Geography and sailing

...From our balcony we can see the sea, the Mediterranean. to the left mount Benidorm is obscured by the second apartment block on our site. to the right we can see the hill upon which there is a fire beacon at the summit. It is built of stone bricks. The beacons were used as an early warning when Spain was under attack by the moors. I can see the Marina bar and the Hotel La Cala, most of the beach and the sunbathers on their blue loungers shaded by the blue and white patterned parasols. Below the balcony is the swimming pool and we can hear the kids laughing, shouting and screaming (usually "mama" or "Papa") and lots of "mirar, mirar" (look look) as they show off to their parents and siblings. The balcony has a perfect position from a sun point of view, winter sun and summer shade. From now until some time in September the sun is at 12 o'clock in the sky which puts our apartment in shade. temperatures drift between 30 to 40 degrees Celsius. There is always a slight breeze from the sea which helps to cool things a bit.



On the horizon we see ships, cargo ships, fishing boats and cruise liners, in Summer we see the Alicante to Ibiza ferry pass by. In the morning we see the ferry to Calpe, pass from its berth to its operating port in Benidorm, and in the evening we see it return.



Just off Benidorm is Benidorm island, affectionately known by the ex-pats as bird s*** Island due to the large population of sea birds flocking there. From Benidorm there is a ferry which takes the tourists to the island, when they disembark, they are directed to a glass bottomed semi-submersible, which floats around the little bay their so they can see the fish. When they emerge they have about an hour before the next boat arrives and they can be liberated from Benidorms answer to Alcatraz. Because apart from the wild birds and 2 caged peacocks, there is nothing else to occupy you on the island, there isn't any shade so the cafe bar near the jetty is the only refuge and they have the only food and drink around. So me being ever the cynic, I wonder if the trip is designed to make the tourist really appreciate Benidorm town.

Ange and I once went with our friends Ian and Christine, who were here for a holiday, on the Calpe boat. Anyone who knows me understands that I don't really like being on small boats, but this one seemed quite big and stable until we set off around the rocky outcrop at the end of Levante beach and round into the Albir/Altea beach, where it was scheduled to stop to load and unload passengers. The bow went up so you could only see the sky and crashed down sending spray all over us, then it pitched and rolled to the degree I serious thought it may capsize. To my left and right people were clutching carrier bags with their heads inside and very sea sick. I don't suffer sea sickness, but I was scared of drowning. Christine, who may have indulged a little to much the evening before was desperately trying to keep her breakfast down, but eventually we docked at Calpe, When you arrive at Calpe, you have to walk past several Spanish fish restaurants. Every one of them have people outside trying to lure you in with free sangria and free tapas.

We were lured by one specific restaurant and proceeded to order the menu del dia fer each of us. We were just about settled from the sail, but Christine and Ange's stomach was once more put under strain with a couple of prawns which were bad and awful to look at. We paid and left.

There is a lovely walk around the cliffs at Calpe with a nice garden filled with flowers and plants and tended by the local council. That was the highlight of the day, followed closely by an ice cream on the way back for the boat.

We set of back with similar weaving and bobbing to our first journey, but maybe we were used to it. As we approached the harbour at benidorm Ange moved forward and pounced like a kestrel hawk onto its prey scooped something off and got off the boat.

When we were safely on the jetty, she confided in me that she had seen a 50 euro note on the deck and as there was only me and her around she was having it, because her view was if she handed it to the skipper he would have been drinking later on the proceeds, and it was Ange's view that as we endured his driving we could recover in the bar....