Alicante’s Magical Spirit, Energy Makes For Entrancing Repeat Visit

Day 112, 2025 Grand World Voyage

Saturday, April 26, 2025; Alicante, Spain.

I stood – simply entranced — for half an hour, watching couples come together for a set of fast-paced swing to music from a portable sound box. Some obviously were couples, but others perhaps strangers drawn together by the beat of the music.

Most looked to be in their 30s and 40s, several with toddlers in strollers just a few feet away. A little girl whose mother was dancing couldn’t resist twirling away on her own.

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon in Alicante, Spain, a city that jumped high on the list of places I would like to live for a season or two. (Apparently, I’m not the only one – Alicante is hugely popular among British expats.)

Had I known the steps of the Lindy Hop, Boogie Woogie or any other swing dance, I might have jumped in myself. All it took was dancing in place for a few beats before someone would come up to partner. Experiencing the contagious energy of the dances was another magical cruise moment I’ll remember.

I first visited Alicante in 2013, where I set off on my own for the Castle of Santa Barbara high on Mount Benacantil.

I knew it was accessible via an elevator, but I turned the wrong way as I crossed from the pier into town and never found it. What I did find was a delightful old quarter (Barrio de la Santa Cruz) with small houses lining narrow lanes, steep stairways and colorful potted plants.

Today I deliberately took the same wrong turn, wanting to get lost once again in the neighborhood. Twelve years and a knee replacement later, I’m thankful I’ve been taking the stairs on the ship to prepare me for the long flights.

Back in the main part of the city, I wandered through a few shops and actually found a couple of new tops. A few blocks later I stumbled upon the Plaça Gabriel Miró and its spontaneous swing dance gathering. After my magical interlude there, I strolled on the Explanada de España, a wonderfully wide promenade along the seafront paved in waves of colored tiles. Just as in 2013 it’s full of locals out for a stroll.

I saw friends enjoying beer and wine at a café along the paseo, but didn’t join them. My final objective was the Ocean Race Museum on the pier by the ship shuttlebus stop. I have followed iterations of this yacht race around the globe since the 1970s. It started as the Whitbread Round the World Race and later became the Volvo Ocean Race and now simply The Ocean Race.

The free museum traces the changes in the race (early yachts were stocked with beer, wine and gourmet food; later just freeze-dried meals designed for maximum caloric value and minimum weight), advances in yacht designs and sadly those whose lives were lost in seas with waves that can reach 150 feet and winds of 70 knots. Since 2008, the race has started in Alicante.

As I returned to the ship, I ran into Henk (hotel general manager) and his wife Christel returning from a ride on their tandem bike.

After two busy days in Barcelona and today’s port, we are looking forward to a sea day tomorrow before arriving in Lisbon on Monday.