The Montgo in the distance

Situated on the southern edge of the Montgo Mountain and Natural Park, Javea is a haven for wild plants – and a natural stop off point for naturalists and nature photographers. The weather here is good, even for Spain, and the views across the bay are stunning in most seasons.

The Cala Blanca photo was taken in August. The clouds that you can just see trailing from the summit of the Montgo are on the Denia side of the mountain! We who live in Javea always claim that our rain comes from Denia  We have a friendly rivalry with our neighbours from the north. Denia has a far bigger port than ours as they receive ferries from Ibiza – so they are a much bigger, noisier town than we are plus they have a castle, which I will show you in another post, soon!

To walk to the point from which I took the Cala Blanca photo, you need to get to the end of the Arenal Coast road – you can walk up from the Arenal, but it depends how fit you are and how hot it is. I am not keen on walking any more than a location makes me – so I drive along the Arenal beach road, past the supermarket at the edge of the Arenal following the road towards Cabo la Nao, turning  to the beach road a few yards down and driving to the end carpark that sits on the sea edge and only then do I  leave my comfy air-conditioning for the 15 minute walk along the beach! Cala Blanca is worth the walk – it shelters a couple of small swimming bays and access to some super photo opportunities!

If you aren’t feeling at all energetic, then maybe the Arenal, itself, is a good place to sit, enjoy any one of the many seafront bars and cafés and snap off a few telling shots. I have to confess a glass of wine has been known to improve my composition. The advantage of the Arenal is that you can park close to the seafront, there is always something to look at – even in February, as you can see – OK it is an empty beach, but I think it is still pretty…

In October the storms will strafe the beach front and the sky will become a montage of clouds and rain in a moment. Yet October is so wet, the plants grow quickly and the sunshine that punctuates the storms and warms the beach, between bouts, also adds drama to post storm photos!