Benidorm

Benidorm? Benidorm! Porque no (why not? With all its rep for morning fry-ups and fish 'n'chips, it DOES have two beautiful beaches, which are what started it all in the 1950s. And with lingering Covid hesitancy and the schools back from half term, we have them almost to ourselves. The Poniente (sunset) stretches a couple of miles to the west and the foliage makes us feel half-way to Africa.

Although there are numerous English voices in the town centre, they're outnumbered by Spanish voices and evidence of traditions remain. Masks out of doors are no longer obligatory but about half the people still wear them out of caution and courtesy. Evening entertainment is still ramping up but we find an English-speaking bar and watch the League Cup final, a goalless thriller (not an oxymoron) in which Liverpool defeat the now-disgraced Chelsea. We drown our sorrows at a ribald Blackpool-style club where a "comedian" sends me to sleep but Sticky Vicky (don't ask) wakes me up. Better class is to come with a highly competent Beatles tribute act, who remind me what great rockers "I saw her standing there" and "Day tripper" are.

More comedy follows a day later when we travel by tram east to another resort town, Calpe. We'd intended to break the journey home at another beachy place, Altea, but running out of time, go for a straight return from Calpe. At Calpe station the booking office is closed but a man is selling tickets outside the station. They look a bit like lottery tickets but I put this down to a promotion of local attractions. Back at Benidorm, we find out that they ARE lottery tickets (compare these with the proper tram tickets). Much confusion ensues, with the punchline that each ticket wins the grand sum of 1.50 euros---enough to buy a replacement lottery ticket that's worth a big fat zero!Read more