If you happen to be at one of the local markets (in Torrevieja, San Miguel or Playa Flamenca) and you see a person standing at the entrance with a clipboard, you will note they are offering “FREE” coach trips. This is not a gimmick and they are totally “FREE” to one of several destination’s, All you have to do is show up at one of the bus stops for the trip.
The stop I have used is the La Zenia bus stop as it is the closest for me. To make this trip worth while for the sponsor, everyone must spend
approximately one to one and one half hours at a mattress factory listening to them as they try to sell you some of their products. You don’t have to buy any thing just listen. Once this is finished you board the bus and it’s off to a predetermined destination, mine was Guadalest. After the factory bit, this is how the rest of the trip went, maybe not for everyone, but for me.
Guadalest, also known as The Eagles Nest, is located approximately 25 km from Altea. If you can find the River Guadalest and travel inland you will discover a wide valley that has been cut there by erosion over the centuries. Here you find a village perched precariously on the pinnacle of a mountain. The views here are great as are the ones driving up the mountain, that is if you like high places. As for me I was setting on the wrong side of the bus on my trip there and all I could see was straight down, not a lot of fun.. If I could, I would have walked and followed the river.
As you board the bus keep what I said in mind as to which side to set on. You start at the bottom, which is the best place to begin a journey, and then it’s upward through twisting roads. I must admit that the views are more than breathtaking and well worth the anxiety caused by the heights. As for me, my brother was setting next to me, I was in the window seat, and as time went on I was almost setting in his seat. As on my side it was straight down which scared the be-Jesus out of me, anyway we reached the village and the story begins.
The moors, while enjoying the view, decided that this would be a fantastic place to build a castle for the defence of the area. I wonder if they had the odd tourist back in those days? Maybe a weary
traveller looking for a place to stay and what better place than a castle.
The Moors built these castles to stay for all time which proved to be true as they have been bombarded through out history and they are still standing or at least part of them are. If you look up at the
mountain face there you will find the Penon de la Alcala, the old bell tower clinging to the edge. This is the image you will find on most post cards in the market.
If you have endured the trip up the mountain then the last part of the journey is the easiest. All you have to do is walk through a tunnel carved from the rock to reach the old village and it’s castle. When you first set foot in the ancient village automatically you are in another world of long, long ago. Here, along the cobbled streets, you will find shops, restaurants, lookout points.
Take the time to visit the museums here so that you can learn more about the history of the place. There are only 200 people that live here with no other visible means of support other than tourism. I wonder what they do when the last person is gone and the doors are shut and locked. If you are ever so quiet you can almost hear a Knight dawn his uniform and helmet, slide his sword into its sheath, saddle his trusty steed and prepare to do battle once again to protect his village and as the sun rises over the mountains he will once again transform himself into that mundane shop keeper ready to serve the general public. Only he will know where he has been and what he has done. Is this just another day out, or is it, I wonder.
It sounds like someone needs to make a booking for that free bus trip, but where to you say, there is only one place and that is Guadalest.
The stop I have used is the La Zenia bus stop as it is the closest for me. To make this trip worth while for the sponsor, everyone must spend
approximately one to one and one half hours at a mattress factory listening to them as they try to sell you some of their products. You don’t have to buy any thing just listen. Once this is finished you board the bus and it’s off to a predetermined destination, mine was Guadalest. After the factory bit, this is how the rest of the trip went, maybe not for everyone, but for me.
Guadalest, also known as The Eagles Nest, is located approximately 25 km from Altea. If you can find the River Guadalest and travel inland you will discover a wide valley that has been cut there by erosion over the centuries. Here you find a village perched precariously on the pinnacle of a mountain. The views here are great as are the ones driving up the mountain, that is if you like high places. As for me I was setting on the wrong side of the bus on my trip there and all I could see was straight down, not a lot of fun.. If I could, I would have walked and followed the river.
As you board the bus keep what I said in mind as to which side to set on. You start at the bottom, which is the best place to begin a journey, and then it’s upward through twisting roads. I must admit that the views are more than breathtaking and well worth the anxiety caused by the heights. As for me, my brother was setting next to me, I was in the window seat, and as time went on I was almost setting in his seat. As on my side it was straight down which scared the be-Jesus out of me, anyway we reached the village and the story begins.
The moors, while enjoying the view, decided that this would be a fantastic place to build a castle for the defence of the area. I wonder if they had the odd tourist back in those days? Maybe a weary
traveller looking for a place to stay and what better place than a castle.
The Moors built these castles to stay for all time which proved to be true as they have been bombarded through out history and they are still standing or at least part of them are. If you look up at the
mountain face there you will find the Penon de la Alcala, the old bell tower clinging to the edge. This is the image you will find on most post cards in the market.
If you have endured the trip up the mountain then the last part of the journey is the easiest. All you have to do is walk through a tunnel carved from the rock to reach the old village and it’s castle. When you first set foot in the ancient village automatically you are in another world of long, long ago. Here, along the cobbled streets, you will find shops, restaurants, lookout points.
Take the time to visit the museums here so that you can learn more about the history of the place. There are only 200 people that live here with no other visible means of support other than tourism. I wonder what they do when the last person is gone and the doors are shut and locked. If you are ever so quiet you can almost hear a Knight dawn his uniform and helmet, slide his sword into its sheath, saddle his trusty steed and prepare to do battle once again to protect his village and as the sun rises over the mountains he will once again transform himself into that mundane shop keeper ready to serve the general public. Only he will know where he has been and what he has done. Is this just another day out, or is it, I wonder.
It sounds like someone needs to make a booking for that free bus trip, but where to you say, there is only one place and that is Guadalest.
