse took a detour to Catford and to Barmeston Road where my grandparents used to live to see the house that I used to visit with my parents when I was a boy.
It was having a bit of renovation work carried out to it at the time but although it seemed smaller (everything looks smaller as you grow older, especially chocolate biscuits) it looked however almost as I remembered it and the memories came flooding back.
Posted in Age of Innocence, Arts and Crafts, Europe, Growing up in the 1950s, History, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Benidorm, Catford, Catford Bus Garage, Culture, Life, London, London Transport, Travel
Even though travel restrictions are easing I am not yet minded to risk it so I still have no new stories to post so I continue to go through my picture archives and see where I was on this day at any time in the last few travelling years.
In October 1977 I was in Benidorm on the Costa Blanca in Spain. I know that it was October but to be honest I cannot be entirely specific about the date so I have just chosen one at random.
Posted in Beaches, Europe, Food, History, Literature, Natural Environment, Postcards, Spain, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Alicante, Benidorm, Benidorm in the 1970s, Costa Blanca, Don Juan Benidorm, Freddie Laker, Los Pelicanos, Spain
While the current travel restrictions are in place I have no new stories to post so what I thought that I would do is to go through my picture archives and see where I was on this day at any time in the last few travelling years.
On 18th May 2008 I was on a golfing holiday with my brother and our sons we all agreed that being only sixty miles away was an excellent opportunity to visit the notorious city of Benidorm and see it for ourselves.
Some Benidorm pictures from various visits.
Click on an image to scroll through the Gallery…
Posted in Beaches, Europe, Food, History, Natural Environment, Postcards, Spain, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Benidorm, Benidorm holiday, Benidorm hotel, Blue Flag Beaches, Levante, Poniente, Spain World Heritage Sites
Villajoyosa is a wonderful place, an ex-fishing town, now a Spanish holiday resort of coloured houses with twisted rusting balconies with rattan blinds decorated with overloaded washing lines and pot plants gasping for water, all looking longingly out to sea. It reminded me of Burano in Venice, Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera and of Milos in the Greek Islands.
Click on an image to scroll through the Gallery…
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments’ on Norm’s site, anytime between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American Eastern Time).
Posted in Europe, History, Literature, Postcards, Spain, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Benidorm, Burano, Cinque Terre, Costa Blanca, Milos Greek Islands, Torrevieja, Venice, Villajoyosa
I have taken this drive before but here are some new pictures…
Click on an image to scroll through the Gallery…
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Beaches, Europe, Food, History, Hotels, Natural Environment, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Alicante, Benidorm, Guadalest, Guadamar, Moors in Spain, Rincon de Pepe, Valencia
In the first few years of the 1960s, in the days just before and then during the Freddie Laker days of early package holidays, my grandparents visited Benidorm in Spain several times.
For people from London who had lived through the Luftwaffe blitz of the 1940s and the killer smog of the 1950s they applied for passports (which was practically unheard of for ordinary people) and set out with pale complexions on an overseas adventure and returned home with healthy Mediterranean suntans and duty free alcohol and cigarettes.
or
Click on an image to scroll through the Gallery…
Posted in Childhood, Europe, Food, History, Postcards, Spain, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Barmeston Road Catford, Benidorm, Benidorm postcards, British European Airways, Costa Blanca, Freddie Laker, Horizon Holidays, London Transport, Robertsons Jam, Spain, Valencia, Vickers Vanguard, Vladimir Raitz
Have Bag, Will Travel 