This area of Spain has a very rocky coastline, you can be sailing 20m from the shore in 40m depth - the houses seem to cling to the cliffs, clearly not afraid of coastal erosion in these parts!
The headland between Javea and Denia
We are visiting Denia because we have some friends here (they live in Javea, just round the corner) - John and Elli. A brush with civilisation! They drove us to a large supermarket where we stocked up on ‘heavy essentials’ like beer, and showed us round the area. It’s lovely, the hills are covered with ancient stone terracing and there is a local steel artist who has adorned various public areas with large artwork (no photos! Must do better)
We're in a Marina, so have to get the bikes out for the obligatory cycle ride along the coast ...
The Beach: There is a little strip of sand, but it quickly turns to rock.
We cycled along until we came to the end of the road - quite literally!
The hill was a bit of a monster, but this Watch Tower was at the top - Torre del Getto, XVII
Lovely views from the top - Denia Marina and breakwater visible in the distance, along with the Balearic Ferry that seems to be in perpetual motion between Denia and the Balearic Islands
You do have to be careful on these roads though, and not get distracted by the views - you never know when the road will just stop!
The other end of the road!
Denia Marina is very well appointed, the showers are individual rooms, each one bigger than our bathroom at home! It’s a huge place.
The old town of Denia is quaint - hundreds of restaurants along the street, and any patch of road or pavement can clearly be used as a dining room. We may have been early for a meal in Spain, but there were not a lot of diners in evidence here!
Old Town, Denia - one of the many Restaurant Alleys
On our last day, John and Elli took us to Javea and we had dinner with the Costa Blanca Yacht Association - this is known as a virtual yacht club, as none of the members actually have a yacht! Many of them sail, and they regularly race the local fleet of Toms, but the Marina is in the rather unique position of being able to select whose boat they will accommodate: Unless you have inherited a mooring, you have to pay the €100,000 joining fee to the local yacht club first! Clearly not a club that struggles for membership!!!
Ian, Elli and John - Happiness in Spain, Javea Marina
Anyway, we left after a lovely dinner armed with loads of local knowledge regarding anchorages and moorings in the Balearic Islands, so off we go ...
Just in case any of you are thinking that the sun always shines in the Costa Brava - It doesn't!! Before we left, there was a huge thunder storm and torrential rain - the boat ended up covered with fine Saharan (?) dust. We left in light drizzle and very light winds, fortunately the Spanish Sun won the day and the wind picked up for our journey on to the Balearic Islands - Ibiza calls
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