Out And Around Calpe In Spain

S ome called it Calpe              in Spain together with the         meaning steep rugged hill       Columbretes Islands in Castellon.  made of rock, the               It was declared a Natural Park in  Phoenicians called it Ifach which     1987 because its 300 varieties of  meant north. So the whole town of     vegetation and colonies of birds   Calpe was referred to as the          needed protection from the         north craggy rock, having             expansion that this small fishing  Gibraltar as the south reference.     village was undergoing at an       Calpe, which is north of Altea        incredible speed. It measures      and south of Denia, is an ideal       about 35 hectares and has a        vacation spot on the Costa Blanca     botanical, landscape and tectonic  on the Mediterranean Sea in           interest. The swift or martin      Spain. Going back as far as 1935,     birds together with the silver     Calpe took advantage of its           seagull and plants not found       privileged coastal location and       anywhere else are closely          inaugurated its first hotel in        protected because some of these    the town where some well-known        were about to be become extinct.   celebrities such as Hemingway         Not everyone may feel capable of   once stayed.                          climbing this fascinating rock     "                                     formation, but from the top, the   A closer look at Calpe and the     panoramic view of the Costa        Penon                             Blanca is unforgettable. You can   "                                     zig-zag your way up, changing      As mentioned earlier, Calpe's         direction and passing through a    main attraction is not its town       tunnel which was built in 1918.    nor even its beautiful soft sandy     Even though it is free, during     beaches but the tall craggy rock      the summer season and Easter       formation called the Penon de         week, you have to get a ticket     Ifach. It is hard to believe, but     because there is a limit of about  this is the smallest natural park     50 people who can go up every      hour. If mountain climbing has        limited budget, economical         always been on your list of           hostels which could cost about 45  something impossible to do, then      euros, one which is about 80       you will have to cross it off         euros right at the foot of the     once you have done this               Penon, and hotels up to about 150  marvellous experience.                euros right in front of the        "                                     beach.                             To, From and staying in                                               Calpe                             As in all shore areas, the         "                                     seafood is usually quite fresh,    If you have planned on doing a        but here in Calpe (                car hire, and have decided to         http://www.alicante-spain.com/cal  catch a flight to the Valencia        pe.html ) the restaurants at the   airport in Manises, then you have     harbour offer their goods openly   about a 105 kilometres drive to       to their clients for them to       Calpe. Or if your flight has          personally choose which piece      taken you to the Alicante             they prefer. It seems like a food  airport, then you are only about      auction because the waiters are    61 kilometres away. Either way,       out on the promenade and when the  you can take the National Highway     people pass by, they offer them a  N-332 which is free or the A-7        morsel to try and some sangria to  Pay Highway which is quicker and      lure them into their restaurant.   safer, especially in the summer       The most typical dish is the       season. There are also buses from     â€˜Arros de Senyoret' ( a fish     either of the airports.               stew with rice) or the LLauna de                                         Calpe ( an old fishermen's recipe  As in all tourist areas, there        of different types of fish,        are many types of lodgings to         garlic, tomatoes, parsely, red     choose from. There are campings       pepper and saffron). The paella    for the nature lovers or on a         is always on the menu, too.        "                                     Natura where you can visit with    Things and interesting places      all kinds of animals and have a    around Calpe                      splash on the water shoots or      "                                     Mundomar Marine Animal Park where  Either with your car, by bus or       you can see, smell and even touch  train, you should not let the         animals you had only seen on t.v.  opportunity to visit other cities     or in books. Whether you only      like Benidorm, Torrevieja or          stay in Calpe or you venture       Alicante pass you by. Benidorm is     away, the Costa Blanca has         fun city with an incredible list      everything you have ever dreamt    of theme parks like Terra Mitica      of.                                with fun rides and shows, Terra        About the Author: Robert Carlton writes many articles for the internet site http://www.alicante-spain.com . Within his publication he is working on topics such as cities around the Costa Blanca and Spain. Source: www.isnare.com