Calpe Beach

So, I promised more photos of Calpe and thought I would share some of my pictures of the beach area. The apartment I was staying in was one of the modern ones built on the beachfront and had an enclosed balcony with a sea view. It was nice to sit here and listen to the sound of the waves breaking on the shore. I did my fair share of walking along the beach though and as ever I took my trusty camera with me. These photos were taken with my new dSLR and Calpe could not have been a nicer place to start practising. The photo above was taken looking back along the beach on such a walk. I had just climbed the steps back up the cliff face to walk back along the top by the houses that looked out to sea.


In these photos you can see the Pinon de Ifach which is the sister rock to the Rock of Gibraltar. It stands prominently at the end of the 13 kilometre stretch of coastline that covers the Calpe region. It towers over the sea to 332 metres, and has now been declared by the government as a nature reserve. You can walk around the base of it and up the side of it to where the rocky part starts. I did both and the walk up it was exhilerating as the view of Calpe below me expanded until I could see the beach below me stretch into the distance and everything became small.

The photo above was taken from the top of the walk up the Pinon before it disappeared into a tunnel through the rock. Apparently a local man who loved to paint (and also had some money) had the tunnel cut so that he could paint the view from the other side of the rock. In the photo you can make out the Marina where there were many boats and yachts and where fishing boats also land fresh fish. There are fish restaurants nearby that line the front so the fish goes from the sea to your plate very quickly!

You can also see the salt lakes behind the beach front apartments and then in the distance you can see Calpe Old Town climbing up the base of the mountains. It is hard to make out but on the beach front near the marina there are also rocky remains of an ancient Roman fish factory cut out of the rocks known as the Queen's Bath (Banys de la Reina). The Romans used to farm the fish in the rocky pools and then use the salt from the lakes to preserve them for food and trade.

The photos above and below were taken during walks back along the beach during sunset. I loved being able to walk along the sand just above the waves and watching the sun drop towards the horizon and turning the sky orange which would change colour as you watched it. When it was time to leave Calpe I felt that I had only started to scratch the surface of this vibrant and cultural town. I am sure I will return to explore it and the surrounding area some more.