MSC Poesia World Cruise 2024: Alicante 9 Jan, 2024

Alicante was a the first new port for me on this adventure. I was up early and had slept all the way through the night. (Finally!) Breakfast was a bit off this morning. I was denied my cappuccino as it is not included in my package in the morning and is only included at lunch and dinner meals. I’m pretty sure that is a faux pas in Italy. I still don’t have coffee in my room despite my request and the fact that there is a kettle in my room. I may have to go to the grocery store for additional supplies.

I decided to order a spinach and mushroom omelet and it was very good. I saw a post about a French group going to Ronda and Caminito del Rey from Malaga. These are bucket list excursion locations! I jumped impulsively at them despite the language barrier. I can hold my own with Espanol but my French is poor at best.

Today’s excursion didn’t leave until 10 so I had a bit of extra time. My body is disagreeable since I didn’t have my coffee today.

At the theater they changed my ticket from 9 to 10 for English. We met at 10am and left the ship. Today I used my 65 Euro credit towards a ship excursion ALI11 with the description:

FASCINATING MOUNTAIN TOWN OF GUADALEST

Tiny in size and one of those places that time seemingly for-got, the historical village of Guadalest with Moorish origins rewards visitors with buildings dating back more than 400 years, gorgeous views of the nearby Sierra d'Aixorta, Sierra de Serella and Sierra de Aitana mountains and an 11th-century Muslim-built castle, among others.

• Your tour to Guadalest begins with an approx. 1-hour drive, passing Benidorm on the way, to reach the elevated location of this charming village.
• You'll then get to pay the imposing Castle of San José, aka the Castle of L'Alcazaiba, a visit, after which you'll move on to another of Guadalest's key attractions, Orduña House.
  This four-level dwelling - built by the originally Basque Or-duña family mid-17th-century - finally became a municipal museum following refurbishment work in the mid-1990s.
  This is where interesting architecture meets beautiful interiors and furnishings, a place to relive history in the most enjoyable way.
• One of the highlights of Orduña House is its library with more than 1.000 volumes. Leaving Orduña House behind, your outing will then end with your return drive to Alicante and your ship.

Jose was the driver and Roselle is tour guide in French and English but she was Spanish. We drove past Santa Barbara castle which will make a great hike in the future.

This was a half day excursion which returned back at 2:45. All aboard time was 3:15. Alicante is like California she said. Olive trees, almond trees (they make nougat), ice cream with almonds and honey. However, no rain and no rivers.

The plan was to visit Guandalest with a population of 200 and 8 museums. One of most beautiful towns in Spain but it survives on tourism. We arrived at 11:25 and left at 1:30.

It was cool when we got off the bus and I was chilly even in a long sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt. Unfortunately, I left my hat and gloves on the bus. The town is 600m above sea level which is around 2000 feet higher than the city of Alicante on the sea.  We toured the town and then the museum. Then the guide gave us an hour to climb the 235 steps at the castle representing the stations of the cross. There were definitely people on the excursion who didn’t pay attention to the activity level and they slowed the group down at first as they struggled to make it to the museum. (There are many steps up through town and through the gate just to get to the museum). 

Once inside the group toured the museum. Then we visited another restroom and we had an hour free to climb to the top following the stations of the cross or to shop in town. 

I skipped lunch and headed up the hill, filming my adventure.

https://youtu.be/D4Y0Mnw7vng?feature=shared

After my hike, I headed down to tour the cemetery and then to shop a bit in town.

We were all on the bus on time at 1:30 and back to the ship at 2:45 as promised. This was a pretty perfect shore excursion and our guide did a great job!

Once back on board, I attended the welcome show which I recorded.

https://youtu.be/Dc5rT2_gkzY?feature=shared

Then I did some laundry and prepared for formal night. 

Dinner was fantastic and I ordered escargot (pot pie?), leg of lamb, and chocolate mousse all of which were fantastic. 

I went on a hunt for an ATM or the ability to exchange dollars for Euros and was not successful. This ship doesn’t offer that service. 

I went to the theater show which was Tango but I needed to head back to my room because I was sleepy and I have an early day tomorrow.

Great news- Coffee supplies were delivered to my room this evening while I was out!!

Happy Cruising!