Day 11 – Alicante, Spain

We’ve finally got the perfect weather. It was obvious the minute we opened our balcony door and found clear skies and a temperature of around 72°. We docked in Alicante, Spain at about 10:00am. Alicante is on the Mediterranean coast about half-way between Gibraltar and Barcelona. The Romans called it Lucentum, or City of Light, a reference to the sand and bright sunshine.

The Romans established an irrigation system of aqueducts and waterways to move water from the mountains to the arid land along the coast. Olive, citrus and almonds were established first, and now wine grapes and hot house tomatoes are also grown in abundance.

The Arabs, or Moors, invaded this area of Spain in 718 AD, and expanded and improved the irrigation system. They also brought date palms from their native lands, which have flourished in the area. They were driven out by the Christians in the 13th century, but the water system and a number of Moorish castles and fortresses remain today.

We took a bus tour to the Canelobre Cave, about an hour out of the city. It is the largest cavern in Spain, and it was discovered in the 9th century. It was used as a machine shop to rebuild aircraft engines during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39. Unfortunately, they blasted a tunnel into the heart of the cave and the concussions caused many of the stalactites and stalagmites to crumble and fall. It’s still an impressive place to visit.

From the cave, we returned to Alicante and the 14th century Castillo de Santa Barbara which rises high above the City. It was originally built by the Moors, then after they were driven back across the Mediterranean, the Christians rebuilt and added to the fortress. It’s built on the edge of the sea, and overlooks the entire City. Our bus took us up a steep hill into the fortress, but then we had to walk further on a steep path to reach the top and its spectacular views.

From there we traveled into the old part of the City and for a guided walk. When the bus returned to the ship, we remained behind to further explore the area. We walked along a broad esplanade next to the waterfront and found a sidewalk café for a light lunch and a beer or two (of course). After a couple of hours we returned to the ship in plenty of time before our 5:30pm departure for Barcelona.