Santa Pola: Things To Do
Santa Pola,
Spain - a relaxed and low key fishing village that's kept its
charm despite previous years' growing spurts. In the
summer
months the total population can swell up to three times it's normal
size.
Relevant Santa Pola Information for 2010:
The town
then comes alive to lively music and
neighbours
having a chin-up till the early hours of the morning. The
weather
makes it possible to live outdoors all the time, only retiring to bed
when exhaustion sets in.
Bars and restaurants do a brisk trade, and the whole population appears
to be out and about, all the time.
Having
fun at
roller-coaster rides screaming at the top of your lungs (for the
smaller children), wind-surfing, banana boat riding, jet-skiing,
water-sporting even kite-surfing till dusk and samba beats of the many
chiringuitos (beach-shack bars) that have 'open all hours' for real.
To paraphrase the old saying A dog is not just for Xmas,
it now reads: Santa
Pola is not just good for summer, it's a cracking good place all year
round...
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Events,
fiestas, the weather, plenty to see and do through all four seasons.
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New
marina at dusk
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Fishermens'
tools of the trade
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Plenty
to choose from at the port
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It's only natural (here)
I
remember many years ago, when we were on vacation driving around
Andalucia in southern Spain, and we stopped at Ronda. We were
taken aback to see throngs of people, just out for a breath of air at
dusk.
Ladies
with their prams, fathers with their young tots lifted
high and settled about their shoulders, young boys and girls in groups
laughing, chatting on their mobiles. We're not talking about
odd
groups of people, we're talking about the whole town - it was like a
90%-off Christmas sale was on.
And
again,
some time later, when stopping at a town just south of Barcelona, the
same thing: everyone out and about late at night. Nothing
special - that's just what they do. No doubt there are some
at
home watching TV, but there can't be that many... most of them are ...
well, out.
If there are a lot of people watching TV in the
evening it can only mean one thing: the football is on, and they aren't
watching it at home - they're at the local bar.
A
few years ago, we were in Santa Pola one evening, and we wandered into
an
obscure bar down one of the side streets, in 'downtown Santa
Pola'... I love using that term in emails to confuse the receiver,
where downtown
usually means the centre of important places like New York or
Tokyo, or even Taihape (NZ), but Santa Pola isn't quite that
big
to deserve it, as yet.
We took a few seats near the bar and ordered some
drinks.
But we were constantly jostled by the bar manager who was
furiously trying to adjust his big plasma TV, so we moved to a table
near the window instead. He continued to prod it and
mutter...
great looking static there pal, I thought.
The bar girl rolled
her eyes to the ceiling then reached across past him, plugged
in
the satellite receiver, and gave him a cheesy grin as the TV
got
its usual sharp colours back. He had that 'oh yeah' look, and
the
girl resumed work, only to then cast a smile to us as she noticed me
chuckling.
Oh, it's Barcelona versus Madrid and two
minutes to
kick-off... that means it will be very popular,
real soon.
| Taking
that as a cue, I ordered another round of drinks and as I returned to
the table the door nearly got ripped off its hinges with the rush of
locals desperate to get a beer and a seat before the starting whistle
blew.
My, this should be interesting... let's see how the Spanish
get
wound up on the football. |
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We
stayed for the whole match, and
thoroughly enjoyed it. The locals, and other out of towners,
threw insults and friendly banter back and forward, depending on who
they supported, including some who thought both teams were
rubbish
and should be relegated to the second division forthwith.
Always
with hoots of laughter, and in good spirits, although they could have
left the gas-powered air horns at home; had ringing ears for about half
an hour afterwards. Ok in a football stadium, but a bit over the top in
a confined space. Can't remember who won, but can remember
it
was a fun experience.
Meanwhile, back on in the real world, a.k.a. street level, the
natives happily doing their paseo (a stroll).
It's a happy time, see and be seen, some dressed up
to the nines, other
are just comfy and casual. Old men and women sometimes with
walking stick,
stopping for a breather on a park bench or roadside benches... and, the
shops are all open - yes!
It was a surprise at first, all these people going nowhere except to
stretch their legs, have a bonbon or two for the kids, indulge in an
ice cream or sip an aperitif, catch up on the news as you're bound to
meet many people you know, but we soon got the hang of it.
One
evening, we were there having coffee, and happened on two weddings
taking place in the Castillo. We wandered into the courtyard to find
both parties at opposite ends of the cobbled
courtyard, resplendent in all their finery.
None of them were bothered about casual visitors
strolling by, or even taking photos. We took quite a few
photos and congratulated them on their celebration (but weren't invited
to the receptions - never mind).
History 101
Santa
Pola has a rich history in changing hands... many inhabitants
of different cultures settling here:
- Neolithic
period in La Cueva de las Aranas, in the Carabassi area.
- Iberian
period, a walled settlement came to be used
- Roman
times, a factory to make salted fish, and a port which was later to
become "Portus Illicitanus".
- 16th
century, the Fortress-Castle and Watchtowers were built to repel
invasion by Berber pirates .
- 18th
century ended the lawlessness of the area with the expulsion
of
pirates, and a fledgling fishing industry helped to foster a
thriving community
Museo
del Sal and its wetlands.
The museum
is
located
where the old salt mills were. There you can watch
the standard
process for getting salt, etc. The museum also has a lookout
for bird-watching (among the other birds: flamingos!), and to make
guided visits to the Nature Reserve of 'Las Salinas'.
Castillo/Fortaleza
Santa Pola
The
watchtowers were used in the 16th century, when Berber pirates often
attacked Santa Pola from Tabarca Island. Inside, the
Castle now houses the Museum of the Sea, Museum of Fishing, the chapel
"Virgen de Loreto" and numerous exhibitions in the exhibition hall.
Santa
Pola has a characteristic Spanish feel as it has maintained
a predominant Spanish population despite the influx of
foreigners over the past twenty years. They celebrate their
fiestas
with great gusto, and have a thriving fishing industry, at one time the
biggest fleet
of fishing boats on the Med.
Monday
to Fridays, in the evening, you will find a fresh fish market
in the
port area next to the Santa Pola marina. Santa Pola maintains
fleets of
fishing trawlers, recognised as the most important fleet in
the Spanish
Mediterranean.
If
you go to the port area in the early evening, you'll
see the fishermen
arriving home with catches of the day. They are auctioned off and sold
at the fish markets at the port area. Fresh
from the sea, cigala
(Norway lobster), bogavante
(lobster), mejillones
(mussels), almejas
(clams), sepia
(cuttlefish), atun
(tuna).
There
is a daily covered market in called the 'mercado central'
though they open about 8am and start to shut down around 1pm. However,
there is the big Saturday market, with fresh vegetable and fruit,
breads and
pastries, and clothes and non-consumables on offer. A repeat market
again on Monday but
only clothes and non-consumables.
Santa
Pola will always have that extra little something, with its
new marina, Tabarca ferries, yacht charters and water taxis,
fish
markets at the port in early evening, fiestas and Moors and
Christians celebrations, and of course the typical
Santa Semana celebrations at Easter. The
medieval fair is also on at
Easter. And of course, the football at the bars - just
get there early.
It will
entice you to spend more time here especially with
320 sunny days per year and 15 kilometres of glorious blue flag beaches.
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POLA |
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