After a little fiasco with buying a Saturday Night ticket for Madrid instead of Benicassim, we decided in the end not to worry about going to the festival, but just enjoyed exploring Alcossebre and the Castellon region.
Marty and I arrived on July 12th to a tremendous thunderstorm and a rather rocky landing, but the rain was needed to clear the air and it had stopped by the following morning.
Although we were initially a little disappointed with the size of the apartment (compared to last year), it didn't take us long to settle in and enjoy the fact that this year our balcony faced the sea!!!
We didn't want to do too many thing before Kate arrived so we just spent the first 4 days relaxing in the apartment or on the beach. We found a perfect little spot on Beach Romana next to the boardwalk which gave us "free" shade (as they charge 10 eur a day for the umbrella's), and it was about a 5km walk from the apartment along the beaches and through the town. Just long enough to feel that you deserved a stop off for tapas on the way.... and usually on the way back too!!!!! 
We found out that Alcossebre is actually quite famous for one of its beaches, which was the nearest to our hotel, and we hadn't even seen it last year. It is a natural fountain beach with fresh water that bubbles out of the sand. It is quite unstable but it good fun to watch and great for building sand castles. We made a point of walking through it each day.
The day before Kate arrived it was so hot that we didn't even leave the apartment, except to go to the pool to dip our feet in to escape the heat.
On the day Kate arrived (Wednesday) we drove up to Benicassim and did a little shopping in Tastar, (the nice food shop we went to last year), and then went to get Kate from Benicassim station. We had dinner in El Sidreria, and then drove back to the apartment.
On Thursday we went to the beach, via El Torero and then stopped in at Resaca for a drink on the way back. We had a tapas dinner at Bar Heladeria Juan and an early night!On Friday we decided to be a little adventurous and try to find Castello Xivert. We found it on the very very top of a very very big hill, but couldn't work out how to get there!!! We decided that it looked all very nice, but that we would continue in down to Peniscola and have a look there instead.
We were quite surprised how pretty it was in Peniscola, as the first impression was of a very built up commercial tourist centre. In fact when we found the old town, we were very impressed by its beauty, and we had a look around the castle and bought a few gifts.
Kate cooked us a lovely Swordfish and veggie, seafood mix dinner and another early night.
On Sunday morning Kate was very tired, so Marty and I dove up the El Pinar road past the restaurant and up to the top. We had done this before sun rise as it was going to be far too hot to go out afterwards. We walked up and around for about an hour, and then drove down to the marina for breakfast at Cheers.
We stayed in the apartment for the rest of the day and only left to go to Ximo for dinner. We each had a drink, salad, starter, main, dessert and coffee, for 15 eur each!!!Before going to Alcoossebre this year, I had had a look at things to do in the area. I had come across some caves that looked interesting so we decided to go and have a look at them on Monday. They were in La Vall D'Uixo which was about a 45 minute drive down towards Valencia. We were lucky and managed to get on the last morning tour. You got on a boat which took you round the little stream in the caves. After about 20 minutes you got out and walked through a little passage, and then got back on the boat, which took you round and back to the start. It was so peaceful down there and the water was extremely clear and completely still. It was quite an incredible experience and we all felt very mellow and chilled out afterwards.
On the way back we stopped off in Benicassim, and then went to the Spa in Marina D'Or. When we saw that it was going to cost us 33 eur each for three hours we were a little taken a back, but when we got inside we realised why it cost so much. I can not begin to tell you how amazing it was, but there was every type of swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, steam room, flavoured baths, ice rooms and spas you can imagine. There was even a Dead Sea pool which was quite bizarre.
Tuesday saw us back at the beach, but only for a short stay as it was far too hot. We ventured out again for the Market and bought some ham a few veggies and some fruit. We then went to Cheers to use the internet.
On Wednesday we went to the beach in the morning and El Torero for lunch. At 4pm we arrived at Aquarama and spent 3 hours playing on the slides and rides..... good fun!!!
Kate didn't feel well on Thursday so Marty and I went to the beach and out for dinner to Cheers. Kate was feeling much better having spent the day relaxing.
Friday was a normal day of beach, El Torero and Cheers for dinner, and Saturday we packed up and had lunch at El Torero before heading down to the airport in Valencia.
We handed the car back and went shopping in the duty free shops.
We landed a little early and managed to get the earlier bus back from Hahn. Marty was not feeling well, so we just went straight home and went to bed.
