The Road from Santiago

  It is October.  If we are out before dawn then we are amid concrete, planting and sodium light.  Twilight begins at 7.34 and sunrise at 8.01. Sunset is at 19.35 and twilight ends at 20.01.   We are crossing the peninsular and down to the next beach.  We will wander into the Puig |Campana.  We may have to wait, it opens at 10.30am.  https://restaurantepuigcampana.com/es/   The vid is nice on the website.  Gabi was impressed ‘This restaurant was recommended to me by a friend who visited before. I must say the food was amazing, tables stunningly presented and views were outstanding. We were given a free starter and a truly enjoyed lobster seafood paella. Prices were reasonable too. Highly recommended restaurant!’  Two days ago M wrote ‘I had a delicious meal with my family, the atmosphere was cozy and the staff was very friendly.’ We are in October.  You can tell this because the Spanish are in fur coats and mufflers.  The ...

  I went looking for some stats about Benidorm.  First I found recent British papers claiming the place was virtually empty - with locals dancing in the streets in honour of reclaiming their partonomy.  I then found claims that last year was the best year ever - Mayor Toni Perez saying they had 252,000 visitors a day.  Possibly we are in the grips of regression to the mean. In 2022 Benidorm was the third most visited place in Spain, with 1.8 million.  April seems to be when Spaniards head out to the place. In 2022 433,000 went there - compared to 160,000 to Barcelona.  Brits numbered 17% of the April total.  2024 saw a big increase of the Italians heading that way. With that we will head down towards the old town.  The images jump around between early 2025, back to 2017, with a range of years in between.  We have so much choice I’m not sure where to go but the Museo Boca del Calvari is both mildly odd and LGBTQ+ friendly.  Harry sums it ...

As the railway made Cleethorpes, so the passenger aeroplane made Benidorm. It stands out, like Torremolinos, as symbol, like Blackpool, for all that is sophisticate and urbane in holiday fun.  But first, some pre-1950s History. The usual Iberian and Roman remains have been found as well as some Moorish farms. In 1325 the local Feudal Lord, Admiral Bernardo de Sarria, established a town and castle.  The place was done for in 1410 and 1448 by Barbary pirates. Although not totally depopulated, although another corsair attack, in 1503, certainly didn’t help matters. In 1715 Benidorm boasted 216.  By 1800 it had risen to 2700, mostly because of the fishing industry.  Fishing remained key to the town’s prosperity till its decline after the 1940s. The 1950s saw the arrival of northerners, in search of sun that made more than a fleeting appearance.  They brought in much needed foreign exchange but also an attitude to bikinis which was at variance with that of the Church...