Spain in the 2000s

Visited: July 1992, August 1994, July 2004, July 2017

Duration of visit: 90 days

Capital city: Madrid

Population: 47 million (2017)

Spain 2000s travel blog reading time: 5 minutes

• Travelling through Segovia, Madrid, Barcelona and further south by car in 2004.
• Family trip to Alicante in 2017, culminating by sliding down the adrenaline-full Verti-Go.
• Exploring the highlights of Valencia – one of the most beautiful urban zones in Spain.

I have had the opportunity to visit Spain on various occasions as a backpacker, to learn Spanish and live with a local family, for business and later with my family.

In this article I describe my trips to Spain in the 2000s:

• Road trip to Segovia
• Mediterranean warmth of Valencia
• Royal Palace de la Granja
• Burgos and Valencia
• Family trip to Alicante

More articles about my trips around Spain are available here:

During the road trip around Western Europe, I travelled through Italy, France, Andorra and Spain. I was camping to reduce costs of accommodation, and visiting the most important landmarks along the road. My budget was very limited. Due to high tolls, I mostly drove on toll-free roads I was fully equipped to cook on a portable camping gas stove, which I mainly used for preparing breakfast and dinner.

Beside returning to Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante, I visited for the first time Segovia, Royal Palace de la Granja, Burgos and Valencia.

My love and admiration for the quality of life in Spain hadn’t changed. What I noticed this time, was rather vulgar vocabulary of young people, especially in Barcelona.

The World Heritage City of Segovia is known for an old Jewish quarter, the cathedral, grand mansions and the picturesque aqueduct. Its heritage began with the Romans in 80 BCE, continued to flourish through the medieval Moorish period and experienced a manufacturing boom in the 16^th century. Built on a cliff and protected by a deep moat, the medieval Fortress Alcázar looks like a fairy-tale castle.

The 167 arches of the 28-meter-tall Roman Aqueduct are a magnificent backdrop for the historic part of the city and a must-see place to visit. One of the two largest existing Roman structures in Spain, built by Romans around 50 CE, the aqueduct channeled water 17 kilometers from the Acebeda River through a deep valley to the ancient city. Today the aqueduct is a trademark of Segovia.

Valencia, the third-largest city in Spain, is also one of the most beautiful urban areas, located along the Mediterranean Sea. Maybe not so popular for tourists, but it offers high standard of living for its inhabitants, mild climate, pleasant city infrastructure of parks, cycling routes, pedestrian sidewalks, and various things to do for those who enjoy an active urban lifestyle.

I skipped the charming historic center and spend most of the time in La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (The City of Arts and Sciences), one of Europe’s most impressive centers dedicated to cultural and scientific exhibitions.

The Oceanogràfic is Europe’s largest aquarium, where more than 500 different marine species can be appreciated. The most dramatic part is the tunnel, where you walk surrounded on both sides and overhead by swimming sharks and other sea animals.

The show featuring dolphins, penguins, sea lions, and whales is one of the popular things to do, showcasing the special skills these animals have been trained for, while also ensuring they are kept in the best possible conditions within the aquarium.

In 2017, I took my family to Alicante to unite Javier’s and my kids for the second time, after we hosted my Spanish friend and his family in Slovenia a year before. Alicante is still a wonderful city on the coast, offering beach activities that Spain is famous for. We took the opportunity to visit one of the most famous attractions in the area.

Aqualandia Benidorm offers 15 water rides and attractions ranging from kid-friendly to exhilarating, suitable for every age and level of courage. We were riding all of them increasing the level of excitement, until we reached the last two slides of 28 and 33 meters high.

Verti-Go is the name of this 33 meters high monster, which was at the time the highest slide in Europe and the tallest slide-capsule in the world. Technical specifications quote: “The gravitational acceleration assures that the client will achieve the speed of more than 100 KPH, as the worst-case scenario. The maximum speed and acceleration depend on the size and body weight.”

Javier and me were not the only family members that were fulfilling the criteria of age and size, but we were the only two brave enough to climb and later slide down this adrenaline-full attraction. Well, at least we thought that we were brave enough.

If other attractions were relatively busy with short waiting time, there was no waiting time for Verti-Go. I started to climbed quickly, decreasing the pace every curve, before reaching the top, with beautiful view. It was soon my turn. Too soon! Few second of waiting, until the floor below me opened and I literally fell into the tunnel.

In the following 3 seconds I dropped 33 meters, like falling from a 13^th floor. A few moments later I stopped approximately 100 meters far from the starting point. My bottom was burning from the heat. I was screaming, then soon smiling. What a crazy, fun ride; definitely the highlight of the day!

Javier jumped after me. When his face was transforming from a serious mature man to a smiling joyful teenager at the end of the slide, I already recovered to laugh like a maniac.

It is not the first extreme activity we did together and I hope not the last.

There are many other places that I visited in Spain, but I haven’t included them in my diaries, because for me, Spain is not just about jumping from one landmark to another one. It is about enjoying the lifestyle and connecting with people.