The Carabassí is one of the last stretches of wild-ish coast between Alicante and Santa Pola: a line of dunes held together by pine and marram grass, a long beach, and the sea glittering under the flight path of Alicante airport. In the low rocky ground behind it lies a small cave known for painted marks, the Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassí, close to the village of El Altet and a short hop from Santa Pola.
Its inclusion in the Mediterranean rock art inscription makes it something of an outlier. Most of the painted sites in eastern Spain are tucked away in inland gorges, but this one sits within sight of the sea, a reminder that coastal people were part of the same world of image-making. The marks themselves are modest and the site is protected, so treat it as a curiosity and context for the landscape rather than as a destination with a ticket office.
The riding here is coastal and flat, a different rhythm from the mountain loops further inland. The road along the coast between Santa Pola and Alicante runs past the dunes, salt flats and urbanisations, and it can be busy, particularly in summer. The Santa Pola salt pans, just south, are home to flamingos, and the sight of pink birds standing in the shallow lagoons with the airport traffic overhead is one of the odder pleasures of this coast. For better roads, head inland toward Elche and beyond into the hills of the Vinalopó valley.
Elche, a short ride away, holds the great Palmeral, a vast grove of date palms laid out by the Moors and protected by UNESCO in its own right. Santa Pola is a working fishing port, which means seafood: grilled fish, rice cooked in fish stock and the local caldero. Fuel, food and all services are everywhere along this coast, so logistics are easy. The best time to come is outside high summer, when the light is soft, the traffic thins and the dunes smell of warm pine resin.