IF you want to have a grand vacation in Costa Blanca and buy a house there to eventually settle down for the rest of your life, now is certainly the time to do it whether you are Spaniard, European or not. Today is the time to cooperate. The world is at the brink of an economic meltdown and earlier today, we in Europe have proved our resoluteness because we are the only markets which have not collapsed – from FTSE to CAC 40 to the DAX.
Spending and bailing out money is really the key to save the economy. You can certainly save in the best of times but by not keeping your money right now, you can help save the economy of the world. Let’s say for example that you are a guy from Toronto and you would like to have a holiday swap from someone from Costa Blanca. The first thing you do is get a visa. Then you have to book your flight and hotel stay in Costa Blanca. You usually do that via Travelocity or Expedia, two of the best online-based travel agencies in the world which have global reaches. Even if you do get discounts which you certainly do especially if the package available is bundled i.e. flight and hotel, you will still spend. You are already helping the economy of Spain (if you are boarding a Spanish carrier) or Canada (if you are boarding a Canadian airline direct to Costa Blanca).
If there are no direct flights available, you usually get off in Madrid. In Madrid, you board a connecting flight to Costa Blancaa. There are Iberian-based airlines for this but since the Spanish commercial aviation industry is deregulated, there is one Irish-based airline, Ryanair, which is in business because there are also many Irish tourists going to Costa Blanca. If you board a Ryanair flight from Madrid to Costa Blanca, you are also helping the economy of Ireland. Once you’re in Costa Blanca, you will surely be staying either in a hotel or in a vacation villa if you’re not on a holiday swap. You will be helping the economy of Spain for that once again.
But even if you’re staying in your friend’s house and especially if your vacation is pretty long, you may want to hone your Spanish-speaking skills especially if you come from the French-speaking side of Canada. So you may want to enroll in a crash course in Spanish speaking for about two weeks at a Spanish language acquisition school in Costa Blanca. That simply means you will be again pouring money for the Spanish economy. After you’ve honed your Spanish speaking skills, later you may want to stroll around the fishing village and converse with the local fishermen. You may want to buy the freshest grouper or redfish catch from the Med and when you do that, you are again helping the Spanish economy.
As beautifully set and as relaxing they may be, beach holidays can have a tendency to be a little boring - you’ve done the walks, read the glossy magazines, read them again…What else can you do? Be inspired and try something new!
Holidays are a great opportunity to try something you wouldn’t or couldn’t at home - a new and exciting sport for example or a treat, especially for you - say a spa treatment or a massage. Unfortunately however, these sports and treats don’t appeal to all. Not everyone likes sport and even if they do, levels vary and so you may not be grouped with your friends or family. Not everyone likes spas and furthermore, they can be a little expensive for those struggling to pay their annual holiday. We would like to suggest a few things you can do all together, as a group, which would make everyone happy…
1) Walk! It shouldn’t be far (some people may get tired quicker than others) and should dfinately include a few “goals” along the way. These could be a nice place en route for lunch or some special tourist attrcations you’d love to see. As long as they are things to look forward to when the legs begin to ache, you’ll have enjoyable day!
2) (for language learners only) Go the cinema! You are taking yourself away from the tourists and integrating yourself into the Costa Blancan culture - cinema is, as it is everywhere, a very popular past time around here! The selection of films will be different from those you get at home and a night at the “flicks” will certainly relax you after a day’s sightseeing. It is also cheap and family friendly. If you don’t have the language skills to enjoy a foreign film, watch out for international film festivals coming to the area - there’s always subtitles! - or better yet, enrol yourself in a language course and make yourself capable of enjoying a whole new world of movies (after all, films are always better in their original language!)
3) Try your luck in a Casino! You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy the “Juegos de Casino” of Spain, you just have to be prepared to apply yourself and find enjoyment in the glamorous atmosphere. Before leaving for your holiday destination, you can practise in your local casino or, better still, online. It is in these internet casinos that you will be able to develop your skills and go on to impress your friends and family when you reach the real tables on holiday!
JUST like any Mediterranean coastline in Europe, Costa Blanca enjoys a temperate climate all year round. But the advantage here is all these beaches smacked in Costa Blanca are inspected thoroughly and periodically by the European Union and they all receive the coveted blue flag accreditation. There are actually two kinds of beaches in Costa Blanca – the conventional ones and the nudist ones. The nice thing to be in the nudist beach is that if you strip and swim naked on a cloudless moonless night with only the stars illuminating your head from above, your body emerged in the water will likewise be clothed with light emanating from glowing planktons. It really is a lovely paradise in here and the food is so fascinating too.
Costa Blanca resort restaurants stick to a strict Mediterranean diet which only consists of seafood and quality lamb sauteed only in olive oil which is the healthiest cooking oil in the world because of its low fat content. And Costa Blanca residents hate to eat their seafood frozen so everything must be fresh – from mollusks to clams, from redfish to groupers. In restaurants, you can even let the waiter pluck the lobsters from the restaurant aquariums to be cooked in whatever way you want it to be cooked.
A typical vacation villa here in Costa Blanca has cable television with an LCD monitor as well as subwoofer sound system complete with an HD DVD player. There is also a solarium for maximum serene enjoyment of the view to the sea. There is also air conditioning system to be used during summer and a heater to be used during winter. Or if you want, you can use the fireplace. And for winter evening soirees, you may have a bonfire or during summer at daytime, you can have a barbecue party by the pool. Barbecues are really yummy here in Costa Blanca because they are made of lamb meat and lamb in this part of Spain is of utmost quality in the world.
Also, one thing I like with the staff of resorts and vacation homes here in Costa Blanca is that they speak fluent quality English. That is not so surprising though because there have been a number of English language institutions that have mushroomed here in Costa Blanca for the past few years or so. And if you want to polish your own English skills, you may enroll in these short courses.
One of the unique pasttimes here aside from skimboarding, parasailing, scuba diving and other water sports as well as golf for land-based sports is bowling. Check out the best bowling tournaments for this year at Albir Bowls Club or you may play with your Costa Blanca-based friends there anytime of the year because this is not a members-only club. There are instructors who will helpfully guide you if you’re an amateur in bowling. So go ahead, book now that vacation and have a jolly 2008 here in Costa Blanca.
Furthermore, if the idea of cruising appeals to you, you are likely to enjoy visiting various regions throughout Spain and so why not look further a field than the typical coasts? The Basque Country has a lot to offer yet is relatively undiscovered. Inland cities such as Vitoria (hoteles Vitoria) are really an eye opener - you see a completely different side to the “famous Spain” - the Basque country have their own language (Euskara) and lots of rich food to enjoy - much of which is seafood based. A special dish of Vitora for example would be the lobster or filled peppers - delicious!
