Travel tips: Pueblos pequeños españa


Along the Costa Blanca are the cities of Valencia, Alicante and a host of little towns quite popular in tourism. Arranging your own day trips is easy with the bus or train, inland or along the coast. From Alicante, south my first trip was to Torrevieja as I had a friend there who had a house.  It's a tiny place and like all small towns, has a palm tree boulevard along the coast.  Interesting on the way were the Mata salt lakes. I didn't stop as the Flamingo breeding season here is only end Feb but along the sides of the road you can see heaps of salt, which are sold to Northern Europe to lay on winter roads to stop sliding. Spain only needs it, perhaps in the northern region. 
                                             
Guadalest above, Torrevieja below 
                                           

Torrevieja is a place for retirees who do not
want to live in the city.  It’s small with a few shops, many suburban villas outside the Centre and has of course a church and tower (torre). 



                                        
                 
               En route to Torrevieja   Mata Salt lakes 

There is a small little sleepy town before Torrevieja with many locals called Guardamar. It has a botanical garden park with peacocks and livestock running around. It's perfectly shaded with pools and ducks against hot Spanish summers. 

. I also went to Crevillente which is really inland, again to friends who had hired a house for winter.  The place is tiny and suburban but does have a little train station.


North of Benidorm, other direction now, about 1.5 hrs from Alicante is a small place called Altea which has a church on the hill with Blue domes, looking pretty against all the white Spanish housing. 


Altea church is at the top of hill so walkin g up and down is worth it to see all the lovely Spanish white homes on the hill’s winding streets. 
The beach in Altea is bottom right 
Here the city from a distance. 

Inland and north of Benidorm is Guadalest and that is absolutely a must to go and see.  It's a charming tiny village with a mini-castle and monastery upon rocked hills.  The drive is through the Estralla mountain range and quite spectacular.  Once in Guadalest the walk or hike (whichever you prefer) is to see the lake at the bottom on the mountains on the other side.  Really pretty. 



                             Walking up to the castle 

                Past shops and lovely flora and fauna



  The view from the top and the square clock on the square
   There is also a primary school next to the monastery



                      In the village below the castle

  Beautiful contoured landscape with luscious vegetation in parts



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