The Customs House building in Alicante and it's Civil War secret

I must have walked past the old Customs House building on Levante Dock in the middle of Alicante hundreds of times. It's a fabulous old structure. What I didn't realise until very recently is that it hides its own Civil War secret. The section at the far end is actually a fake facade, made up to to look like the rest of the architecture but it concealed a Civil War era air raid shelter, presumably for the crucial dock workers. Seems a bit odd in a way that you would conceal a shelter in such a prominent building and I will try and find out the reasoning. I wasn't able to get in but I have heard that the shelter may be opened up to the public in the future. When I took a trip down some works were underway, I'm not sure if they are part of that project but I was able to get some pictures of the solid stone walls inside. Hope to hear more about this interesting piece of Alicante history in the future.

The El Faro Barracks - now tidied up as a picnic area

I don't know, mixed thoughts about this. The old El Faro barrack blocks that would have housed the units operating the anti-aircraft and other ordnance up by the lighthouse overlooking Santa Pola have been tidied up and converted into a parking and picnic area for the growing numbers making use of the excellent cycling and walking routes that zig zag across the area. On the positive side it guarantees that the structures should be maintained and more people will find out about the Spanish Civil War history of the area. Negative? Maybe just a bit touristy for the purest like me. I just hope that the truth isn't buried somewhere along the way. I will be up on a regular basis with some wine, olives and a cigar to toast those who fought here eight decades ago.