Villajoyosa: A happy and lovely place to holiday

Villajoyosa translates as “happy town” or “joyful town” is situated some twenty six kilometres from Alicante. This once sleepy little COSTA BLANCA HOLIDAYS fishing village where the houses lined the beach were purposely painted different bright colours; this enabled the fishermen to find their way home to the right house. I wonder what would have happen if the housewife changed the colour before the men folk returned home, this could cause real problems. For the food love there is the traditional paella, fish stews and different rice dishes along with the well known local dish called Turron. This dish is a speciality in the area and is made at Christmas time; it contains almonds and honey and can be made either soft of hard. The best places to sample the local cuisine is at the port on the beach. When you are there be sure and try the salted fish as it is also very famous. Villajoysa is also home to a famous chocolate factory with its products distributed worldwide; you can smell the distinctive aroma of chocolate throughout the town. This all started when someone started to import coco from Ecuador and Venezuela in the 18th century. The brand name is Valor with chocolate houses located in major cities around the Costa Blanca. The old part of town is located on the shore and is known as Arsenal and has been declared an area of historical interest. With its bustling stalls selling anything from locally made artefacts to fresh vegetables makes your weekly shopping experience a delight. When they celebrate the Moors and Christians festival the old part of town is the centre of this festive which is celebrated to its maximum. All the locals dress up in period costumes and conduct mock battles in the streets along with parades, live music, dancing, food stalls and fireworks. The main event is the live re-enactment of the landing of the Moorish Army on the beaches at dawn with rustic rifles being used throughout the day until night. The battle culminates when the Moors are thrown in the sea by the Christians therefore ending the battle. If you want to make sure that you can stay up all night to enjoy the festivities do as the Romans did and drink Nardo which is made from coffee and absinthe; if you don't sleep at least it will make you hallucinate as the absinthe makes you see funny things, There are various beaches here with the most popular being paraiso that is well known for the water sport of windsurfing among other ones on offer. You can bring your towel with you and do nothing more than soak up the summer sunshine while you lay on the sand. The locals refer to Villajoyosa as La villa. This little village is the perfect place to spend the day outside with its typical hot weather doing nothing but relaxing. If you would like to get a fantastic view over the area climb to the top of the cliff overlooking the village and you will have a breathtaking view of the bay or spend the day on the three kilometres of beaches or take a stroll over to the cove of Raco Conill as it is perfect for diving and the naturist. If you want to relax and sample the chocolate this is a good place to book your COSTA BLANCA HOLIDAYS.