ONE of the places in Spain that is a language center in Iberian languages is Calpe. In this Mediterranean paradise, Spanish is learned here extensively as there are dozens of language schools here. Language courses vary from four academic years leading to a bachelor’s degree in Spanish to short term courses from two days to four weeks to three months and two years long which ultimately end up with an associate degree. Aside from learning Spanish, students here also learn the regional dialects in the Iberian region such as Catalan, Basque and Portuguese. Most of the students here are foreigners coming from Britain, the Scandinavian region and a few Americans, Canadians, South Koreans, Filipinos, Japanese and Saudi Arabians. That’s how diverse the tourist and expat population in Calpe is.

It is because owning land here is so easy even for foreigners. All you need to subsequently pay are the annual income tax and the garbage collection tax which goes directly to the local government of Calpe. Some of them ultimately convert their properties into vacation homes and they make earnings out of this.

One of the most basic needs of a home in Calpe is cooking. And people here prefer gas stoves over electric stoves because electric stoves eat too much energy. There are two kinds of cooking gas distributed all over Calpe – propane and butane. Since most of Calpe is relatively coastal, it is ideal to use butane because butane works well in higher temperatures. Of course, you need to use propane cooking gas inland because it is relatively cold inland especially in the mountainous areas of Calpe. Because of a burgeoning expat population here in Calpe, there have been a growing number of cooking gas suppliers here. They give free door-to-door deliveries and they really like the foreigners as customers because they give hefty tips. That is especially true even for the locals who live on the fifth level of the condominium they are renting because the delivery man has to bring with him the heavy gas cylinder.

If you want to eat here in Calpe, then you will have two options. One is to eat out at restaurants and the other is to simply grill food yourself in your vacation home. Since Calpe is located in the Mediterranean, people here adhere to a strict Mediterranean diet consisting only of nothing but fresh seafood. If you are lucky enough to know Spanish, then stroll immediately to the beaches and befriend some local fisherman. As always, local fishermen here are amazed at seeing other Westerners and will immediately entertain you. They may even give you one big catch as your dinner for the evening. So grab the opportunity and go back to your vacation home and grill your catch with olive oil, the healthiest cooking oil in the world because of its relatively low fat content. Then sit back, relax and savor a very enchanting Calpe vacation- whether it’s in your own home or something a little more glamorous (be it a cocktail bar or doing as many of the German tourist do and playing at the pokern tables at a casino), you’ll surely fall in love with Calpe!