Most towns are flat enough for a map pin to do the job. Alcoi is not. It stands where five rivers, the Polop, the Barxell, the Uxola, the Benissaidó and the Molinar, have cut narrow valleys into the rock, and for two centuries the town has grown by throwing bridges across them.
That is lovely to look at and awkward for anyone trying to find a front door in a hurry.
Why the pin lands in the wrong place
The Canalejas viaduct, opened in 1907, is 200 metres long and stands 54 metres above the Molinar. The Pont de Sant Jordi, finished in 1931, carries the traffic of l’Eixample across to the Centre. Santa Rosa lies between the Maria Cristina and Sant Roc bridges, and the Fernando Reig bridge was added in 1987.
Under every one of those bridges there are streets, houses and doors. A phone that is unsure of its position will often snap the pin to the nearest road it knows, and the nearest road may be a bridge high above you. On a map it looks like the right place. On the ground it is a long way round.
What to say instead
When you ring, give the person on the other end something a pin cannot:
- The barri. Centre, El Viaducte, l’Eixample, Santa Rosa, Zona Nord, Zona Alta or Batoi. If you are not sure, say what you can see.
- The nearest bridge, and whether you are on it or under it. “Below the Maria Cristina, on the Santa Rosa side” is worth more than a street number.
- A landmark. The station or the hospital in Zona Nord, a church, a square, a shop with a sign.
- In Zona Nord, the estate. Sant Maure, Joan XXIII and Caramanxel each have hundreds of homes; give the estate, the block and the number of the street door.
- Where the van can stop. In the Centre and the Barri de la Sang the streets were laid out before cars, and in Zona Alta they climb steeply. Say whether there is room outside or whether it is better to stop at the top or the bottom.
If you are in one of the settlements outside the town, such as l’Estepar, Baradello or Montesol, the name of the urbanisation matters more than the street, and a pin is still useful as long as you say which urbanisation it is in. The list of barris, settlements and towns covered uses the same names.
Sending the location properly
On WhatsApp, share your location and then add a line of text: the barri, the bridge, and “above” or “below”. The pin gets the van to the area; the line gets it to the right level.
If you are inside a block, also say which street door to use: the one with your number on it may be round the corner from the one the pin shows. If that street door is itself the problem, there is a guide to street doors that no longer latch.
Until the van reaches your level
Stay where you can be seen from the street, keep your phone charged and switched on, and answer unknown numbers: it may be the locksmith checking the last few metres. On a cold night, wait somewhere warm and say where you will be; the guide to a lockout on a snowy night has more on that.