Exploring España: Elche

Of all the places I was planning on seeing around Alicante, Elche with its UNESCO World Heritage Site of El Palmeral (the Palm Grove) was the one I was most excited about. And, unsurprisingly, it's the one I was most disappointed by.

I blame Apple. You see, I couldn't find the bus station in Alicante, and Apple's crappy map app is apparently years out-of-date and insisted on directing me to the long-closed old station. When I manually entered the address for the new one, it claimed not to be able to find it. Thanks a bunch, CRAPple! Through guesswork, I eventually located the bus station, where I bought a one-way ticket to Elche. Let the sightseeing commence.

Or not. My bus station woes were far from over. Once in Elche, the distinct lack of signage meant that I had no idea which direction would lead me into town and with temperatures hitting the 26°C (79°F) mark, I was reluctant to risk walking in the wrong direction! I paced up and down outside the station looking for clues. Or divine intervention. Twenty hot-and-bothered minutes later and I'd figured it out.

I soon came across Parque Municipal, home to some of the date palms. As much as I appreciated the shade, I was frustrated that the amazing views I'd seen on the internet of El Palmeral were still eluding me. Perhaps I was in the wrong place?

Finally, some palms

Shaded walkway

Lush, green palms

The dovecote

One of the more unusual trees

Having concluded that the palm grove must be elsewhere, I left the park and went for a wander around town. I didn't get far. It was just too damn hot to go exploring and everything, by which I mean the church, was closed.

 

Some kind of fortress thing

Dove having a bath in the fountain

Tired, hot and grumpy, I dived into the conveniently-located Lizarran and treated myself to a Coke and some tapas. Then, I dragged myself the two minutes back to the park and made the most of the shade.

Green and (mostly) shady

After a while, I decided to simply cut my losses and head to my next destination – Santa Pola. So I went back to the station and bought a one-way ticket. The bus turned right and headed down the street I'd been contemplating walking down. And there, a stone's throw from where I'd been, were the very palm groves I'd been looking for. FML.