Do you consider a two hours hike with a non-stop sea view to the lovely blue Mediterranean and one of the most beautiful coastlines of Spain a good idea, you should try the route between Villajoyosa and Benidorm. Bring your swimming suit or go for a naked swim. Being almost halfway between Benidorm and Villajoyosa, the beach of Torres on the picture over is a natural place for a rest. Here you can enjoy a refreshment at the restaurant at the camping site nearby. You may of co

Half an hours drive north of Alicante and some few kilometers south of Benidorm you'll find the fishing village Villajoyosa which means "The happy village". Tall, thin and colourful as they are - originally painted this way to make it easier for the fishermen finding home. The old city center with its narrow streets and picturesque houses is on the Unesco's World Heritage list. The original character of the city has been very well preserved du to the protection of the buildin

Half an hours hike and yor are on the top of the world eleven hundred meters above the Mediterranean. On your way you can pick wild saffron or track for wild boar. On the top you can cut a bit of the Aloe Vera plant and rub the healing juice on your skin - or just enjoy the view. The small moutain village Sella is situated right below the towering Sella mountain. The city is far enough away from the tourist zone to maintain the original spanish characteristics. On restaurants

In the small village Agost outside Alicante the seven generation potter Emili Boix takes care of his family heritage. He was an established professor of anthropologi when he suddenly was obliged to make an important desicion. Being the son of a sixth generation potter, Emily had been trained in pottery. His father had wanted him to take over after him, but Emily had other ambitions. He became an academic. But when his father died at old age, he couldn't stand the idea of lett

The road from Villajoyosa to Solgården along Rio Amadorio goes through orange plantations. A peaceful walk in a relaxed environment where time has stopped. One of the highlights is a three thousand year old olive tree. Buenas tardes - good afternoon - says the elderly gentleman greeting with his hat. In this area, everyone is treated with the same respect. Everyone smiles and greets. You'll find some rarities too. A local art gallery advertises with modern art exhibited on th

Around 10 July each year, there is a medieval market in La Nucía, a small mountain village just ten kilometers away from Benidorm. La Nucía was founded in 1705, and the medieval market is ment to be a birthday celebration for the village. Here you will get an impression of how it was to live in Spain in the Middle Ages. There are sales stalls where you can buy food, souvenirs, handicrafts, ceramics, cast iron, shoes and clothes. In the picture above, an artist dressed in medi

Thirthy kolometers of the coast near Alicante you will find the Gaudi-inspired church of Santuario Santa Magdalena. From the top at 360 meters above sea level you get a magnificent view, especially if you climb the medieval castle of Castillo de La Mola which is close by. The church was designed by an engineer from Novelda, José Sala Sala. The work was started in 1918, but was first completed in 1946. It is inspired by the famous La Familia Sagrada, Gaudi's masterpiece in Bar

The coast northeast of the Calpe cliff is wild, beautiful and accessible. You don't get the long, soft, sandy beaches, but instead you can enjoy small coves and bays, some with sand, others with stones and gravel. There are three restaurants you can visit. A nice two hours trip. The trip starts right next to the Calpe cliff in the bay called Cala Caleta (or Cala de la Calalga). In the picture above you will see the parking lot at the right hand side and the Calpe cliff in the

If you need a historic stroll on a Sunday morning, Santuario de la Malladeta can be a good option. There you can study archaeological excavations, admire the view and have a snack on the beach afterwards. The tower that is erected on top of the area today is inspired by the many wachtowers that were build along the Mediterranean coast in the battle against the pirates, but this tower was set up as a studio for Dr. José Maria Esquerdo. It is only a few hundred meters to the to

When you are under the steep mountain wall of the Calpeklipp, it seems unbelievable that in about an hour you can stand on top and admire one of Spain's most beautiful coastal areas, but thanks to a tunnel and a little bolted rope, you reach one of Ernest Hemmingway's favorite places. The Calpe promontory is a conservation area that will be preserved as it is for future generations. It belongs to the Alicante area in the Valencia region. To get into the area, you have to go t

Cala de Muraig was once a nest for smugglers. It is easy to understand when you see how difficult it is to access this place. Even when you lean out over the ditch 100 meters above the beach, you don't get a complete overview. Today it is a holiday paradise. The underwater caves are a mecca for divers. The beach faces south-east and is shadowed in the afternoons for large parts of the year. Thus, morning and noon is best for sunbath. From the top of the cliff you only see par

If you don't want to meet tourists, don't go to Guadalest. It is just the Alhambra and the Pradomuseum that get more visitors in Spain. But if you want to experience Spain's best preserved medieval city, you should take the tour. Some remember the city for the grotesque Torture Museum from the Inquisition, others are fascinated by the miniature museum where a true copy of the Eilfelt Tower is placed on a pinhole head. The village with the two hundred inhabitants has eight mus

A few kilometers from Benidorm, the small mountain village of Finestrat overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. The borders of Finestrat municipality extends from the mountains and down to the coast, where it has a shoreline of 267 meters between Benidorm and Villajoyosa. Read more if you want to know why. For several centuries, Spain's coast to the Mediterranean was plagued with attacks by pirates. It was important that as many as possible participated in the defense of the coast.

At a thousand meters altitude in the Ainana mountains near Benidorm on the Costa Blanca coast you will find a 1.5 million square-meter large fenced area where wild animals from the five continents can walk freely around. Here you can caress elephants and give donkeys a hug, or just enjoy the atmosphere and visual impressions. You drive your own car, but you will also use your legs. Camels, zebras and other herd animals live in peaceful coexistence as if they had just landed f

Over the mountain village Finestrat looms the mountain with the famous chopping. From the top you can see the entire Costa Blanca. A giant had been told by a sorceress that his beloved girlfriend would die when the sun went down. He brought her to the highest point of the mountain to keep the sunshine as long as possible. But no matter how much he tried, he could not save her. When the last sunshine disappeared behind the Sella mountain, she died in his arms. In sorrow and de

For those who have spent some time at the Costa Blanca, the term "the communist" is well known. Together with his wife and son, Jeroni Moncho Pascual has been running a family restaurant in Tárbena for more than 40 years. The restaurant has been a must to visit - mostly because of the owner's charisma and the restaurant's atmosphere. Jeroni - or Jernonimo, as he also was called - was a communist on his neck, and it is said that he lost one arm during the war against Franko. T

The Bernia mountain has a cave that passes through the mountain. The first ten meters you have to bend down quite heavily. On the other side you get a magnificent view to the Mediterranean and Altea Valley. The trip starts at the back of the mountain in the Halon Valley. You'll get through the mountain to the right in the photo, almost at the top. You'll walk along the mountain side to your right (left in the photo), and round back to the starting point on the other side. You

Río Vinalopó is an eight-mile long river that passes through an area with Spain's largest density of medieval citizens. La Ruta de los Castillos del Vinalopó is a historical and cultural tour where you visit seven municipalities within a seven-mile area. In this photo presentation we start with Castillo de Sax. It looks impressive on top of a small hill. Only parts of the outer defense wall are preserved and there is not much to see inside, but the view to the city below and

It was the Spaniards who brought the chocolate to Spain and Europe. Until the Civil War, chocolate was an equally important drink for Spaniards as tea was for the Englishmen. Villajoyosa was a pioneer town in the production of solid chocolate. Here you can visit three chocolate museums. Chocolate is made of cocoa. The cocoa bell is about 20 cm tall and contains 20-30 cocoa beans. The chocolate that the Mexicans drank, was spiced with chili pepper and was therefore bitter and

Although France and Italy have a higher production, Spain is the world's largest wine country. In this country they have made wine for more than five thousand years. With a little planning you can participate in grape harvesting. The Villena area has more wineries than anywhere else in the region. We participated in an organized trip from Altea to Bodagas Santa Margarita in Villena. The tree in the picture above is included on the label of the bottles of this manufacturer. Th