Finally, my holiday update. With pics!

[angelophile]

Anyway, since a picture says a thousand words, I'll let my photos of my Spanish holiday speak for me. Briefly, we flew into Alicante airport on the Sunday evening and then drove up to Benidorm, then to a village behind the town, at the start of the mountains, called Xerles (Sometimes spelt and pronounced Cherles). The village itself is very small - probably only 30 or so houses. My folks apartment there serves as a base to head out into Benidorm or further inland. The weather was good - pleasantly warm most days (around 75-80 degrees F), usually sunny and just right for a cold blooded creature like myself.

The Benidorm area suffers a little from the standard Spanish tourist resort problem - it'll be nice when it's finished. As stands, pretty much every plot of land you can find is being built on and if it's not, it will be eventually. Second homes in Spain are a big thing with Brits, Dutch, Germans and Europeans in general. However, despite the almost constant construction, I found myself liking the place. It's easy to shift from the beaten paths and find yourself in a quieter or more isolated region and the country itself is very pretty, even when developed.

I kept pretty active while we were out there - most days we were out and the only quiet day I had, I decided to walk about five miles through the next town (Polop), towards Benidorm. The area is a place of extremes - from the brash, slightly run-down, commercialism of Benidorm to the unspoilt beauty of the mountains and historical sites like Guadalest. Honestly, I like both sides. Sometimes tacky can be fun (take Vegas for example), as long as you can get both that commercialism balanced with more aesthetic sites.

So, I took about 100 pics, but to spare you all, I've trimmed that down slightly. But there's still plenty to get through. Enjoy.

The full gallery's available here.



The apartments in Xerles.

View from our apartment.

The Moors and Christians (Moros y Cristianos) festival in the nearby town of Callosa de Ensarriá.

The climax of the fiesta in Callosa de Ensarriá as a pitched battle takes place.

The siege of the castle during the Moors and Christians fiesta.

Me and a view along Benidorm's Levante beach from Placa del Castell.

The look out spot at the Placa del Castell headland which separates Benidorm's two beaches.

Looking south past the port to Poniente beach.

Sand sculpture on Levante Beach.

My folks climbing up to the Fonts d'Algar waterfalls in the mountains behind Xerles.

Me stood at the Fonts d'Algar.

You get to see my legs! I didn't swim but I did wade about a bit.

On the road to the Moorish cliff-hanging castle as Guadalest.

Me sat with the belltower of Guadalest's Church of the Virgin behind me.

The entrance to the De La Pena part of Guadalest.

Looking across from the Castle of Saint Joseph to the Church of the Virgin.

Looking down from the Castle of Saint Joseph at the church built into the cliff and the entrance to the castle below.

Polop de la Marina, the next town near Xerles, showing the church and hilltop cemetery.

Looking towards the coast and Altea from Polop cemetery.

Looking back inland at Xerles almost hidden in the hillside.

Down the coast to Alicante and me with my boomstick at the Santa Bárbara Castle.

View across Alicante from Santa Bárbara Castle.

Me again at Santa Bárbara Castle.

The castle with Alicante beyond and the sheer drop below.

The Iglesia de Santa Maria and Alicante Castle beyond.

The Explanada de Espana at Alicante.

A view of Placa del Castell from the boat on the way to Benidorm Island.

The high cliffs at Benidorm Island.

The underwater Aquascope boat at Benidorm Island and the town beyond.

Into the sea, you and me…

On the high cliffs at Benidorm Island and Levante beach behind.

Benidorm Island itself. Lots of cactus and birds and no shade. Phew!

Just to prove I did go into the water at least once. And you get to see my rippling abs and toned six pack! *cough*

Finally, a shot taken the day I left, a walk down into the valley from Xerles, looking up at the mountains and lemon groves.

Comments

[tadiera.livejournal.com]

You look really good. :) Glad you seemed to enjoy yourself.