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 obviously doesn't need it, except perhaps maybe in the north above Barcelona, San Sebastian and Bilboa region.  

                                                

Guadalest above, Torrevieja below 

                                           

Torrevieja is a place for retirees who do not

want to live in the city.  

                                        

                             M    Mata Salt lakes 

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

North of Benidorm is a small place called Altea which has a church on a hill, unfortunately under restoration with some cute this hilly Spanish streets to walk, many houses adorned in Bouganvillea and other tropical flowers. 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.

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