Category Archives: Spain

Spain

The Castle of Denia

We decided to take a walk up the hill to the Castell de Denia.

Road to the castle of Denia

The road was on a slight slope but the walk was fairly easy and enjoyable.

Road leading to the Castle of Denia

We reached the top of the road where the entrance of the castle is located.

Ray at the entrance of the Castle of Denia

The archway to the entrance is in a traditional Islamic period. It was built between the 11th and 12th century. The archway was covered for approximately 20 feet with a stone walkway.

Islamic design archway of the Castle of Denia

The castle also functions as an archaeological museum. We went into the museum section at a cost of 3 euros each. The museum had several interesting displays of Roman artifacts.

Display of artifacts in the museum

The castle had a spiral staircase to the top of a tower with a lookout over the entire area.

Shelley and Felipe on the spiral staircase leading to the tower

The view from the tower lookout was beautiful. We could see the entire region and coastline.

View from the tower of the castle

After touring the tower we walked through the castle working our way to another elevated area.

walkways inside the castle walls

We reached a doorway which opened up into another area of the castle. We walked through and came to a flat area which contained a large courtyard and lookout.

Doorway leading to another level of the castle
Courtyard and lookout area in castle

In the courtyard there were several cannons located at strategically  points.

Ray at the lookout of the castle
Cannon located on lookout point of the castle

The views from there were spectacular, with almost a complete 360 degree vista. We walked around the castle admiring the views.

Shelley walking along the castle admiring the views.
View from the castle walls

The tour of the Castle of Denia was well worth the visit. We enjoyed walking through the castle and looking at the great views from the castle walls.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Denia, Spain

We went to Denia to explore this town, with a population of approximately 41,000. It is about a one hour drive away along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  We arrived in Denia by mid morning and began walking through the streets of the small coastal town.

Streets of Denia

We came across the central market and went in to check it out.

Inside the market in Denia

There were some interesting items and goodies for sale.

Hand weaved baskets for sale at the market

There was a sweet made with pumpkin and other ingredients that was quite unique.

Sweets made with pumpkin and other ingredients

Felipe and Ray couldn’t resist trying a few of the local sweets.

Felipe and Ray sampling some of the sweets in the market

After exploring the market we walked into the old quarter and headed towards the castle. We stopped off at the tourist information centre to get some information. We took the opportunity for a selfie in front of the base of the castle de Denia.

Shelley and Ray at the base of the Castle in Denia

We continued our walk admiring the streets of Denia.

Street in Denia

We eventually came to the main square in Denia with the City Hall or “ayuntamiento” in Spanish.

The “ayuntamiento” of Denia

The main square was large with a beautiful church on one side.

Church in the main square of Denia
Church in the main square of Denia

We explored the area of the square and came across two pillars from the Roman era.

Ray standing between two Roman pillars in Denia

We enjoyed walking the streets of Denia and decided to take a break before heading up to see the castle of Denia.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

A costal ride to Santa Pola

Felipe and Ray went for a drive to explore some of the area around Alicante. We went along the coastline towards the town of Santa Pola. Along the way we came to a small church which looked like something out of an old western movie. We decided to stop and check it out.

small traditional church on side road near Santa Pola
Felipe and Ray at the small church

The scenery along the coastline was great, with nice views of the Mediterranean Sea. There were bluffs of Santa Pola on one side and the view of the sea on the other. We could see in the distance the lookout near the lighthouse.

The Lookout of Santa Pola above the bluffs

We decided to go and explore the lookout and lighthouse of Santa Pola, which is called “Faro Cabo De Santa Pola”. The road to the lighthouse was long and narrow  with numerous potholes.

Road to lighthouse and lookout of Santa Pola.

There was a raised metal platform that went slightly over the edge of the bluff.

The metal platform overlooking the Mediterranean Sea

The view from the lookout was truly breathtaking with a great view of the island of Tabarca and the coastline of the entire region.

View of the Mediterranean Sea and Tabarca Island
Ray with view of the region of Alicante coastline

The views along the coast were beautiful with almost an amazing view around every curve.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

A true Spanish meal

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Ray and Felipe went to a small traditional Spanish restaurant called “To Bar”. The restaurant is in an old house which was transformed into a restaurant.

The owner “Geroni”, who knew Felipe, met us at the door and welcomed us into the restaurant. We sat down at the table and ordered the meal of the day. There was a loaf of bread on the table as well as a “Spanish Porron” with red wine.

A traditional Spanish Wine decanter called a “Porron”
Ray ready to enjoy the meal of the day
Felipe ready for the meal of the day

They began bringing out different tapas to our table.

Salad with bread slivers
Pineapple with a sweet sauce and octapuss
Pastry base with fish and greens

They also brought us a unique tapa which was in a bowl and had a herb burning in the sauce.

Tapa with burning herbs in sauce

This tapa was extremely tasty and the sauce was very good. The owner then brought us the main course which was a seafood mix.

Sea food main dish
Chocolate mouse dessert

After enjoying the meal the owner came and chatted with us for a while. He brought us a complimentary after dinner Spanish traditional drink.

After dinner Spanish drink

We paid our bill which was very inexpensive for the quality and quantity of food we had. It was a fantastic meal and a great experience.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Making Goat Cheese

On Sunday we went to a small mountain town of Tibi about 30 kilometers from Alicante.

View of the main street in the Town of Tibi, Spain

There is a goat cheese store and small factory located in the town called “Quesería Del Valle De Tibi”. We arrived at the store to learn about goat cheese and how it is made.

Store front of the “Queseria Del Valle De Tibi”

We were met by one of the owners Lilian who brought us into the “factory” part of the building. They had a table set up with a sampling of several different types of goat cheese, goat milk, bread and wine.  Lilian explained how the goats are tested yearly to ensure they are safe from outside diseases etc. This allows them to make cheese with unpasteurized milk from their goats.

Lilian at the table with different goat cheeses and goats milk.

We began our sampling by having some unpasteurized goats milk. It was fresh from the goats that morning.

Pot with fresh unpasteurized goats milk

The goat’s milk was surprising tasty and very creamy.

Ray sampling the fresh goat’s milk

After trying the goat’s milk, we sampled several different goat cheeses. One cheese was only a week old and others were up to one year old. Each one had a unique flavour and tasted different when sampling with the wine.

Shelley and Ray sampling different oat cheeses

Lilian then explained and demonstrated the making of the goat cheese. We watched her as she made some cheese in the stainless steel container she uses for the process.

Lillian demonstrating the making of goat cheese
filter screen that separates the milk brine from the cheese

Lillian then removed the cheese from the stainless steel container and packed it into containers to make its form.

forming the cheese into containers
Goats cheese formed into containers

Lillian left some of the cheese on a tray for us to try.

It was very tasty and good but had a strange feel because it was still warm and very moist.

Fresh goat cheese

We finished the tour in the factory area, and then went to the store front to look at some of the cheese products for sale.

Different goat cheese for sale

It was a very interesting experience seeing how goat cheese was made. The small family business that still makes cheese in the traditional manner is very rare. They are very proud of their process and how they have maintained the traditional process of making goat cheese from unpasteurized goats milk.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”