I went to Benidorm when I was a teenager. About 13 years old. This was sometime in the 2000s so keep that in mind.
It could have been 12 though, so barely or almost a teenager in hindsight.
This was my first holiday and I went there with my mum for 1-2 weeks.
Even though I don’t remember everything from that holiday, there are things I do recall so let’s talk about it and also jog my memory while I’m at it!
5 things I loved about Benidorm:
1. Clean streets
Being from Levenshulme, Manchester, and the UK in general, I was too used to disgusting streets with shit all over the place especially where I grew up.
People had no respect for the environment, the streets, dog litter, or any form of litter at all. And of course, I became a product of my environment.
This is why it was so refreshing to travel to Benidorm, Spain, during the winter I should add (December), seeing so many clean streets without even a little bit of rubbish on the floor. Or shit for that matter.
It gave me a sense of calm as far as there not being any clutter to see or speak of. And for once in my life I didn’t have to pretend not to see trash all over the place, or turn the other way and block it out of my mind subconsciously as I walked the streets of Levenshulme, Longsight, South Manchester, and eventually other parts of the UK (sometimes even nicer areas were littered as well).
This is what I love about many European countries.
2. Sunny weather
This goes without saying when you’re from somewhere in the world like the UK where it’s cold, dull, boring, and never hot enough (that changed down the line somewhat).
We came to Benidorm, Spain in December time. Thinking more about it now which I haven’t done in a while, we left by the end of December or smack bang on January 1st of the next year. So maybe I stayed a month instead rather than “just” a week or two.
The hot ass weather during winter obviously surprised someone like me since you associate winter with cold weather, but here was Spain where it’s hot regardless of the time of year.
That was a new experience for me and It probably had an impression on me without me even realizing it did.
I had the desire to live in hotter countries and always thought about it long before I knew how I could do it, and this trip to Benidorm and the hot weather was probably why.
3. Friendly people
I remember so much about my life in all aspects with a few exceptions, even as far back as 3 or 4 years old, but my experience in Spain was a pleasant one.
I’m from Levenshulme, so I know what hostility looks like, people staring, that leading to violence and all the other BS. But none of this existed in Spain when I went since everyone was friendly enough and if not friendly, they at least didn’t go out of their way to be dickheads or cause any sort of trouble.
People were just going about their lives, doing what they were doing, minding their own business, and sometimes being pleasant while they were at it.
A thing I couldn’t understand back then to the level I do now.
4. The markets
It’s a shame I don’t know the exact part of Benidorm I went to but I’ll find out and update this post. The market looked EXACTLY like the image above.
The markets were full of “unique” stuff and I could tell even back then that the jewellery they were selling was FAKE as fuck. But that’s expected in many markets across the world.
You never know what you’re getting with certain items.
Hilarious enough, my mum did buy me a pair of socks which we thought were FAKE but that wasn’t the point or the point of the purchase.
The socks were called KIKE, which was obviously a stab at “Nike”, a blatant rip-off version. The socks were grey with KIKE written in black writing.
I should have found a way to take a picture of that shit because it was legendary.
Also, maybe a few keyrings were bought from the market.
Nobody seemed out of character, suspicious, or anything of the sort.
5. So much to do
I remember there was a hill right in front of the Hotel we stayed at. The streets were wide, the roads were big, the pavement was relatively wide, and then there was this big uphill street that led to some sort of water park, an aquatic place, I don’t know what it was exactly but it’s similar to that.
All I know is I wanted to go but we couldn’t because it wasn’t open during that time of the year. I know this because we walked all the way up to this peak where it was, only to find out I’ll never get the chance to take part in these “activities” while in Spain.
This wasn’t the only thing to do either which shouldn’t surprise any adult, but it would if you were a kid.
Hot sunny locations always have plenty of things to do, especially for the “kids” but it goes both ways.
On another note, I did cheekily have a “sip” of brandy or white wine in Spain, and that let me know just how horrible alcohol really is and re-confirmed why I’ll never drink it or get into it.
That point was confirmed yet again some years later when I had beer for the first time, but that’s a whole other story.
–
That was a nice trip down memory lane.
I’ll do more of these and jog my memory some more.