I remember the old bus station in Alicante well, struck out from there on numerous journeys and it had a beautiful, timeless Art Deco style and of course a bar where you could hole up waiting for your departure. It was replaced a couple of years back by a new, modern facility down by the port side which is much more functional but a lot less pretty. Thankfully, the lovely old terminal building has survived but when the departure bays were ripped up and demolished it revealed a time capsule beneath - a Civil War era air raid shelter built to hold more than a thousand people untouched and intact from the moment it was sealed up after the War. It is thought to be one of a network of over a hundred shelters across Alicante and nearly eighty years on it has been opened up and you can visit and get a feel for life in this City under the fascist bombing raids. To get in you need to ask at the desk at the new museum just across the street in the old fire station and you will be escorted down. Other than the lighting it is wholly original and the handwritten signage warning of spies and identifying the medical bay are still clearly visible. It was only opened up a few months ago and, along with the museum, is an important development in a City where the reality of the Civil War has lain buried for decades. I hope it is a sign of more recognition of Alicante's brutal bombardment and oppression to come. The shelter sits in a newly designed square with its own bar and cafe and with a visit to the new museum nearby that's a morning in this fantastic and historical City sorted out.
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