Spanish Vida offers insights into Spanish culture and life. There is coverage of the Spanish fiestas and festivals and articles on Spanish food and drink. There is also information on the unspoilt areas of Spain as well as the more traditional destinations with advice on places to stay and things to see. Whether you are living or visiting Spain this blog gives you the lowdown on the Spanish way of life. Please feel free to leave comments or questions.
The feast of Saint John (San Juan) is one of the oldest in the calendar year. It coincides with the summer solstice and the shortest night of the year and it is strongly connected with fire and magic. In Spain, fires are lit all over, especially in coastal areas where the triumph of light over darkness is celebrated by feasting, singing and dancing. On many beaches in Spain it is prohibited to lit fires, however, on this night they make an exception and huge bonfires are lit and everyone goes down to the beach for the fiesta. There is the tradition for jumping three times over the bonfire and it is also customary to bathe in the sea on this night as the waters are said to be beneficial for skin complaints and/or burnt feet! It is great time for partying and many beaches like La Malvarrosa in Valencia have DJ's and party well into the night.
Another FIB festival coming up in July from the 14th to the 15. Then main line ups are The Streets, The Strokes and Artic Monkeys although the main highlights for me will be Portishead and The Stranglers. Now if you've never been before there are some things to watch out for, including where to camp, the heat and getting there and back.
In the festival (main stage)
Firstly, here's a brief introduction to the area and what you can expect. Benicássim in a small coastal town in the region of Valencia. It's mainly a Spanish resort town with long sandy beaches and some historic 19th century villas that line the promenade. Thankfully, it isn't a high-rise nightmare that you'd find further down the coast towards Benidorm! The town itself is made up of small businesses that are geared up for the summer tourist trade. There's plenty of restaurants and bars to eat at and I'd recommend eating in the town rather than in the festival or the beach where the prices can be inflated. I have been to Benicassim a week after the festival and seen the prices reduced greatly, so if you're on a budget be aware!
Benicassim town
Board advertising the menú
Here's a general price guide of what you can expect to pay. Obviously, the beach front restaurants are going to charge more although you can find reasonably priced menus. Look out for the 'Menu del dia' which is a set menu at lunch time where you can chose a starter and main course followed by a dessert for a set price, a drink in usually included and you can expect to pay between 7 to 12 euros. Alternatively, some bars offer a single plate of paella for example for about 5-6 euros. In Spain the a la carte menu is called 'la carta' and here you can order tapas or 'raciones' which are larger portions of tapas. Drinks are usually cheaper than in the UK, and a cheap and refreshing Sangria ot Tinto de verano can be ordered in jugs to be shared with friends.
Drink isn't allowed to be taken into the festival, and they will search you so be aware. One of the cheapest places to buy drink is Lidel which has been very popular with the festival goers as a bottle of vodka last year cost 3.95euros!
Camping- If you've been before you'll know that the camping is basic, the video above that I found on youtube, gives you an idea of what it's like. Last year there was a more expensive option that had better facilities. However, be prepared for the 'free' camping areas which look like they are only used once a year for this festival. The camping site nearer the festival seems a bit better, as the camping near the town is quite a distance although there is a bus service. Let's hope the conditions have improved this year as the showers were few and freezing, and there was always queues of about 30-40 minutes waiting time. It's also very cramped with no lighting at night, so make sure you bring a torch. If it all gets to much as it did for us last year, there are several camping sites not connected with the festival that have great facilities. We went to Bonterra camping for a day and night which wasn't expensive, but it gave us a chance to shower, rest and have a good swim in the pool, which was great and as day-time during the festival is quite lazy it gave us a chance to re-charge without missing anything.
The beach at Benicassim
July is incedibly hot so make sure you're prepared. If you forget anything or haven't got room to bring alot there is a cheap budget shop in the town that sells everything called a 'chino', it's run by Chinese and you can get sun shades to shampoo.
Camping out by the beach
The local train service runs frequently from Valencia, although they cheekily double the price of the tickets around the time of the festival. The train service is called 'Cercanias' and is easy to find in the Valencia Nord train station. The service runs from Valencia to Castellón, and the journey takes about an hour.
Area behind Benicassim
If you get a chance to leave the festival sites during the day there are some amazing beauty spots behind in the mountains with fresh water that will give you a chance to cool off! There is an area behind Benicassim called 'Desierto de las Palmas' and 'Montenejos' which is slightly further away but worth the visit. If you haven't got a car, the local aqua park is quite popular.
