Calpe is a great place to visit. It has a wonderful mixture of Valencian culture and modern tourist facilities.
We certainly wasn’t the only motor homers visiting Calpe. In fact we have not seen so many motorhomes on the road, so it was no surprise when we arrived at a campsite to be told they only had one pitch available and it was a small pitch. So it was a bit of a squeeze and at 28 euros per night, we really could not justify staying longer than a couple of days.
Our initial plan was to walk the dogs up the Rock of Ifach. We started talking to another couple who told us that it was a tough climb and no good if you don’t like heights as the paths are not for novice climbers. So we decided against it.
The beaches are stunning and it is no wonder it carries the blue flag award.
So we walked the dogs around the salt lakes, along the promenade and even managed to find a dog park. We walked over 6 miles so the dogs were very happy.
As we walked to the old town in the evening to watch the Three Kings Parade the sun was just setting.
The Three Kings Parade is the oldest parade and has been held since 1885. The parade is held usually on the 5th January every year prior to the Epiphany on the 6th January.
Children in Spain get very excited about the Three Kings arriving as this is the Spanish equivalent to our Christmas eve. During the parade sweets are thrown from the floats for the children to collect. There was a fantastic carnival atmosphere and a real excitement in the air.
The parade finished and everyone headed up to the church in the ancient centre which is known as Iglesia Vieja. This church is the only remaining example of Mudejar-Gothic architecture within Valencia. Unfortunately, it was just too busy for us to be able to take a photograph.
We decided to stop and have a meal out, we found an Argentinian restaurant. Colin had the biggest steak either of us had ever seen and I had a lovely plate of char grilled vegetables.
So a wonderful time was had in Calpe but time to move down the coast a little further and check out Benidorm.
