Europe Fall 2024 - Calp Or Calpe

Calp (or Calpe in Spanish, Capt being the local Valencian dialect means of spelling the town) is one of many, many, many towns along the Mediterranean coast of Spain with ancient histories stretching right into the present and transformed in the late 1950's through the 1970's as major locales for tourism and expats. I don't want to say 'if you've seen one, you've seen them all' but there is a feeling of sameness. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't things to see and find, photos to be taken, new things to be learned, and questions that arise if you were more diligent on doing deeper research.

One reason for seeking out Calpe was it has an old town. But like the towns of Italy, we quickly found it is quite a distance from beach/residential area we would prefer. We also could feel very quickly it was a 'hotter tourist and wealthier expat' area than El Campello. We focused our day on the old town.

 I have gotten really good at researching parking lots new where we want to be, plugging those into the GPS and getting us close. 

Voila the Plaza Major which has a nice underground parking lot. Also notable for the display of neo-Doric capitals. It had one of the more attractive entrance ways to its lift for the garage that was somewhat (well more than somewhat) spoiled by being locked when we returned.

We head into the old town and you know what you are going to find...narrow streets, steps, gateways, etc.

But the Spanish Steps?

Maybe not as famous as Rome's but pretty photogenic.

But then we saw all these decorations of an aquatic life form nature that seemed weird.

We're like, "What the heck is this about?" Then...

Um What?

That is the 'Brotherhood of Fishermen' and it is its 100th anniversary. It is a cooperative representing the interests and welfare of the local fishing industry and its members.

So now I understand why things like this...

...which honestly, I'm not sure what it's supposed to be but I thought it looked cool

This picture is clearly way to cluttered to be a good photo shot

HOWEVER...

...How Often do you get a picture that has giant octopus and jelly fish along with the required lantern and laundry shot!

NEVER I tell you.

Finally we got into parts of town that WERE NOT in nautical decoration but more classic 'old town' shots.

This Trompe d'oeil caught my eye (get it caught my eye...)

We have (of course) a castle, or the remnants of one.

If you notice just inside the gate there is...

An interesting sculpture

Old cannon have been repurposed to keep out tour groups from overrun Barcelona

 

People working in town

Or not

The church in the old town is an amalgam. There is a new church that was built right around the ancient church. It is the new church that truly draws the attention. For me it is another example of vibrant modern art applied in a church setting (like the church we saw in Francavilla)

The exterior immediately makes an impression

Not traditional shaping at all and with a wealth of mosaic style art

You know I love looking at different and expressive facial expressions in art. I found this one of Jesus very thought provoking

Then there are these two that remind me more of ancient Babylonian influence

The interior was equally interesting and different but I have limits on the number of pictures I will post. So this one also impacted me...

...for the expression on the soldier's face

And I'm not sure of the Christian symbolism of this at all

The Church as the mother salt lick?

We next found this sculpture that memorializes a church man from the 1970's who was critical in bringing democracy to Calpe after the fall of Franco.

Looking at the faces, I really am not sure at all what the artist is trying to convey.

 

All I can think is this guy is channeling the future Celebrity Historian and lecturing the kids on the importance of the historical lesson of achieving democracy.

Rare examples in town of non-aquatic decoration

 Out Of Old Town and into The Harbor

 The Iconic Ifac

 Proof the Espouses Fotograficus Hispanicus can be found at the Ifac

 A True Story

Wife loves taking pictures of lighthouses. I pointed out the lighthouse below.

 She refused to take a picture of it. I asked "Why?" She said, "It's too small." "Too small?" "Yes, Size Matters."

You heard it here directly from Wife.

SIGNS OF THE WORLD

Every once and a while in de-I's tireless search to uncover and bring rationale to the world of signage, a sign is found that truly challenges all one's logic.

 

The key to trying to understand this is knowing that the word 'Sin' in Spanish means 'Without' in English.

So does this sign mean...

"We are without Gluten Free" or

"You pay no extra to not have Gluten" or

"We are freeing people from being without Gluten" or maybe it is all English and is

"Gluten Free is Sinful"

My head still hurts trying to figure this out.