Port of Call - Alicante, Spain

When your feet hurt and your legs feel like water and your knees are screaming to stop, you look for a comfortable way to explore a port. We had walked so much the day before in Barcelona that my feet throbbed in protest before we even got off of the ship to begin our look at Alicante. There was no argument. All of us agreed it was time to take the HOHO (Hop On Hop Off) Bus.

We were off the ship somewhat early so when we got to the fort, Castillo de Santa Barbara, at the top of the hill overlooking the city of Alicante it was not yet terribly crowded with tour buses yet. It didn’t take long to discover that only a certain number of buses could come up at a time. There was a small turnaround area that barely accommodated a large bus to turn around. Three marked parking spaces, one reserved for the HOHO bus were there. Tour buses were only allowed so much time there before the security man in charge would make them move. He was stationed high above the road that wound its way up and would signal from the turn around area to the bus next in line below at a wider spot in the road when it could make its way up as another left to travel down. It was quite a coordinated effort at traffic control.

The fort, which dates back to the ninth century,  was an interesting place to explore and had several levels all of which afforded gorgeous views of the hillsides and town below. Since we weren’t on a tour, we took our good old time walking around. There was an elevator that actually came from the bottom of the hill below at the street level. We waited a few minutes to catch one at level two where the bus had brought us to travel to the top. 

The views really were spectacular and I snapped off several shots. I noticed a round amphitheater, or so I thought and took a picture of it. If the bus went by it and explained what it was I would have a picture from above. I was thinking it was some sort of restored Roman theater. Turned out it was a bull ring! 

When we were done with our exploring, we waited near the bus turnaround for our HOHO ride down. It was getting busier and the security man had his hands full between people and vehicles as now there were also a lot of taxis coming up as well.

 

When our HOHO arrived, we got on and toured the rest of city. At a couple of stops before the one near the ship, Bob and I got off and crossed the street to the promenade and park, the Explanada de Espana, that ran down the middle of the street bordering the water. 

It is a beautiful promenade with palm trees lining it and a wavy pattern of marbled tiles. A few vendors were present but mostly it was people just out enjoying the sunshine and pleasant atmosphere.

As we neared the marina and the cruise dock, we found a fancy Spanish galleon that looked to be a floating bar or restaurant. There was also an “outlet” mall of tented vendors selling all sorts of things. We looked around a bit mostly out of curiosity and then headed back to the ship. It was time for lunch and a little relaxing.

 

Three ports down and two more to go before another sea day. I was going to need a sea day to recuperate.