Alcalali (or Alcanali in Castellano) is reached via Xaló (Jalon) and at the opposite end of the Vall de Pop from Benissa and sits some 240m above sealevel. I was first attracted to Alcalali a couple of years ago by adverts of pantomimes. Yes! At last I could get my annual English ' fix' - I didn't miss teabags, baked beans, cheddar cheese, M&S (most of which are available over here - the latter in Gibraltar!).....but I did miss my annual Christmas/New Year visit to the theatre to see a pantomime.

Alcalali, pretty village that it is, is blessed with an almost full-sized theatre complete with a teeny-tiny box office, charming patio heaters supplying 'central heating' and even a sprinkling of Spanish who come to try to understand and practice their English. But really, how can you begin to explain that the Principal Boy is a girl, and that the ugliest actress - the panto dame - is actually a man? And what about shouting "behind you" at the players.....what's all that about? Well, there is NO explanation; it just is. And it all takes place in Alcalali!

Earlier this year, I decided to take myself to Alcalali to church on Easter Sunday or el dia de los Ramos (day of palm branches/Palm Sunday). It says on the official website of the town that the locals are friendly - and they are! In the UK, depending when Easter falls, the weather is usually cold and/or wet. This year, the day started bright and sunny, I arrived in the quiet town as it was awaking around 10.15am and sat at a bar/cafe opposite the church entrance and ordered a coffee (cafe con leche, descafeinado de sobre – packet decaff milky coffee not the coffee machine decaff) and this came accompanied by a madeleine, a madeira-like cake traditionally eaten for light breakfast. As my coffee was cooling I sat and read the tiled plaque in the front wall of the church which detailed the town's history. It described Alcalali as an Arab-based town, known locally for its pottery, orange and grape-growing, the town had finally been cleared of Moriscos in 1609 - Moriscos being Moors from Northern Africa who had converted to Christianity. The town then became the start of what it is today.

By the time the church service was ready to begin, all the parishioners had followed the local cure (pronounced qeuray), Father Paul, to another part of the town where the service took place and they pretty much all carried pieces of real palm trees, undoubtedly cut from their gardens that morning, or pieces of freshly harvested olive branches. Non-Catholic myself, I hadn't been prepared for this DIY bit, having been used to being given prepared, dried palm crosses in the UK. A lady saw that I had nothing myself and broke hers in half and handed me a piece of olive. I felt truly welcomed with that sign of peace and followed to the rear of the congregation as we walked through the town and back down into the church to complete the service. It was the loveliest Easter service I had attended.

Alcalali covers and area of over 14.4km² and the population is in the region of 1500 people. A look at the population statistics shows that in 1900 there were 1116 inhabitants and that figures decreased almost continuously (except for 1930) until in 1981 there were only 611 people in the town. This has probably no other explanation than the Spanish Civil War of the mid-30's and the subsequent Franco effect; the wholesale genocide of anyone other than Franco's own Republican members. Alcalali has a rich history and its people have labelled walking routes through the town where you can take in local monuments such as the lookout tower, built to keep the Berberiscos (Moorish Pirates) from regularly ravaging the town, or La Ermita del Calvari as well as La Ermita de San Juan Mosquera - one of the town's patron saints traditionally celebrated during the last week of June. Other pastimes include Pelota Valenciana in the street, hillwalking, hunting and cycling. There are also municipal swimming pools, tennis, fronton and squash courts and only 20 minutes from beautiful beaches there are many other outdoor activities which the fabulous local climate recommends.

For the house-hunter, Alcalali offers all styles of properties from townhouses with Arabic style internal patios, to English style small estates with villas of all designs, to country-style finca properties. What ever you are looking for, you are sure to receive a very warm welcome in Alcalali.