Underrated Alicante - Reunion
- Tobias Heller
- 7. Juli 2017
- 5 Min. Lesezeit
Alicante, why would you go there? We encounter this question frequently when people ask which would be our following goals to visit in Spain. We will meet up anyways with my dads partner Gerda here and her friend with the same name. Also our flight to Mallorca will leave from here on Saturday. Not really overly enthusiastic about it now, we take a long Blablacar from Granada to Murcia, where we will spend the Day in order to reach Alicante by evening. It is the eigth largest city in the ranking of Spain and has an important mediterranean port.
Arrival & Nightlife
A direct jump into the nightlife
After a long drive in the car and spending some hours in Murcia we arrive late in the evening at our Couchsurfer's place, which is indeed in a very cool location, as she lives in one of the highest buildings in Alicante in the 23. floor. It offers a fantastic view over the city - no viewpoint needed anymore. The bull ring, which is so prominently placed in many cities allover spain, sits just right in front of us, down below, and I imagine that you could be able to glimpse some of the ongoing but yet questionable spectacles. Ayleene, a girl from Berlin who does her Erasmus here in Alicante, offers us to join her for some Erasmus pre-drinking party in one of the fellow student's shared apartments and to go out to a club later on. We buy some bottles of wine on the way in one of the late night shops to bring with us, and once I we enter through the door of the place I find myself between a crowd of drinking students, spread everywhere in the tiny apartment, with nationalities ranging from spanish over greek to italian. I like the cultural mixture and I somehow miss my own time as a student, but strangely at the same time feel just a little bit like the strange older guy who does not study anymore but still clings to his already gone adolescence, and of whom nobody knows who initially invited him. The evening tuns out to be interesting, Gianfranco and I meet a lot of entertaining people and immerse into dancing in a club bar in one of the with students populated streets. Erasmus, there is nothing better!
Sightseeing & Viewpoint
Up the Castle - Special Reunion
In the morning the squeaking alarm shakes us awake violently. We are about to meet the double Gerda gang and her daughter Laura, who also does her Erasmus in Alicante. The meeting point is located around the harbor, and it is an indescribable good feeling to see my good old Gerda once more, as she has already visited me in Palermo and we embrace each other heartily. Together we walk up to the Castle, which is called Castillo de Santa Barbara, that sits ever so prominently and unmissable on top of a large rock that juts out from the otherwise plain ground, with a hight of more than 160 meters. Looking up gives the impression that the castle itself has been carved directly out of the similarly colored stone, seeming to be grown together tightly.
Up a lovely street which actually reminds me - at least partially - of Granada's neighborhood Albeicin, just somewhat larger and less decorated, leads the beginning of the way up. The white buildings frame the various stairs and bushes and flowers in glazed ceramic plant pots are to be found on balconies and in front of doors and windows. Further up a flat, gradually ascending plastered way zick-zacks further on and ends in front of the southern portal of the castle's fortification. The view from here is already great and gives an overview over the city that lies below us to the south.
The huge castle, one of the largest in terms of surface area in Europe, is perfectly made to walk around, while enjoying the view during the wonderful sunshiny day from various perspectives, which I take in fully with pleasure. Further up in one of the rooms inside various objects with their origin in the bronze age are displayed, which range from an enormous square attached to the wall, covered with assorted shards of various sizes and patterns to other antique objects in glass vitrines. A good thing about the castle is - and I really appreciate it - that the entry to everything is charge free for everyone, despite this being the main site in Alicante.
The highest situated point of the Castle on Mount Benacantil is called La Toretta and is the culmination of the visit. Up here a 360 degree view is possible into every direction. In the north another large hill, appearing to have been dented outwards from below, is sitting in front of a large tongue that forces it's way into the seaside. In the south there lies the harbor and long artificial extensions of the coast are grasping like pincers into the open sea water, while in the west the main center of the city is to be found, with basically a few very tall buildings overlooking every other building around, one of which we recognize as the apartment Ayleene lives in.
Beach
Chillout Zone - When even I can relax
Our next stop is the beach, where we spread towels to lie down. The beach is nice and clean and the huge rock with the castle on top sits in the back, making this a perfect space to dwell and relax. Several people are sunbathing as the weather is perfectly sunny and cloudless today, whereas only a few are brave enough to jump in the yet quite cold salty sea water. Gianfranco and I dare to jump in, using the best method anyone can pick to approach freezing water: jumping straight in. We take a run, our feet smacking onto the water sending splashes all around until we are finally deep enough inside to fully put our bodies under water. The refreshing, not overly too cold water on the skin is amazing, soft muddy sand engulfs my feet while I tread around, pleased. Once out of the water I lie down to dry, and I am in such inner peace for the moment, that even a restless person like me is able to relax fully, enjoying my good company.
Goodbyes
A short time, but a good one
The day passes by way too quickly, the rest of the day we visit the Museum for contemporary art, which is after all those classic paintings we saw in Madrid indeed a refreshing change and for free between a certain time in the evening, therefore worth to look at. Later we have dinner in a nice restaurant, sitting outside in the still warm night air, the square dimly lit with musicians playing not far away. Today this is more of a feast for me, we share a huge pan of paella, meatballs, sangria and wine and, later on, drop into a bar for a few more drinks, spending a wonderful evening together until we finally have to separate. The flight tomorrow to Mallorca is waiting.
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