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"La
Esperanza" in Calpe, Spain by
Dany Aendenboom ©1999
Dany Aendenboom
shares his holiday with his wife Sonja and son Arjun at "La
Esperanza Oasis" in sunny Calpe,
Spain. During one of my
(regular) visits to the Global Access website, I found a link leading me to
the website from "La Esperanza Oasis."
The pictures I discovered on their homepage seemed to me like an heaven on
earth for wheelchair users. After talking it over with my wife Sonja, we
decided to give it a try and go and celebrate our 20th marriage anniversary
in the city of Calpe, in the south of Spain.
We flew from Brussels,
Belgium to Alicante, Spain
with a charter flight (Constellation Air). Brussels airport caused no
problems, and we did not need assistance getting trough the passport
controls and getting on the plane. Once inside the plane, we got help from a
special crew (the musclemen !!!) to get me to our plane seats by using a
very narrow drive-through chair. Once we arrived in Alicante,
another musclemen crew arrived in a special lorry with a leveling platform
allowing me to be driven out of the plane, onto the lift-up platform using
the same type of narrow drive-through chair, and make the transfer to my Küschall
chair. The musclemen crew stayed with us until we reached the luggage
pick-up area. At the Alicante
Airport, we were picked up by a special wheelie taxi, courtesy of
Peter Weiss. To get to Calpe. The taxi was a drive-in Peugeot 806 type. The
taxi driver was very friendly, and he even helped us picking up the luggage,
and carrying it to the car. The price for this wheelie taxi is the same as a
normal taxi (10.000 ptas from Alicante to Calpe). Peter Weiss and
his wife, Paula, are the proud owners of "la Esperanza Oasis".
(Peter is German, 54 years young. He has been a wheelie for 16 years or so,
after a car accident) They own two wheelchair friendly houses in Calpe. His own house
disposes of three apartments (condominium- like) adapted for wheelies. There is a studio,
a one-bedroom apartment, and a two- bedroom apartment. All of these
apartments have a wheelchair friendly bathroom, equipped with all the
necessary items for wheelies, WC with horizontal grips, roll-in shower, etc.
A shower wheelchair is available at an additional cost, and the guests can
use the accessible pool (with a hydraulic lift). An electrically operated
bed can be rented on demand. The bedrooms are accessible for wheelies, and
so are the kitchen areas (drive under). It is possible to prepare food while
sitting straight before the fire (not at a 90° angle). The people who
designed these apartments really knew what they were doing. The garden
disposes of lots of shade. There also is a
house for people who want to be on their own called "Casa
Oasis". This villa with two bedrooms and two bathrooms also
has a swimming pool with access for wheelies (lift). The owner calls the
house wheelchair friendly because one needs some help from time to time. The bedroom is OK,
but an electrically manipulated bed is not available. The shower in one
bathroom is from the roll-in type, and the WC has everything it needs. The
kitchen is not adapted for wheelies, no roll-under possibility, and you need
a little ramp to get in. One of the two bedrooms is blocked by a little
step.
Some beach entries
are OK for 4WD-wheelies, but be aware of your bearings (sand). The neighbourhood
from Calpe counts a lot of little
villages, with nice markets (Moraira, Altea,
Etc.) And, of course, there is the city of Benidorm
at a distance of 40km. Though I had some
health prolems (those damned sitting bones!), we had a marvellous time in
the "Casa Oasis", Arjun adored playing on the steps from the pool,
and Sonja took full benefit from the sunny climate. To relieve my bottom, I
spent a lot of time in the pool, my favorite place to be. One afternoon we
were invited by the Weiss family, Peter is a very good cook, and he knows
everything about Spanish wines. Paula ("frau Tschüüs", as Arjun
(5y) called her) and her husband Peter are assisted by their "Major
Domus" Rolf. All three of them are very friendly, and willing to help
you whenever necessary. We were at the
Casa Oasis from 5 June 1999 until 19 June 1999. I had my first swim in 11
years, and we had such a good time that we decided to return next year in
July. "La
Esperanza Oasis" not only was a heaven but also a
haven for wheelies. See you in Calpe..... Adios..... Sonja, Arjun and
Dany "La
Esperanza Oasis" website
is: http://www.laesperanza.com Their
e-mail address is: laesperanza@ctv.es My
e-mail address is: dany_aendenboom@village.uunet.be
Global Access Disabled Travel
Network |
Calpe
is a nice town on the Costa Blanca,
located at the border of the Mediterranean Sea. If you go by plane, you have
two possibilities, the city of Valencia, (regular flights only) or the city
of Alicante (chartered flights only).
Both these cities are at a distance of 80~90 km from Calpe.
The
apartments and the house are located at about 1,5 km from the beach (playa
levante), but since the area is up and down we always called for
a taxi. Taking a taxi cost us 800 ptas to go and 1000 ptas to come back.
Near the beach there is a marvelous "paseo maritime," which is
completely flat and OK for wheelies. This walking area near the beach is
very busy, with lots of bars, restaurants (cheap!) starting with prices from
1000 ptas for three courses ( dishes) meal, wine included....salud.....)