User:VicenteBrassa
Playa del Portet[edit]
The Portet was since ancient times a jetty and natural harbor at the foot of Cap d'Or.
In the early twentieth century, there were several houses in this fishing area forming three cores. Beachfront and in a small mound were seven houses, several of them of the Boira family, another of Pere "el Pla" and near the seashore, Vicente Calaff, a native of Cocentaina, bought a small house. It was one of the first holidaymakers who chose the Portet of Moraira as a place to spend his vacation.
A little further back, the second core, where existed two more houses of Neso and Toni Pomero. Along with these, several small houses for summer were built such as that of Maties de Benitatxell, of Jacinta or "Nasia' of Monfort, that initially were twin and one was sold to a family of Carcaixent and that of García España was sold in turn in 1940 to Vicente Forcada, expanded and preserved with the current shape.
Behind these, in 1930, a beautiful villa that was long, the most elegant and luxurious with its hipped roof and blue glazed tiles marking the edges and culminating with pineapple-shaped ornament was built. In front of it, three pine trees, then the only existing one nearby, shaded this house called "Maricel'" owned by the Colla family of Valencia.
The third core of fishermen's cottages is located around the hermitage of San Juan Bautista built by Father Batiste Teulada around 1860. It formed what was popularly known as "the Carreret." Adjoining the chapel was the home of Miguel de Cuello, years later "Casa Boira" which was a boarding house run by Francisco Boira and María, his wife. Since the late 1940s, it had rooms available and a small dining room with a fireplace. In front of the house was a sunshade made with pine branches that was later replaced by a porch.
Across the corner of Carreret and forming the road was the home of Rosan Ponsola. Then the houses of Juanito and Jesús of Benitatxell, this later many years rented to the Cuello family. Then “Casa Julia , which was a large carob tree that served as a meeting point for several generations of young holidaymakers, was baptized with the name “Guatipití”. Then it was the house of the nuns where Francisca Moll lived many years Francisca Moll with their children. At the end of the street and bordering the path linking the Moraira Portet was the house of the sisters Andrés of Teulada. In 1949 it was acquired by the Magalló family of Silla who expanded and built one smart “Miramar” and a porch with columns of rough stone.
On the opposite side of Carreret was the Sancho's house, formerly owned by a family of Carcaixent.
The Sancho, neighbors of Teulada acquired it around 1915. In view of this was the house of María Cardona married to a pharmacist from Gata. It was also acquired in 1915. Between this house and Sancho ran the Azagador where there was also a lot of water down the rainy days.
Attached to the house of María Cardona was the house of Don Isidro and Dona Rosario, residents of Gandia. It was acquired in the early 40s by Elvira Cortals, owner of the liquor store "Kola Cortals" and finally bought and completely renovated by the Casanova family in the early 60s.
There were several cottages in the Portet, some with large expanses of dry farming and typical Mediterranean architecture. Climbing the tower of Cap d'Or was the house of Batiste Po with beautiful views over the bay. It was shaded with several pine trees and then almost centenarians. This house was a meeting place for several generations thanks to the generosity of its inhabitants.
The beautiful house of Joan 'Pomero" had many terraces with olive trees and vineyards. It was also a meeting point for young people and friends of the five children of the marriage.
Another former farmhouse with large grounds was that of Uncle who sold at home their agricultural products of oil and dry vegetables "Quico Tecla" 's house, also surrounded by terraces of muscat, had his winery where made wine. Many people came with their bread to be baked. In the mid-50 the marriage of Paco and Valentina transformed it into "Casa Paco Inn" where many families spent the summer. In mid-summer, a festival and dance costumes with large crowds were celebrated.
Across the road, "Mañet house" was an eating house and inn in the 30s. Concurrently with the work of hostelry, threshing was done in the era. Fairs and dances were also held in summer by many families year after year.
Beachfront, in 1918, three friends built together three identical houses. The first, Don Vicente Buigues, pastor of Benissa, was the initiator of the construction of the new parish church of Benissa, known as the "Cathedral of the Marina" The house was inherited by his niece Juanita. Then was that of the notary of Pedreguer Don Augusto Villalonga who, at his request, the road linking the Portet Moraira was built in 1928.
It is worth mentioning the story of the construction of the road for their curiosity. It happened thus: coming from a moonlit night boat from Moraira with family and luggage for the summer, he reached the shore and jumped out of the boat thinking the water would come to his knees. He went wet to the chest. It was such an outrage that it was proposed that this would not happen again to anyone and urged its design and construction. A few years later, at the beginning of the war, a militia came for him and took him with the excuse to sign some scriptures, and on the way he was killed. The third house was that of Don Mario Zamora, a lawyer and neighbor from Valencia.
The other two houses that make up the group were that of Rafael Alberola and Angustias Pallarés. The house took the name of “Lorenza” after the couple’s daughter. The last house of Rosita Mulet, a resident of Benissa, was acquired in 1940 by Guillermo Davalos, who put the name “Tolete”.
At the end of the road was “Villa San Luis”, a nice house that was closing the beach and starting the climb to Carteret. It was built in the early 1930s by Pep Ventura and bought later by the son of Doctor Cru, Luis Satorre, who sold it in the early 50s.
The villa called "San Antonio" has a niche with a saint of the same name. It belonged to Doctor Antonio Miralles Cru since 1915 approximately. It was one of the first summer visitors though the house had previously belonged to a Cuban-born doctor. Doctor Cru improved it and lifted the top floor. The house, lavishly decorated with ceramic tile banisters, pinnacles, and a simple garden with some pine trees, had spectacular views over the beach and the background of Moraira Cape. In 1930 Don Antonio built four houses for rent by the ravine. There were four very simple little houses with a community well in the back of these and a cistern of rainwater shared by every two houses. When a house was hired, the contract brought an extensive and detailed inventory of everything contained in each of them. The customers must display everything in perfect condition before leaving the house. The front of these was protected by a sunshade of pine branches standing at the beginning of the summer terrace. In 1953 they were bought by Don José Alamá for their children, except one that was bought by the sisters Bru, Jacinta, and Tina, well known by all the people. The first was tennis, a sport she practiced until very old age.
They came from Madrid and, since the early 60s, aboard a small Seat 600 that carried the impossible. This family rented Doctor Cru houses since 1933. During the summer of 1936, the Miranda family summered in one of the houses. From Valencia came Don Pedro, persecuted because of his political ideals. He escaped wounded in the leg through the back door of his house but could be traced back and finally shot in the hideout of the cliff.
There is no doubt that Doctor Cru was a pioneer in the tourism sector. An article titled “The Coast of the Marina” published in September 1033 in the magazine Valencia atracción, said: “The 20-day excursion to Ifach and the Portet of Moraira lies not only in the attractiveness of Ifach and the neighboring town of Calp but also in endless details together. Then the tour continued to Moraira, one of the beautiful areas of the coast of the Marina that, outside any route, remains largely ignored. However, promoted by an enthusiastic propagandist of its beauties such as Doctor Miralles Cru, the number of vacationers rises year by year thanks to the charm of its isolation and its beautiful prospects”.
A captain of carabinieri built a house around the same time which was shaped like a little castle with bits of mirror embedded in the façade. He had a reputation for having a bad temper and in fact, he walked around the seashore with the gun hanging from his belt and frightened the vacationer's colony. The house was bought in 1944 by Vicente Gomez who completely transformed it into a colorful chalet.
Behind this, in the period of military conflict, an Italian, known as Don Mario, built a house that was formerly a riurau used for drying raisins. Don Mario taught the children of Moraira and spoke to them amazing things like the first man on the moon, an idea that amazed everyone. It was said that Don Mario was a spy who was here camouflaged and had to be so. Days before ending the Spanish Civil War he disappeared without a trace. Then the house was occupied by a family of Xaló, right in front and below two centenary carob trees. They set up a tent and a piano where they served drinks and dancing although this activity lasted only a very short period. After that, a caulker from Altea established his family.
Also under the ancient carob three, he established his shipyard where he built several “llaüts”. A couple of other families rented the riurau until the late 40s when it was bought by the Vizcaya family of Valencian origin and resident in Madrid. Finally, Ricardo Vilalta built in the late 50's still guarded by these two beautiful specimens of his house carob tree.
Another curious design house was that of the Vercet or "alcoyanos' family, located at the beginning of the Portet old road. The house was built in 1943 and was a faithful representation of a castle-like those installed in Alcoi for the celebration of the festival of Moors and Christians, with battlements, windows of Moorish style and, interestingly, the rooms did not have doors but curtains made by Alcoi looms.
Very close and on top, behind the house of Doctor Cru, on the same curve of the road and offering a panoramic view over the beach, was the cottage called "The Apostle James', also built in the mid-40s and property of an airman from Madrid. Years later it was rebuilt and renamed "La Mesana'.
To the south were the headquarters of the Guardia Civil (before the war, the carabinieri). Built in 1913, it was perhaps the first major construction in the area and was surrounded by several enormous eucalypti. Further back was the villa Marita "the Alcoyana', a lonely old house surrounded by mountains and with tremendous views. It was built by his father, Wenceslao Ivars, in 1924, with a lot of land area of dry land crops, pine forest, and rocks that reached the edge of the sea. The farm was starting to build the road to Moraira Portet in 1928. The property included all the coastal slopes from the barracks to the Tosqueres and Portitxol.
Cape Moraira was for many years dominated by a single house with direct beach access via a steep staircase known as "Duato's house.' It was built in the early 1920s by Pep Ventura, a resident of Teulada. At first, It was a simple hut made of hurdles and liming and popularly called "the Gurugu" In the early 30s, it was acquired by the Barrachina family of Valencia. One of the children came paddling his canoe from Valencia and holidaymakers who were then very few gouged a small joke: "Pepe Barachina paddled to China:”. Later, in the 40s, it was acquired by VictorGaliana, who was the director of the psychiatric hospital in Valencia, being a professional and highly prestigious doctor. He expanded the house providing it with all comforts for the time. It also possesses a nice sloop anchored during the summer in the bay in front of his house. In 1948, it was acquired by the Duato family who kept it until the end of the 60s. It was a house that was in and out of a lot of people, given that the marriage had nine children, apart from friends and family. Theater sessions, music, magic tricks, masked balls, and various forms of performances were held. The silhouette of the house with theirflatroofs, whitewashed and with stone walls, gave a particular aspect to this construction. To gather the whole family a bell was tolled and that was the sign that it was time.
At the end of September 1950 came torrential rains. During the afternoon of the 24th and overnight a lot of water coming down the ravine dragged reeds, vines, and trees. The alert was highest in the neighborhood. Although at this time of late summer in the houses located near the mouth of the gorge and the beach were only two families of Joan Buigues, "Juanita", and next to her house was rented by the family of Joaquín Sanz and María Caffarena. The other three houses were closed and received no misfortunes. Such was the amount of accumulated water across the road coming down hard by the ravine that it ended up taking the bridge that crossed this so that the flood was received directly on the houses. Within minutes, the water swept everything in its path.
Furniture houses were swept offshore by the forces of water; the walls of the backyards disappeared; there was no race of chimpanzees; Juanita'soven was washed away offshore in a single block. People saved their lives miraculously thanks to the swift action of several young Moraira boys including Pepe "Pomero" who lived then with the nuns in "Carreret" and saw what was happening. Three of the houses were surrounded by water from the two branches formed by the ravine. Two boys placed two hurdles and two long oars as a gateway between Lorenza Terrace and the previous house. Once safe and sound, they could see their houses fell like puddings and, were unable to recover even the least. Four of the houses were badly damaged and had to be rebuilt again.
This circumstance made one of them put on sale. 1951 was already running when one day two English middle-aged sisters called Fuz and Helen, driving a brand spanking new Bentley car. They found Paco Julià, Moraira's neighbor, and asked him whether there was a house for sale. Luckily Paco had the key to a house that the previous year had been demolished by the strong flood and that their owners had entrusted the sale. The deal was quickly closed and work began to rebuild the house thatwasfinishedayearandahalflater. Fuz was the first foreign tourist who arrived in Moraira, although since 1940 the Eknes Family, of Norwegian origin but resident in Valencia, bought a fishermen house.
The Englishwoman, as it was also known, was a tennis champion and during their stays in Moraira practiced it on the Forcada court with friends who came to spend the holidays. These British guests had some customs very different from the vacationers, drank a lot of whiskey, rose at noon, listened to jazz music in the jukebox, and bathed in the morning light.
They organized parties in the backyard of his house, contracting an orchestra that enlivened the evening. The young people clambered to the rear wall and the olive trees whose branches ravine relapsed into the courtyards to snoop and chords of the orchestra resounded throughout the Portet. The party ended at dawn in the water. Fuz was always friendly with the neighbors. She made herself understood with her pretty basic Spanìsh. On the days of waves, children went home to ask them to borrow some wood boards to glide over the waves.
She also bought a red speed boat with a white stripe on the bow and a brand Evinrude outboard motor. It was for years the only one of its kind with practicing water skiing along with some young vacationers.
In the 40s it had only built the house Bigné behind Maricel, later bought by Vicente lbor which expanded considerably and planted a pine forest called San Vicente.
Along with Miquel Boira and behind Vicente Calafi, he built 1949 his house Maria del CarmenneighboringSilla, Valencia, with a small tower whose corners were painted in red.
In 1955 they began to build bigger houses like that of Antonio Lázaro, the last of the four existing before reaching the Damned Beach or Racó, bordering this with gully and mountains.
Behind Joan "the Pomero" house, it was that of the brothers Fausto and Antonio Pastor, who for many years were the highest.
In 1957 Maria CaffarenabuiltuphisoldwayofPortet, one of the first houses built according to architectural plans. The two twin houses of Vicente and Antonio Alamá, next to the already existing four of Doctor Cru, were also built at the same time. Reaching Tosqueres, Marita lvars "the Alcoyana", built on their land two houses to rent with amazing views called "tot mar" and "mi casita", Initiating the path of the widow, Juanito Cervera, known as "the Bricklayer", builthishousein1952inthearea. His house was christened with the name"Villa San Pancracio" As Quico Tecla sold several plots behind his house, it was built four houses on them: thefirst,nexttoVercet,forafamilyofGandia; after, the Gil family, two-story house whose bottom is always allocated to rent; and, finally, Vicente Castelló and Ángel Pestaña. Juanito Cervera built three houses behind these for the Alamá brothers in 1958. At the top behind these, a neighbor of Teulada built a very basic and simple home with very steep ladder access and small windows. This ladder was popularly christened "the house of the tongue out" which was bought in 1963 by the Catalan family Benavides.
The first built in the Portet urbanization was "La Cala', comprising detached houses, semi-detached bungalows, and apartments on two parallel streets built in 1964.
Two years later, they began building apartments called "Noray" on the beach. From this moment, Moraira is becoming known outside our borders and starting to get massive foreign tourism as well as national.
CLIMATE-ElPortet, Moraira
The climate in ElPortet in MorairaisMediterraneanwithhotsummers(July and August)and mild winters. During the summer, El Porter enjoys the sea breeze, which is very pleasant. There is little rainfall, usually in February and October. Most days are sunny and the sea is usually calm in El Portet, thanks to the protection of Cabod'Or. The detailed information of sandy beach Playa del Portet provided by Brassa Homes owner.
| Month | Daily max. Cº | Daily min. Cº | Rain (mm) | Wind average | Humidity max. | Humidity min. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. | 23.4 | 5.6 | 8.1 | 24 | 92 | 40 |
| Feb. | 23.7 | 8.5 | 0.0 | 22 | 92 | 29 |
| Mar. | 26.2 | 3.3 | 7.9 | 26 | 94 | 50 |
| Apr. | 26.3 | 9.7 | 0.3 | 25 | 92 | 53 |
| May | 25.4 | 12.9 | 83.8 | 23 | 92 | 59 |
| Jun. | 30.8 | 16.0 | 4.8 | 28 | 92 | 61 |
| Jul. | 34.0 | 21.2 | 0.0 | 26 | 90 | 55 |
| Aug. | 34.4 | 20.9 | 3.8 | 23 | 90 | 61 |
| Sep. | 30.2 | 18.3 | 65.8 | 23 | 91 | 65 |
| Oct. | 28.4 | 13.6 | 1.0 | 25 | 91 | 60 |
| Nov. | 27.2 | 9.6 | 0.9 | 26 | 98 | 48 |
| Dec. | 21.9 | 7.2 | 9.0 | 23 | 92 | 50 |