David's Diary: Tuesday, March 5, 2002

Castillo de Santa Bárbara

A good school morning sees us off the boat and exploring after lunch. We have been in Alicante for over a week and seeing Castillo de Santa Bárbara every day. It dominates the Alicante skyline from where we are at the marina. We walk along the beach, take the pedestrian overpass, and then we walk into a mountain. A long tunnel takes us deeper and deeper into the mountain until we come to an elevator. The elevator is under one of the towers in the fortified wall and we all stood in amazement when we reached the top and realized just how far we had walked into the mountain.

Allen In The Garden

Built in the 16th century to protect the harbour of Alicante the castle now houses a permanent collection of Spanish sculpture. We looked at the displays, but spent most of our time outside poking our way into little nooks and crannies. Views up and down the coast as well as inland let us grasp the extent of Alicante. We then visited the gardens where there were more sculptures to see. Allen picked some flowers for the boat and we followed a meandering path down the mountain and back to the boat.