Best blue flag beaches

One in 5 beaches in Spain given the distinguished 'blue flag' grade are found on the Costa Blanca.
There are 62 beaches and 13 ports with sporting facilities in the province alone.  Three of the criteria for the recognition are unpolluted sand, quality of the water and good services and access.  The 4 jewels in the crown of the Alicante coastline have been given the 'blue flag' every year without fail for the past 30 years.  These 4 unbeatable beaches in Alicante are:  Fossa de Calp, the Racó de l'Albir (l'Alfàs del Pi), the Carrer la Mar del Campello and the wonderful Playa de San Juan in Alicante.

Playa de San Juan in Alicante

The Playa de San Juan is always our preferred beach.  Its a whopping 6.2km long with a 100m depth in some areas.  It is used all year round in the winter the volleyball teams set up their nets and in the summer the whole of Madrid comes for their holidays to the area.

There are restaurants on the seafront with some 'chiringuitos' (small bars) right on the sand so you can hang around and chillax way after the sun goes down.  It is a quieter area in terms of nightlife and shops so it is recommended for those who really want to get away from it all.  Alicante city is just a short 5-10 minute drive away so its not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

However if you want to go snorkelling or prefer rocks to sand then, if you have a car or motorbike, head to the Cabo de las Huertas.  I think there is a small part or one of the coves that is a nudist beach (I was told that as we were sailing around the cape on my uncle's boat but I didn't try to pick it out with the binoculars).  Unless we go with friends I try to stay away from the sand as it just gets everywhere.  And if Im feeling really lazy, just to pool in my urb...

Winter sun warning

Happy New Year to you all!!

I think its important to mention, especially for any of you who are planning a trip to Alicante this winter (or are here already), that the winter sun can be dangerous.

It's not a cloudy place at all and we enjoy very clear, blue skies most days - actually I met a lady a few days ago originally from Cape Town and she compared the bright Alicante sky to her home town.  As the sun is quite low in the sky during winter, you should be prepared with some sunglasses and a clean window screen on your vehicle.  It can also reflect off the road and blind you if you are not careful.  The wife of one of my dad's friends unfortunately died many years ago now as she accidentally drove off a hillside road as she turned a corner and was blinded by the low sun.  Just be careful out there.

Inland Alicante

As it is a fairly dry climate it's great for motorbikes.  It's my vehicle of choice I use to get to and from the shop every day because parking in Alicante can be very complicated (people live in flats and the buildings are quite close together and there aren't underground garages in each building) and with one I can park virtually anywhere.  They are also great for outings in the hills around Alicante so we go often with friends and stop en route for a drink and tapas.

panorama shot Alicante

Motorbike buddies

In the hills around Alicante

If you can, don't just limit yourself to visiting Alicante city... take a road trip around the outskirts of the city and in the province where there are interesting walking and hiking routes too.  

Have you been in the hills around Alicante?

The Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante

The rain has finally stopped and has given way to the wonderful blue skies that Alicante is known for. It rained once in June and once in August but at the end of September the plants and trees got a much needed drink as we had a couple of weeks of unsettled weather.

Back in tshirts and shorts now and as today was yet another 'fiesta' day in Alicante (the 9th October is the special day of the Valencian community which includes the provinces of Alicante Valencia and Castellón) we headed down to the port to the Volvo Ocean Race area.

 For a few years now, Alicante has hosted the starting point activities and celebrations of the round-the-world yacht race and the dedicated part of the port was developed especially, creating an area for race preparations, information about the sport, stuff for kids and adults to do, bars and restaurants and a permanent museum and organisers office.

You can get up close to the yachts, see preparatory races and even the workshops where mending and modification is always going on. Its totally free to get in to the area and have a walk around and as its at the far end of the port you get some lovely views towards Alicante and the Castillo de Santa Bárbara.

The last day is 11th October and the various teams set sail heading for the next stop at Cape Town. Good luck!

September Start

I always get a pang of disappointment and depression when the first day of September comes around.  For me it means the end of summer and the special atmosphere that fills Alicante during the days, evenings and nights of June, July and August. 

However, living in a city which is a tourist destination, with the lovely, mild climate that Alicante offers is like being permanently on holiday... sort of.  We are usually in t-shirts until November time and although the sea and the swimming pools are a little chilly to go for a dip in after mid September, the afternoons are still very warm. 

It is always so noticeable after the last weekend of August, when the holiday-makers from Madrid leave their summer apartments, the Playa de San Juan feels a little more empty.  The city, however, is buzzing still.  Just walking through the streets today, I heard many different accents of people from other countries.  Soon, the University of Alicante will start its new term and there will be an influx of young people that help keep the social scene alive.

People are usually going 'back to...' something in September.  But for the millions of unemployed here in Spain it's unfortunately just 'business as usual'.

Lagarto in da house!

I've had my annual visit from the lizard.  I see it a few times during the summer hanging around my plant pots on the terrace and running up the walls.  But I got a good look at him yesterday, with his little slitty eyes and alligator-style body.

For me, the lagartos (lizards) are not scary at all.  This one is only about 12cm long from head to tail.  He blends in with the colour of my tiles and wall.  But they are quite common over here and I have seen ones with black spots or more green ones.  I don't know if he is the same one I see each year or a different one - I doubt that they live for a long time.  

I don't have any pets so he is the next best thing.  I think I'll call him Lenny.

August fiesta day in Alicante - Asunción de la Virgin María

Today is a holiday or fiesta in Alicante which commemorates the day that the Virgin Mary died and rose to heaven.  (You can read more about it in Spanish here).  I'm pretty sure that years ago there were processions through the streets and special events happening so that the devotees could honour the Virgin and there may well be some going on in some other parts of Spain.

But nowadays, as people go to church less and less, and many people do not follow the Catholic religion as strictly as before, this fiesta day today, in the middle of August, is mostly an excuse to close up shop:

and go down to the beach:

This was what people were doing in Alicante today.
The photo above is of the beach of San Juan, or playa de San Juan. It's a wonderful beach that is 7km long which is why there is space for everyone to place their towel on the shoreline.  It looks empty in this photo but it is just so long.  I will devote a post to it soon because there is lots to say about it.

Misterí d'Elx

The Elx Mystery is a play held on the 14th and 15th of August each year in the Basilica de Santa María in the city of Elche commemorating the Assumption of Mary.  The origins of the play date back to the 15th Century and in 2001, was declared by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.  FYI, 'Elx' is Elche in the Valencian language.

Nit de l'Albà

One of the other attractions of the fiestas at the moment in Elche is the Nit de l'Albà (the night of 'white' or 'having a white colour') which takes place on 13th of August each year. From 11pm until just before midnight, palmeras (big fireworks that look like a palm tree when exploded) are set off from various points of the city.  This idea started in the Middle Ages when each rocket was an offering to the Virgin Mary for each child in the family.

unknown source

Just before midnight, all the firework activity stops and the city lights are turned off ready for the moment of la Gloria. The hugely enormous white-coloured palmera de la Virgin is fired into the sky above Elche from the Basilica lighting everything up for a few seconds.  When the lights come back on, a small Virgin de fuego can be seen in the tower of the Basilica while the locals sing from their balconies and terraces.  Then the night is ended for some by eating copious amounts of watermelon!

For others, the guerra de carretillas starts and goes on until the early hours.   All you safety-concious ('normal') people run and hide because in this 'war of wheelbarrows' a dedicated area is set up where a number of people dress up in special jumpsuits protecting their faces, hands and feet and throw crazy fireworks at each other!  Yes, you read it right.  They THROW fireworks at each other!  Wheelbarrow is the name of the type of firework.  People get injured every year with burns when some fireworks get caught in their clothing.  Not surprising.

I don't know what it is with the Valencian community but they absolutely LOVE fireworks. The louder, the bigger and the more dangerous the better.  Any fiesta there is around here is guaranteed to include a firework display.  Every now and again I hear fireworks and firecrackers going off randomly in the distance and know that someone, somewhere is having a fiesta!

It's too hot for flowers!

Yes, literally.
I was speaking to a chap who comes to Alicante on business occasionally and he said that you can tell that Alicante has a female Mayor (or Mayoress) because there are flowers everywhere!

I have to agree with him.  There are just too many flowers.  In the photo above you can see that they have recently covered the entrance to one of the main car parks in the Plaza de la Montañeta in wild flowers, reminiscent of what you would see in an English country garden.  Maybe one has friends who own garden shops?

When there are not many florists in the city and giving flowers is not a regular custom, you know that the climate doesn't permit the delicacy of flowers.  It's just too hot.  Here is a typical weather forecast for the Alicante summertime:

It's been like that for weeks and will be like it for more to come.  Hardly a drop of rain. So when they make these plant and flower installations they have to put in a really good irrigation system or this will happen:

When they do put a line next to every plant, this is the result:

And goodness knows how much all this extra watering is costing the city, and inevitably us in our taxes! Alicante has a humid climate but not in that it falls from the sky, just that it's brought in on the Mediterranean sea breeze.  If you drive out of the city you will see what the type of land is really like here - yellowish, dusty, rocky, with some pine trees on the shady sides of the hills.  There are other solutions to ensure some greenery in this quite dry landscape though: fake grass.  They installed some on the road next to the beach in sections with metal borders and stones.  It doesnt look that bad and its easier to maintain.

Also, there are quite a few trees that provide us with a nice display of flowers annually and they are really practical in that they provide us with shade.  More trees please Mayoress!

I have the sun all afternoon in my patio and find it difficult to grow and maintain anything that is green other than the hardiest of cacti.  Also, I just don't have green fingers so I'll leave it to the professionals while I sit by the piscina (pool)!

July in Alicante

Its mostly...

No, I have not messed up my camera.  This is a photo of the sky an hour ago.  It's like this a lot of the time.  Just a beautiful blue without a cloud at all, both in winter and in summer.  Although in winter the temperature drops right down like anywhere else, but its not so bad because of the bright blue sky.  I know that grey skies are depressing and I wish that I could box up some of this blue and the sunshine too, and send it to my family back home in the UK...

Alicante is known as La Ciudad de la Luz, meaning 'the City of Light'.  We wear our sunglasses on sunny days here in the winter too because you just need them it's so bright.  

Rain?

In the warm summer months from about mid June to mid September, my umbrella usually stays in its drawer.  I actually cant remember the last time it rained.  It was probably in June.  My clothes dry in an hour or so when I hang them out and when you go out you never even have to think if you might need a cardigan or jacket... the evenings are so warm.

Hot and humid climate

In August, the sea is so warm in the evening that you can take a dip at midnight.  Sometimes it's just so hot that its the best thing to do.  Alicante has a humid climate so if it is about 30oC it feels more like 35oC.  In July the temperature gets up to around 32oC at lunch time and drops to about 23oC at night.  I recently went to a couple of towns inland and the temperature was 42oC, which felt like our 35oC because the climate was drier.

Air conditioning

If you are continuing your normal life as in working, studying, etc. in this heat it can get to be too much.  Air conditioning units are a must at home and in the work place.  All public transport has air conditioning as people would be fainting all over the place.  My sister told me how in the heat wave they have just been experiencing in London, lots of people were going dizzy and fainting on the metro.

The Siesta

These hot temperatures during midday mean that people do not want to be out on the streets.  That's another reason why shops traditionally close at lunch time here in Spain and open again in the afternoon until about 9pm in the evening.  Also, a siesta (afternoon nap, or power nap) is difficult not to have when its so hot you dont know what to do with yourself!

So when you are moaning about your heating bill in the UK during the cold months, spare a thought for us who have a heating AND a cooling bill!