December, 2015
From Pedreguer, it is only a short 15 minutes drive to Denia. Apart from shopping at the supermarkets, I haven’t paid a visit yet to the old town and what a nice surprise it is! Not only the promenade, where the trees form an arch above the street and where you find the nice boutiques. Denia has so much more to offer!
The best thing is to start your stroll within the “Bax la Mar” or the old fisherman’s quarter. There, the houses are all painted in different colours, the streets are narrow and around every corner, you will find a small Plaza with lovely smelling fish restaurants and tapas bars. This area is so authentic and from here you are in a few steps in the harbour of Denia.
Walking into the other direction, you can follow the Castle wall and climb higher up, until you reach the entrance of the enormous Fortress, where the views over the city, the harbour and the Montgo mountain are impressive.
It is a surprisingly hot afternoon for December and around 4.00 p.m, suddenly the sun decides to come out through the hazy clouds. With the light shining on the harbour down below, it is fabulous to sit for a while on the Fortress wall and enjoy all the movement in the harbour. One of the ferries is arriving from the islands. Probably Ibiza, but also the ferries for Mallorca and Formentera are leaving from Denia.
While walking higher up the Castle grounds, you will find the Archaeological museum. Although small, it definitely is worth a visit. Denia had so many influences from Iberians, Romans, Muslims and Christians and still their traces can be found all over the city. From the Castillo, it is a 15 minutes walk to the harbour and in between 5.00 and 6.00 p.m, the fishermen are coming back with their boats from the sea and the auction starts right away. There is a walkway, specially for the spectators.
From here, you can watch the boats arriving and witness the “catch of the day”, which is impressive! Also, you are allowed to glaze through the window, where people are sorting out the fish, giving it numbers and putting it on the scales. At this point, I wished I had a few eyes more, as so many things are happening and more boats are arriving. In the meantime, the huge ferry is also leaving and the sun is slowly going down. When taking my first pictures of the catch of one of the boats, the captain tells me to take away my camera. His tone is very strict and he asks me in Spanish if I understood him. I nod and after 5 minutes he tells me that now I can take pictures! I am a little bit confused, but probably he caught too much or he caught fishes he wasn’t allowed to catch, as the first crates are suddenly gone………
It is an enormous variety of all kinds of fish, which the boats brought back from the sea. Tonight, you will be sure to eat the “catch of the day” in one of the many restaurants along the harbour or in the old Bax la Mar……..
