From Barcelona we sailed south to the city of Alicante where, sadly, we had our most disappointing excursion.
The weather was perfect and we had selected the excursion described as, “A Panoramic Tour of the City.” According to some, Alicante – the “best place on earth” – does not take its name from its former Islamic title (Al-Laqant), but from a beautiful Arabic princess whose father was the commander of the Muslim medina. He and his daughter lived in the impressive fortress of Benacantil (today, the Castillo de Santa Bárbara).
We boarded the bus on the pier and drove along the harbour. At the far end there was a model of a large yacht advertising the Triennial Ocean Boat Race. This is held every 3 years, always leaving from Alicante, with the previous race having been held in 2023. It is considered to be one of the three great events in the world of sport, along with the Olympic Games and the America’s Cup. Behind the yacht was the race museum.
From this point, where our guide first began giving some information, we discovered that he had very poor grip on the English language. It was not his accent, but the lack of words which made it very difficult to understand him. Added to which, he could not understand us when we asked questions. He also had just 3 favourite topics – the boat race, Alicante’s 3 beaches and the annual pilgrimage.
As we turned into the road along the beachfront road he told us of the 3 beaches within Alicante City. The first one which we passed was Postiguet Beach which was located right in the city at foot of the 9th century Santa Barbara Castle. This beach is 70m long and 40m wide, perfect for relaxation and fun and especially popular with families. It had a beautiful promenade, lined with Palm Trees on one side and shops and cafes on the other. We were told that it has a striking sculpture of a woman with rounded shapes. I say ‘we were told’ because we stayed on the bus except for a brief stop at the Playa de San Juan (Sant Joan Beach) and then near the end when we had a drink at a coffee shop. This meant that taking phot0s was either not possible or did not yield very good results.
We continued along the road and saw some of the 12 crosses which made up the Stations of the Cross and were important at the time of the annual pilgrimage. This is held on the 2nd Thursday after Maundy Thursday which is the day before Good Friday. It is open to anyone who wishes to take part, tourists and locals, Roman Catholics and anyone else. The procession starts at the Co-cathedral of San Nicolás in Alicante and continues to the Santa Faz Monastery. The history behind the Pilgrimage is very interesting.
Legend has it that a cloth, with the face of Jesus on it and thus known as the Holy Face of Alicante, is kept in a small niche in the Santa Faz Monastery and is the one which Veronica used to wipe Jesus’ face as he carried His Cross to Calvary. It is believed that the cloth was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in 640AD when the Christians were being persecuted in Jerusalem. 800 years later, the sons of Emperor Constantine XI offered it to the Pope along with other relics. A Priest from Rome, Pedro de Mena, is believed to have brought it to Alicante in the late 15th Century where it has remained ever since. It is taken out at this great Pilgrimage each year.
A number of supernatural events linked to the cloth have been passed down through the generations but the one, for which knowledge of the supernatural events that in Alicante are attributed to the Holy Face of Jesus on this cloth, have been passed down from generation to generation. It is said that on 17 March, 1489, at the height of a terrible drought, a procession from San Juan to Alicante took place in order to beg God for much-needed water. As the story goes, when the procession came to the Lloixa ravine – where Alicante’s Santa Faz Monastery currently stands – the priest holding the cloth felt a great weight on his arms and those in attendance witnessed a tear appear in the right eye of the Holy Face which ran all the way down its cheek. The procession stopped but resumed a week later when another miracle occurred and the rain came down.
We continued on our way and came to the largest beach called Playa de San Juan (Sant Joan Beach) which is to the north of the city. It is 85m wide and continues for 3kms in length, within the parameters of Alicante. The next 3kms were in the next city of El Campello. We stopped here for just 10 minutes to get an opportunity to see the 20 volleyball courts and the climbing rope for children. I asked our guide if a lot of volleyball was played here but he didn’t know or didn’t understand my question. Again, he told us that, like Postiguet Beach, there were restaurants, cafes and bronzes but that they were further up the beach. So disappointing not to be able to go another kilometre or two.
We reboarded the bus and drove around the area of the Santa Faz Monastery which also has a surrounding of tall Palm Trees. Across the road is a lovely park with a lot of play equipment where many people, who had taken part in the procession, enjoy their lunch. The Monastery was established in the 16th century after a farmer had, in 1489, said that he had seen Christ’s face on a tile. Over the centuries, the Santa Faz Monastery underwent several expansions and renovations, resulting in a harmonious blend of architectural styles, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. The exterior is decorated with carvings and arches and a majestic dome. Inside, there are beautiful frescoes and stained-glass windows as well as elaborate altars.
From there we went to a small shop in the centre of a long row of shops and restaurants. We were each given a glass of the speciality drink of the area. It was the paving, made up of 6 million tiles, was the main attraction for many of us. It was designed in the Calçada Portuguesa: the art of Portuguese paving. This design looks like waves and yet it is perfectly flat. Standing on this paving was a large model of a Panda Bear.
On the way we saw what looked like an old fortress surrounded by a wall. People were walking down beside the wall. Our guide never said anything about this building but, in preparation for this blog, I discovered that it is the Santa Barbara Castle.
Except for an elderly lady and myself, the group went for a walk around the area for about half an hour where they walked through some of the city streets and came across a square called Plaza De Los Luceros. Within the square was a most beautiful fountain with carvings and sculpting.
Then, without informing the 2 of us who were waiting at the cafe, returned to the bus by a different route. Trevor and the lady’s daughter came to fetch us but, by the time we had walked to where we were to meet the bus, it had left. We learnt later that the guide said that he had to get back to the ship and left us to take a taxi, without concern that 2 of us had difficulty walking.
