From whichever direction you approach Calpe, the dominating view seawards is of the Peñon de Ifach, a 332 metre rock that is now a nature reserve but has been used since Phoenician times as a defensive standpoint against pirates and Barbary raiders.

Latter-day colonisers have firmly ensconced themselves in the town, creating a spot by the sea where German bakeries rub shoulders with Scandinavian design stores and British bars where you can enjoy a pint of bitter and a full fry-up for breakfast. Such is the abundance of German residents that a group of them set up the Calpe Carnaval Club to promote the pleasures of the oompah band and the slapping of fat, leiderhosen covered bums during their own carnival in February. They’ve even gone as far as organising a Beer Festival in September, just the place to be if your idea of heaven is guzzling vast quantities of larger accompanied by slabs of wurst to the tune of the aforementioned oompah and leiderhosen slapping.

 Despite this overabundance of extranjeros, there’s still enough to provide an interesting day out in and around the town. The old town is brightly decorated in lots of streets with huge murals and there are plenty chi-chi little shops to separate you from your holiday euros. One benefit of the internationalism is that there are some excellent restaurants so you can dine from around the world. If you want to try local food you’ll find plenty of good rice dishes which you could sample, as a traditional paella, al horno (oven-baked), or amb fessols i naps (with beans and turnips) or if you’re in a fish frame of mind try putxero de polp or borreta de melva (octopus or fish stew respectively).

The beaches of Calpe are narrow and sandy but for those more energetically inclined, a zig-zag walk up the Peñon de Ifach will reward you with views of Ibiza from its 332 metre summit – on a clear day it will, anyway. The hardy, who want a more direct route, can climb the southern face of the rock that drops sheer from summit to sea.

The Peñon is home to over 300 species of animals including colonies of sea birds that use it as a nesting ground. The round walking trip takes about two hours and there is a nature school that provides information on the flora and fauna to be found.

One of the town’s main industries is the fishing fleet and each morning at five the boats leave the harbour at the foot of the Peñon de Ifach. Twelve hours later they return, with a chorus of screeching seagulls, ducking and diving for scraps, welcoming them. As late as 1978 the catch was auctioned on the beach but now it goes under the hammer in the quayside auction house, where a public gallery allows visitors to try and make sense of the rapid-fire buying process. Having failed to do so, you can see the result of a hard days work laid out on display at the restaurants a few metres walk away.

Where lesser dineries try and tempt you with photos of the delights of their kitchens, here the real McCoy lies awaiting your selection. Great slices of merluza, daintily dappled salmonete, long, succulent lubina, thick steaks of atun and fat silvery dorada. If you are on a budget a plate of deep-fried boquerones will only set you back a handful of euros, but if you feel like splashing out the super mariscada is a great floral crustacea display of brown lobster, pink gambas, rose cigalas and deep red carabinero. This will cost you not just a hand, but an arm and a leg, but it’s enough to keep Mr Noah and family well pleased.

To discover more about Spain, and in particular the Valencian Community, its delights and idiosyncrasies, visit www.derekworkman-journalist.com