We took a bit more time to get from Gibraltar to our next port of Alicante, Spain. By 10 AM we were starting to see signs of land.
As we sailed into the harbor, we could see the fortress of Santa Barbara looming over the city.
A reproduction of the Spanish ship of the line Santa Trinidad is anchored in Alicante Harbor. The original Santa Trinidad was the Spanish flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Sarah, Dave, and the kids took an elevator ride up to the top of the hill to visit the fortress. We elected to explore the town.
The authorities offered a free shuttle bus from the port into town, but when we got off the ship there was a long lineup and no bus in sight. We decided to walk along the seawall into Alicante. This gave me the opportunity to get some good photos of the ship and the surrounding area.
At the end of the jetty was an elevated walkway which gave us a good view of the castle, the beach and the clear waters of the Mediterranean.
Looking back across the harbor to the ship. It took about 20 minutes to walk over to the entrance to the old city.
Once we reached the port entrance and crossed a busy seaside avenue, we found ourselves on the Explanada de Espana – as beautiful a pedestrian walk as I’ve seen in Spain.
About six million tiles make the trompe l’oeil wavy footpath.
We turned up one of the Ramblas leading off the Explanada. This guy appears to be eating alone – or maybe just drinking.
Soon we came to the austere entrance of the co-cathedral of St Nicholas.
It was quite lovely on the inside, however. It’s Baroque in design – early 1600s.
The church was very well lit – unlike some Spanish ones we’ve been in.
No doubt the dome helps with the lighting. On the outside it’s a beautiful light blue color.
Back on the Rambla we discovered lots of little squares with flowers blooming.
We headed over towards the fortress through the old town. There seemed to be no shortage of bars and Tapas spots.
Eventually, we found ourselves at the gothic church of Santa Maria. The oldest in Alicante, Santa Maria dates to the 1300s and was built on top of a mosque. It had to be rebuilt in the 1600s after a fire – hence the baroque entrance. Unfortunately, the church was closed so we couldn’t look inside – maybe next time.
Santa Maria has two asymmetrical towers. The right-hand one is from the 1300s. The left-hand one with the clock dates from the rebuild in the 1600s.
We headed back down the hill and soon found ourselves back at the Explanada – time for a little souvenir shopping.
Then it was time to head back to the ship. We could see it over past the yacht harbor. We decided to grab the shuttle bus back as our feet were getting a bit tired.
So ended our interesting day in elegant Alicante. Another port awaits us tomorrow.