Ayuntamiento (town hall) with sliver of Santa Barbara castle
1893 ceramic business sign
Ornate door with plays of shadow and light
Statue on top floor of building
Charming house
Old town buildings with original materials and signature blue decorations
Decorative historic door
Architecturally interesting building
Old door
Jijona (Xixona)
Another great day trip in the Costa Blanca area of Spain is a day in Jijona, a short drive in the hills northwest of Alicante. Jijona, also known in Valenciano as Xixona, is famous for its Turrón, an almond-based nougat.
Turrón is particularly popular at Christmas time in Spain. Jijona has a yearly four-day Christmas festival, which obviously features turrón, along with other Christmas- and winter-oriented gifts, like hats, scarfs, toys and more.
Jijona Christmas festival
Turrón is typically made from finely ground almonds, egg whites, honey and sugar. It comes in a variety of textures and forms. There is one with a soft paste-like consistency, which, to me, had a gritty, not pleasing texture. There are soft and hard turrón bars, with pieces of almonds. I saw chocolate-flavored turrón, turrón-flavored gins and liqueurs, and many other non-traditional additions. Samples are generously provided from the Christmas parade of wooden stands located in the central market. There are also other Christmas-related exhibits, and food/tapas booths with adjacent seating where people can rest their feet, and enjoy a snack and beverage.
Turrón samples readied for festival go-ers
The Moors brought almond farming and turrón to Spain during their occupation of the area. During the 16th century, King Felipe II praised turrón, which increased its popularity. Historically, there were a few main families who dominated the turrón market. These decaying family mansions feature beautiful architecture and are visible on one of the main streets in Jijona: Monerris Planelles family home, Rovira family home, and Aracil family home. Only turrón made in Jijona and Alicante can receive the official seal of authenticity, “Consejo Regulador de Jijona y Turrón de Alicante.” There are tours available at the turrón museum and factory. Several other areas have a similar type of nougat like turrón, including Catalonia (Spain), France and Sicily.
Snow well
There are other interesting things to see in Jijona including historical churches and a convent, the remains of a castle (destroyed in the Spanish War of Succession), “and snow wells” (thick walled round buildings located in the cool Carrasqueta mountain range which came into use in the 18th century to store snow for making ice cream.) In August, there is a Moros y Cristianos festival, which are very popular in the province of Alicante. Parking is typically a fair distance from the touristic areas, but are well-marked and on an easy, gradual incline.
Although smoking is not allowed indoors, it doesn’t count if you light up while heading for the door.![IMG_0398[1]](https://starrtreks.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/img_03981.jpg)
Cups that can be used to serve food such as allioli (Spanish version of aioli) or can be an ashtray. I’m not kidding. See the four protrusions on top designed for putting cigarettes when vessel is empty.
Moros
“The taxi driver wouldn’t follow the directions you provided. He said, ‘Moros y Cristianos’ and ‘impossible,’ then stopped, unloaded our luggage and told us to get out. We don’t know where we are.” This was the first comment from my friend who had just arrived in Altea from California. In addition, the WhatsApp wouldn’t work for her, so I hadn’t gotten any of her prior calls. Having not heard from them at the expected arrival time, I then called her via regular (expensive) international mobile rates, which is when I received her panicked statement.
Camels with Moros
In anticipation of the arrival of my two girl friends from California, I fretted over possible, or should I say probable, problems with the cab driver getting to my apartment during the annual Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christian) festival. This was not my first problematic experience with Spanish cab drivers. My fear was realized, in spite of spending several days providing a map and writing out the directions in Spanish (and English so my friends could see if he was going the right way.) At the beginning of the directions was the admonition in Spanish (which my friend read aloud) not to go the usual way due to the Moros y Cristianos festival. In response, he simply entered my address into his guidance system, and drove to the starting spot of the parade, at which point he dropped them off on the highway (Carretera 332) that runs through Altea.
Christian fila party across from my apartment
After eventually figuring out where they were, I found them near the start of the Moros y Cristianos parade route. With luggage in tow, we then proceeded to the seats on the parade route a local friend had saved for us. Although I had told them they would be in Altea during the Moros y Cristianos festival, they had no idea of the magnitude and pageantry of it. The festival commemorates the Christians reconquering the areas of Spain that had been conquered earlier by the Moors.
King in the procession to the church plaza from my window
Nor did they anticipate the incredible level of noise associated with most festivals in Spain. In the early morning, there is the despierta (wake-up) when the local filas (brotherhoods) proceed up the hill toward the church plaza while their respective brass bands play and others fire noise-making guns and firecrackers, all the while drinking and smoking. (Having attended the festival for two years, I have only seen one Muslim participate.) Throughout the day, the many filas have parties at their individual sites, with food, alcohol and music. The fila Moros across the street from my balcony, Els Malvins, have a fabulous group of musicians, which I am privileged to enjoy without having to leave my home. In addition, there are many other adjunctive activities such as midnight fireworks, re-enactment of battles between the two groups,
Solemn religious procession
The festival culminates with evening parades, first the Moros, the next day a solemn religious procession, and finally the Christians. After those parades, the filas return to their home sites where they continue to party until the early hours of the morning. In addition, there are live music/dance venues that start after midnight and go for many hours. I don’t know how they can stay awake that long, let alone, party that intensely. Tellingly, on the day after the festival ends, almost all of the local businesses are closed, apparently for recuperation and clean up.
Quail with apple slices, grapes fruit compote
My friends were thrilled with the Moros y Cristianos festival, as well as many other aspects of Spain, including the friendly international locals, the many varieties of activities, day trips to other towns, fabulous food and the ambience of beautiful Altea.
Enjoying Xiringuito Ton-Tin with Sandie Sheppard
With so many interesting places and events here on the Costa Blanca in Spain, I have decided to start taking short trips to some of these spots. Serendipitously, I met a woman at a local jazz fusion concert, who also is a live music fan. While we shared a table, I was expressing my frustration about the difficulty finding information on the internet about live music venues. She then volunteered that she knew several live music venues and offered to send me the information.
Xiringuito Ton-Tin in El Campello, just north of Alicante, was one of the locations she recommended. During July and August, they offered daily performances every evening. The day we went the saxophone and trumpet players were featuring jazz, soul, bossa nova, and swing. The two musicians were fantastic. A few people danced, but at other events there seem to be far more dancers. Xiringuito Ton-Tin features a wide variety of music genres, and will continue to have live performances in September. It is located on the beach, with the seats and tables and large globe-shaped white lamps, all situated on the sand, which we loved. For those unfamiliar, Xiringuito, also spelled chiringuito, is typically a small beachside business where one can get beverages and snacks. Many times they are only seasonal summer spots. Xiringuito Ton-Tin regularly posts their calendar of events and video excerpts of concerts. Reservations are recommended as many tables were booked in advance.
Pepper at a concert
To get there, we took the tram from Altea to El Campello, which took a little over an hour. I brought my little dog in a wheelie back-back, although I have gotten inconsistent information on whether pets are allowed, so I just placed the backpack in a position between my legs where no one could see what was inside. When we arrived, we ate at a local restaurant across the street from the ocean, and a very short distance from the tram station from which we exited. I only booked the trip the day before we left, yet still managed to find a reasonably-priced hotel that was pet-friendly in nearby San Joan d’Alacant. It was a bit too far for us to walk, so we took cabs to the hotel. A couple of times, the drivers appeared to be taking a circuitous route, which unnecessarily added to the fare, but I wasn’t familiar enough with the area to give directions.
The next morning, we took a cab to another area of El Campello, including a busy, active beach area. It offered numerous cafes and restaurants, a variety of water sports including an inflatable floating gym for kids. In the heart of central El Campello, there were some quality eateries for very reasonable prices, and interesting stores if you enjoy shopping (which I don’t.) We headed back to Altea mid-afternoon. This was a very economical trip, even with all of the activities, food and beverages. I am looking forward to my next Costa Blanca adventure.
Have you had any memorable short trips?
Summer in Altea’s Casco Antiguo with craft booths
While Altea (Spain) always has many entertaining activities, summer brings additional fun offerings. Ever a music fan, I appreciate the variety of city-sponsored live bands playing at various outdoor venues, including 40’s style Big Band, jazz fusion with a Mohawk-sporting accordion and keyboard player, flamenco, regional (Valenciano) folk music, to mention a few. I also went to a rock jam session held on Sunday afternoon at a local tram station, which had an eclectic, inviting atmosphere.
One of the 60 mural paintings hanging from balconies in Altea’s Casco Antigua
In Altea’s hilltop Casco Antiquo, (Old Town), the church plaza and the walkway to it, which are sparsely filled during the winter months (as exemplified my Facebook cover photo), are now packed with throngs of visitors and locals. This month in Casco Antiguo there are a display of 60 painted murals by different artists which hang off balconies, hence named Balconades d’Altea. Also during the summer in Casco Antiguo, there are many artisan craft booths featuring various types of original art, jewelry, leather and more. Most restaurants in Casco Antiguo are open for the summer season, with many types of cuisine available such as Spanish, French, Italian, and other ethnic cuisines.
L’Olla fireworks
In June, we had the San Joan (Valenciano) for St. John festival, which features water-inspired activities, including parades and midnight bonfires at the beach, which normally are prohibited. Another popular summer beach activity is the spectacular firework display, Castell de l’Olla, over the Mediterranean. People head down to the beach with beverages and/or picnics for the midnight show, which this year lasted over 30 minutes. Alternatively, people may watch the show from the comfort of their balconies or terraces, as I did, or a café in Casco Antiguo’s plaza.
During the summer, many people enjoy going to temporary, seasonal chiringuitos, beachside bars/restaurants, which offer full service food and beverages with tables, and shade, if desired. I recently went to bonavida, a great chiringuito on the beach where I love their fried fish and seafood plate. (I recently posted a short video from it on my Facebook.) On many of the beach areas, there are lounge beach chairs and umbrellas available for rent.
One of the water sports marinas in Altea
There are many water sports available with a number of seaside businesses offering such activities as snorkeling, diving, kayaking, boat rental, sailing lessons, fishing, kitesurfing, and more. I love snorkeling, and every Christmas school vacation, I took my three sons to warm spots with good snorkeling, such Australia, Belize, Hawaii, Mexico, and various Caribbean islands. The Mediterranean in Altea is warmest in July and August, reaching 25C/80F degrees. For me, that is an ideal snorkeling temperature, so I scheduled a boat snorkeling tour this past week. It was postponed due to unusual rain, so I went the following day. The water was not as clear as I was hoping and the sea life not as vibrant to those which I am used to, but it may have partially been due to the recent rain. I enjoyed it anyway. There are also places to snorkel right off the beach without a boat. The dive center from which I took my snorkeling trip was located at Greenwich Marina/ Pueblo Mascarat. It was my first visit there, and I discovered new restaurants, and live music venues, including one, Macao, with outdoor lounge seating, which I plan to soon attend.
In the towns adjacent or near Altea, there are also many activities. This week-end there is the three day Festes de L’Albir, (Fiesta of Albir) with a car parade, children’s activities, food and beverage stand, music, games, and walk to the iconic lighthouse. Several bars in the Albir beach area offer live music, including soul, Latin, rock, comedy to name a few. Bar Cuba is one of my favorite spots, which offers complimentary bachata or other types of Latin dancing at 2000 on Saturday evening, and live Latin music for dancing Saturday and Sunday evening. They also feature other dance lessons throughout the week such as kizomba, salsa, line dance, and mambo for a nominal fee. I enjoy the instructive and professional complimentary bachata
Salsa class at Bar Cuba with Ray
lessons with Andres Ledesma so much, I took some small class private lessons with him.
What are your favorite summertime activities?
When my youngest son was visiting for the summer, we took a trip to nearby Valencia, the third largest city and Spain and the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia (Comunitat Valenciana, in the local Valenciana dialect.) Valencia was founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC, and has historical ruins from the Roman and Arab occupations. I will be sharing some writings regarding our adventures there and other interesting nearby towns. But now, I want to share the visual delights of Valencia, from the beautiful historic buildings, the Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange, built between 1482 and 1548, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the mind-boggling architecture of the City of Arts and Sciences designed in part by native-born Santiago Calatrava, and, of course, street entertainers, and food at restaurants and in the famous Mercat Central (Valenciana for Central Market.)
City of Arts and Sciences
City of Arts and Sciences
One of a number of exhibits at the City of Arts and Sciences
Ceiling of La Lonja de la Seda, originally painted blue with gold stars
External window at La Lonja de la Seda with view of internal stained glass
Valencia Central Market
Inside the Central Market
Yummy offal
Spectacular array of vegetables
Delicious whole calamari
Jamon bellota at the venerable Casa Vela, since 1908
My journey around the world
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