More from El Faro

Back up on the hills overlooking the Bay of Alicante on the edge of Santa Pola, an area that I always try and spend some time in. I found on this visit that the guard house/bunker protecting the heavy anti-fascist gun emplacements had been sprung open so I was able to get in. You get a real feel in the cramped space the working conditions of the republican forces billeted up here. I also stumbled across what looked like a massive crater close to the network of gun emplacements, barracks and bunkers. It was certainly not a natural shape. Looked like a near miss from the fascist planes as they motored overhead.

Denia - the transit point for the Nazi rat lines

As well as being home to the extraordinary air raid tunnel, Denia played a pivotal point after the Spanish Civil War as a drop off point for Nazis escaping the collapse of Hitlers Reich. With the connivance of Francos regime Denia became a transit port for leading war criminals on their route down to South America. But some are thought to have stayed. I could find little on this dark side of the towns history and I need to do some more work on it. It is rumoured that some people still know where the safe houses are. I will be back to explore more when I have cracked on with the research.

The Denia Air Raid Shelter

It's a long haul north up the Costa from Alicante to Denia involving two trams and a change at Benidorm but I never tire of that journey that clings to the rocky coast and offers some fantastic views across the Med - make sure you sit on the right side though. Denia is at the end of the line, as you bowl out of the station head straight across and towards the Castle/municiple centre and you will find one of the finest monuments to those trying to protect their communities from the Fascist bombing raids. A tunnel is carved out of the rocks that the Castle sits on and has been converted into a stunning memorial. Hewn from the solid rock you can walk the full length and it is used as a thoroughfare by the locals as they get around town. Incredibly atmospheric you can get a feel for what it must have been like for the people of the town as they sought respite from the Condor Legion. It is one of the most carefully and well thought out Civil War memorials that I have seen on my travels. Take it in and after you have spent some time there head into town to one of the many pavement cafes and grab some tapas and soak up some sun before the long tram journey back south. You will not be disappointed.