After having walked past five of the large tiled panels, we come to a small square at the entrance to the Parque Alfonso XIII. The square forms a separation between the upper section of the Paseo and the lower.
The five panels in the upper section are dedicated to the work of Ingeniero Francisco Mira y Botella, without whom Guardamar would probably no longer exist.
It is appropriate that the "person" we see sitting on the central bench of this little square is none other than Engineer Mira himself, complete with suit and tie, hat and umbrella (sadly damaged by vandals, so that the handle is missing), and even his newspaper, which is lying on the bench next to him. If this beautiful statue is life-size, then Mira was a small man, as She Who Must Be Obeyed demonstrates by being audacious enough to sit next to him (and she a married woman!).
It is perhaps interesting during this pause to note some figures regarding the panels of tiles. Each tile measures 15 by 15 cm.; more than 200 tiles are used in each panel. The panels are 2m 40cm wide and 1m 60cm high, though with an arched top, reaching a maximum height of 2m 20cm. The distance between the panels of the first section is approximately 33 mteres and between those of the lower section 65 metres (though the distance from panel 5 to panel 6 is greater, because of the square at which we are currently located). The whole Paseo is approximately 500 metres long.
The five panels in the lower section relate to the social and cultural history of Guardamar, especially its close ties to fishing and these we shall be visiting next.
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