Alicante Students' Day Trip to Calpe, Spain

One of the study abroad day trips for Alicante Summer program students was visiting the coastal town of Calpe. For this trip we took the TRAM, a train that runs along the Costa Blanca, so during our ride we had the opportunity to sight see some great places like San Juan Beach, La Vila, Benidorm and Altea. We all knew that part of this trip would also be a hike up Ifach Rock. It is the emblem of the Costa Blanca, called the "North Rock" by the ancient Phoencians (Gibraltar is the South one), but we couldn’t imagine how beautiful it was until we started the ascension. I’m not the best in the world at hiking, but it was lot of fun and, what’s more, it was not tiring. I was really concerned at the beginning, as I didn’t want to be behind the group. But it only took us around 35 minutes to get to a natural tunnel carved out of the rock that takes you to the top and we were really impressed with the nature, the views and also the birds. After our hike, very tasty paella was waiting for us at the port in Calpe. We had a reservation in one of the typical restaurants where you see and pick the seafood you want to have! Although our students had the option of picking out their own live seafood, if that was too challenging we (Alicante Resident Staff) also reserved some really good paella and appetizers such as salads, mussels and different calamari to give everyone a true taste of the Costa Blanca. Everything turned out perfectly. A good workout, great food and, of course, sunshine for those of us that wanted to rest on the beach after lunch. - Lidiana Valles Alcaraz CEA Student Services Coordinator