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Torrevieja is one of the most important summer holiday spots in the province of Alicante, about 50 kilometres from the city of Alicante and making up what is known as the Costa Blanca in Spain. Torrevieja and the town of Pilar de la Horadada are in the southern tip, the last towns before you head into the province of Murcia.
When making holiday plans, if you are to arrive there by plane, the closest airport would be the one in Alicante called the Altet. It has great flight combinations with the rest of Europe, especially when flying in from England. It would only take you about half an hour at the most to get safely to your hotel if you have thought about a car hire. Look for the highway marked N-332 heading south and you are set.
There are some bus companies connecting Torrevieja with Alicante, Elche, Murcia and other towns and cities. There are even hotels which have the convenient service of picking up its guests. And if you are in a hurry or do not want to be bothered driving and wish to take in the lovely scenery, then a taxi would do you well.
In order to give directions, everyone referred to this town as where the old tower is and therefore in Spanish - Torrevieja, which when translated to English means ‘ an old tower’.
This swampy marsh area has been known for its high quality production of salt and one of the places frequently used to store the dried salt was in towers. There was one particular tower which was knocked down when this area was hit by an earthquake in 1829. Even nowadays, this whole area is constantly being shaken by earthquakes, one of the last ones was just a few months ago.
Although it is popular with visitors thanks to its beautiful beaches such as the Cura, the Locos or the Mata, it is also visited because it has become popular for its habaneras, Cuban music. One might think that it is quite strange that such faraway music has planted its roots so strongly in a little salt mining town in Spain. But there is a very reasonable explanation. Torrevieja carried on a constant flow of salt trading with Cuba and the sailors who did this route were spellbound by this lively music and wanted to share it with their home folks and brought it back here. As we can well see, it has been happily transmitted from one generation to another.
There is a fantastic international music festival of habaneras held annually at the end of July or the beginning of August. If you are in the area at this time of the year and wish further details, the Patronizer of the Competition ( Patronato Municipal del Certamen International de Habaneras ) can help you or look in the web.
When you leave Torrevieja on the highway marked C-332, you will be heading for the Natural park of the Lagoons of the Mata. To be sure you will be able to visit this paradise, it would be a good idea to get information and book a date because there is a maximum of 35 people allowed in at aany one time. The most interesting fauna are the birds like the stone curlew and in the winter there is a great concentration of the diving birds and important nucleus of storks, eagles and and avocets. On the other hand, the salt swamps export salt all over the world. But the best part of this excursion is when the sun reflects in these salt mountains. And if that was not enough, salt baths are also recommended for some types of illnesses such as arthritis and skin diseases having become quite popular in the 19th century.
If you still have time after sampling the activities described, it is easy and fun to make day excursions travelling up the Costa Blanca to visit Santa Pola on the outskirts of Alicante, then on to Benidorm with its fantastic theme parks of all kinds, Altea and Javea. Get the most out of your stay and travel.
| ©2005 Robert Carlton. All rights reserved. |
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