Calp - Spain - Day 54 - 59

Tuesday 23rd - Sunday 28th January 2018

Today, (Sunday) is to be our last one here at Calp, and even though Estrella (the site) leaves a little to be desired, we've quite enjoyed our stay - although we both feel more than ready to move on now! I think that's probably being contributed to by several factors which include the miserable mozzies (I managed 17 bites in one day!); the lack of  new things to do (we've got big hills with busy roads behind us and the sea in front so our choice for outings is limited to either turning left of right); and the weather which has taken a decided turn for the worse and has provided rain and wind with a bit of  thunder thrown in for good measure over the last 24 hours!  It was almost impossible to sleep last night with what sounded like someone banging on a drum just above my head, the local dogs howling and my beloved partner tossing, turning and occasionally snorting in his quest for slumber!

And I suppose all of the above sounds like I'm moaning - but when I compare what we're enjoying now to what we might be enduring if we lived a 'normal' life in a house back in cold old Blighty it makes us count our blessings.  Off course we miss our family and friends very much, but we're not missing anything else - storms, snow, work, bills and the mundane sameness that every winter day would be likely to bring - that certainly doesn't float our boat!  Here we're mostly basking in Spain's winter sunshine (16 - 20 degrees most days), we're enjoying the company of new friends and experiences, and we've got the freedom to  move about as we please to find new areas to explore!

So what have we been up to for the last few days?  Well, on Tuesday we I was still recovering from our climb up the Rock - Ifach -  achy arms and legs from scrambling in an unladylike fashion  up and over so many boulders!  Therefore we were quite happy to settle for another very gentle day with only a walk along the coastal path towards Benissa along with a picnic lunch overlooking the sea. 




And when that was done we returned home to sit be the van with our Kindles - but I think that was when the Mozzies feasted on me !


On Wednesday we released our bikes from their week long captivity in the garage and cycled 10 miles up the coast to Altea for a reunion with Bob, Amanda, Jack and Liz (friends we'd made at Monmar), and once hugs and hellos had been indulged in we spent several hours enjoying their company and a very leisurely 3 course menu del dia lunch which included pork in Gorgonzola cream sauce and monk fish with mussels!

As we'd approached Altea a beacon that had stood out high up on the hill was the beautiful blue and white tiled church dome peeking out from amongst glistening white houses that are part of Altea's old town, and later we got a close up view of it after meandering our way up through the quaint and typically Mediterranean streets to the town square. 



Here we enjoyed a 2nd coffee break (or maybe that was beer) as we sat in the church square and listened to a very good busker playing typical Spanish music!  It was all very lovely and tranquil, and quite hard to believe that the cacophony of Benidorm is only a very few miles up the road!

Thursday turned out to be another coastal walk but with the addition of an excursion a short distance inland to visit  Las Salinas - a landlocked saline lake where a majestic colony of flamingos make their home. 

The large lagoon has various wooden walkways from where close up access to the birds is possible, but the rest of the park is a bit rough and wild, and really we both thought much more could be done to make the area more of a tourist attraction.  Later, we filled our afternoon with more effort filled relaxing by the van - this time with lots of insect repellent on - but the little buggers still managed to find a spot on my finger that I'd missed! 


And on Friday we treated ourselves to a 3 course fish lunch  at a sea front restaurant called Zaphiro all for the princely sum of 31 euros which included a bottle of very acceptable vino tinto!  However, John was a bit tempted to complain because he found something floating in his soup!  Apparently there were lots of other crunchy, slimy and slippery  bits as well (squid and 🐙) - but he said it was very tasty!





Saturday saw us taking ourselves off for yet another coastal walk - but even though we'd followed the same path several times it was still very enjoyable!  What is there to complain about - a lovely place to walk with fantastic views, great company, tasty chicken baguettes and crisps to scoff and lovely warm sunshine while we sat and discussed our forthcoming year of travels!

But then came the rain - huge torrents of it slamming into T4rdis2 from about 6pm on Saturday until 9ish on Sunday - and more has been promised for later in the day!  So for today our big decision is should we have a proper Sunday day off, or should we risk a drenching and nip out for another walk that might include coffee and cake!  I think the former is likely win because Sunday Brunch (cooked by yours truly)  is calling and we've got loads of planning for our forthcoming (May) Scandinavian adventure to do!  Either way our day is going to be rounded off with an outing to  the Nepali Base Camp!  A very near by Indian Restaurant that has excellent Google reviews and a place that we're fairly sure will feed us well!

So for now, once again, Cheerio and take care  and we'll look forward to seeing you at El Campello which is destined to be our next stop 😙

Click here to see our Spanish camping spots

Calp - Spain - Day 49 - 53

Thursday 18th - Monday 22nd January 2017

Thursday was the day that our 31 night stay at Monmar Camping came to an end, and so it was a sad farewell to a place that has not only provided a lovely base for exploration but also an excellent spot for lots of social activities and the making of new friends.  But, we've still got about 8 weeks of this tour to go so with that in mind we've picked out several more areas that seem to have plenty to offer - the first one being Calp which is about 100 miles further South.  However, finding somewhere to stay was a bit of a challenge because all the campsites seemed to have no room at the Inn - that was until I tried a new site called Camping Estrella Polar which was offering pitches for the bargain price of just 9 euros (without electric).  Therefore, an e-mail was quickly sent and our place was secured, but before we could settle again we had mundane tasks like filling with LPG (gas) and replenishing our food stocks to attend to.


We arrived at Estrella at 4ish only to find that it was siesta time and the reception wouldn't be open until 5, but by this stage we were starving (having missed lunch) so we picked a spot on the busy site and hoped we wouldn't be asked to move later!

Now, it has to be said, the site is a little 'rustic' and everybody seems to be parked in a higgledy piggildy fashion, the toilets and showers are in porta-cabins and it's got a lot fewer electric hook up points than it has pitches!  However, it's clean friendly and only 1 street back from the sea front so we very quickly decided it would suit us even if we did have to manage without the convenience of being able to plug in!

Friday was given over to exploring some of the area that we were settling into!  Calp is located at the foot of the Rock of Ifach - an area with is now a National Park and the thing that had most attracted us to this area.  We left the site and walked into Calp along the magnificent sea front promenade that starts only a couple of hundred downhill yards from the site and continues to the massive rock - Ifach and then beyond. 

During our walk we passed behind the Rock, through the lovely marina  and then continued along another prom which terminated after about another mile and a half, and along all of the way there was plenty to see!  We not only had the beautiful Med lapping against the sandy beach for company, but also lots of other strollers, lots of interesting shops and cafes, and a fair few of the usual "lookey lookey men "selling handbags, shoes and other 'designer' goods!

A hopeful pigeon who wanted to share! 

And for once, we hadn't taken our usual picnic, so on the way back we felt it would have been rude not to stop at one of the inviting cafes - therefore we treated ourselves to a pint and a Burger at Tango's - and it was probably one of the best we've ever had  and an excellent reward for an 8 mile walk!







Saturday was another strolling day - but this time in the opposite direction and along a lovely coastal walkway which we accessed almost from our doorstep and that stretched to the town of Benissa and a little beyond - about a 6 miles return journey.

However, our outing was very leisurely  because along the way there were loads of info boards that told about the coastline, the plant life, and the people and creatures who inhabit it.

The path followed the coastline closely, and although it had been built mostly as a tourist attraction it had been very sympathetically done with lots of pretty resting areas along with numerous twists, turns and stairways - it really was a delightful!

Once back at T4rdis2 we relaxed in the evening sunshine and later nipped down to one of 3 local watering holes - Grizzly's, where we indulged in steak for John and ribs for me all washed down with a very nice drop of vino tinto!

Then on Sunday we climbed the rock - an activity which was challenging, thrilling, exhausting  and possibly one that we shouldn't have indulged in!  The Penyal d'Ifac (it's proper name) is a massive limestone outcrop that emerges from the sea and is linked to the shore by rock debris.  It's a nesting colony for numerous sea birds and rises 332 metres in height making it a very prominent feature along the coast line.  The area has been a National Park since January 1987 and it's lower slopes have been landscaped with a steep but safe path that leads up to a long sloping tunnel that cuts through the rock.

But after that the going gets much tougher - but this happens only slowly so initially we were lulled into a false sense of security - however the clues are probably in the signs that prohibit children under 16 from going any further, and also  in the ropes and chains to which you have to cling to prevent yourself from taking the long plunge into the sea below.  Our trek was also hindered by the fact that I'd worn my old comfy trainers - old with worn smooth soles - which when put into contact with steep slippery glassy rocks didn't really make for a good combination!









In places the continuation of the 'path' was just foot holds and hand holds across short sheer sections, and in others it was just one boulder after another that needed to be scrambled over while heading in a sharply upwards direction - and if we thought it was hard climbing up it was bloody treacherous coming down.

But we did make it safely - both out towards the seaward tip of the rock and also to the top from where the views over the surrounding countryside and seawards where quite stunning - we could even make out the coast of Ibiza from our lofty peach - which I think really should have been only the province of seagulls!

And Monday - well that was to be our day of rest - that is after the housework was done!  So once washing, cleaning, and polishing of our solar panel (our only source of electric at the mo) was completed all we had left to do was enjoy the sunshine for the rest of the afternoon!

And that's exactly what I'm going to do - so cheerio for now 😙😙


Click here to see our Spanish Camping spots

Moncofa - Spain - Day 43 - 48

Happy Birthday Sarah - Hope you had a great day xxx  🎁 🍾🎁🍾🎂

Friday 12th - Wednesday 17th January 2018

Well doesn't time fly when your having fun!  It's quite hard to believe that we've been here on Monmar Campsite for nearly a month now, and in that time we've made some lovely friends and we've very thoroughly explored the area which has more or less resulted in us not being able to find any new things to do for some of our last days here!  However, that matters little because we've just  revisited some of our favourite spots, socialised or passed our time lazily at home sitting in the sunshine with a good book kindle!

So to be succinct:-

Friday  -  After a slow morning we packed our lunch and toddled off on our bikes for a 20 miler that took us out over the paddy fields for a bit of bird spotting; into the local nature reserve where we ate our picnic while soaking up the tranquillity of the area that was only disturbed by a couple of sparing cats; and when we'd had enough of that we continued on our way to the sea front where we traversed along several miles of board walk and promenade before returning home for a cool beer! - It's a hard life but someones got to do it!


Then later we were persuaded to join  several of our fellow campers for quiz night in the campsite bar - and unfortunately our team won - I say unfortunately because the rules say that the winners have to set and officiate at the following weeks quiz!  However 4 of our team (including us) will have moved on by then so that left poor Ian and Julie with the task - but we did help out with a few questions!

Saturday - Our first chore was to say a sad farewell to Liz and Jack - we'd been parked opposite each other for 3 weeks and in that time we've cycled together, eaten together and celebrated both Christmas and New Year so we'll definitely miss them!  Then later we took ourselves off for a walk, and later still, although we'd intended to stay in, we were once again coaxed to the site bar for games and another sing song!

Sunday - Found us out on our bikes again - just 22 miles this time through the lovely orange groves and back to our favourite sea front spot for our picnic lunch!

Then home for more lozerking in the sunshine and a lovely Black Angus Steak supper!




Monday -  Well that was a big one!  A 43 miler up over the hills that provide a backdrop to our campsite!  Our panniers were quickly packed with lots of refreshments and then we were off heading for the town of Nueles, and it wasn't long after that gentle climbing started and took us first up over winding twisting roads lined with more orange groves, and then further into the national park where the hills ramped up and required us to use a bit of battery power!



On our way we found a couple of quite stunning picnic spots and we also passed through the town of Eslida before reaching the summit of the same name which stands at a mere 620 metres!

 

Then from there all that was left for us to do was woosh down the other side - but even though the sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud to be seen anywhere - it was bloody  ❄️ cold  ❄️ - thus warm gloves and jackets were very necessary.  Our route down took us through the towns of Chovar, Alfondeguilla, La Vall d'Uixo and on to Xilxes which wasn't far from home,  and by the time we got there we were more than ready to put our feet up!

Tuesday - Well that turned out to be a rest day!  That is apart from washing, cleaning and shopping - but we did find a spare hour or two to top up our tans and natter with our neighbours!

My Fellow Pilgrims!

And finally Wednesday -  that proved to be a bit of an adventure - well for me anyway!  The site wardens had arranged a trip to Betxi to experience a pilgrimage from the village to a hilltop Hermitage - Muntanyeta de Sant Antoni!  John didn't really fancy the trip so I arranged to go with a group of 7 others from the site while he stayed home to do a few checks and cleaning  jobs that T4rdis2 required after a month of being stationary.

The minibus picked us up at 8.45 and it was only a short journey to the town ob Betxi where we were dropped off in the main square.  There, initially it was  all a bit confusing and quite hard to hear yourself think because the church bells were ringing out presumably in honour of what was to come.  However, our group was very quickly sorted when the Mayor greeted us and took us into the town hall where we were each presented  with a scarf to mark us as his guests, and then we were then given a place  towards the front of the throng and had a perfect view as the pallbearers who carried a statue of Jesus through the town and also of the marching bands that provided the music. 




Eventually the statue was taken into another religious building and the procession which now numbered in the thousands continued on a 3 mile trek (the last bit being steeply up hill)  to the Hermitage, and on the way everyone was very generously given a coquette of salt and oil bread - which was actually very tasty!

When we reached the top of the hill we were able to enter the Hermitage and everyone was encouraged to assist with the ringing of it's bells!  However, no rope pulling was required - all we had to do was press a button, but we didn't stay to long because it was obvious that preparation was being made for a Mass with several Priests present and dressed in their finery! 

After we'd completed our explorations we meandered back down the hill to partake of our picnic lunch and on the way we  dawdled while we viewed the many stalls that lined our path - scarves, toys, jewellery and lots of edible goodies being some of the merchandise on offer! 

Then after our appetites had been sated we rang the campsite to ask for the minibus to come back to collect us and while we travelled everybody agreed it had been a very worthwhile and pleasurable  experience!

The Hermitage which sits high on a hill

Once back on site it was another lazy afternoon in the sunshine along with the stowing of some of our belongings ready for the continuation of our journey tomorrow - our next destination is Calpe - but you'll have to tune in next time to see what that's like!

So bye for now and we'll see you soon 😙😙

Click here to see Spanish Camping Spots


P.S.  Thomas we hope you had a fantastic birthday 🎁🎁🎁 xxx

Moncofa - Spain - Day 38 - 42

Sunday 7th January 2018

Well, if you read our last post your'll know I was a little concerned  about how my sour dough bread would turn out - especially as it had been an all day job to make it!  I'd started around 10am by mixing together flour and water to autolyse and that had to be left for an hour.  Then came the fun  hard messy bit where it had to be kneaded, and I think in the end I'd got more stick stuck to me than I eventually managed to get in the tin!  And after that the bread had be be stretched x3 and then left to rise - a process that took several more hours due to the mixture's lack of traditional yeast!

I eventually got around to cooking it at about 11pm on Saturday night - but all things considered, I was quite pleased with the result!
It was a bit crusty but we scoffed it for both breakfast and our picnic lunch and neither of us seemed to suffer any ill effect, so eventually I might pluck up courage to have another go!

And that's probably only because I got the next lot of 'starter' living in my fridge - when it emerges and warms up to room temperature it takes on a life of it's own by hubbling, bubbling and multiplying  millions of little beasties that should lift my next crust to perfection😂

Anyway, I've digressed - I'm supposed to be telling you about Sunday!  Today we saddled up and headed out towards Burriana where we'd been told there was a big beach market - and there was but when we got there we couldn't visit because we'd forgotten our bike locks - I'm not sure if that was accidentally on purpose or not, but from a distance the things for sale mostly looked like tat so I don't think we missed much!

So instead of spending time and money at the market we proceeded on a bit further and found a lovely spot on a deserted beach where we indulged in a coffee break, and later another lovely spot where we picnicked!  Our 32 mile ride then brought us back through more miles of orange groves to complete a circle, and when we got home we partook of a nice cool beer in the late afternoon warm sunshine - another blissful day.





Monday 8th January 2018

Today was the day we were going on the site's planned coach trip to Valencia, and even though we had about 6 hours in the city it would have been impossible to fit everything it had to offer in - but we did try!  And rather than waffle on to much I'll let our pictures tell the story!

We were dropped off at the Torres de Serrano - The very well preserved historical northern entrance to the medieval city of Valencia.  Apparently it's one of the twelve gates that formed part of the ancient city wall and it was built at the end of the 14th century.

Torres de Serrano

And from there it was straight into the Cathedral Square for an essential coffee top up - and as you would expect, here we found the Metropolitan Cathedral - 'Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia', and also what one of our fellow travellers called 'The Floozy in the Jacuzzi'!

The Cathedral 

And the Floozy! 

The square also provided views of The Micalet - another 14th century building that was constructed on an octagonal base and with eight picture windows that display the bells hall!  The tower's name - El Miguelete - comes from the name of it's biggest bell - Miguel - which was cast in 1532 and weighs more than ten tons.  Inside there is a spiral staircase that can be climbed, but unfortunately at the time of our visit it seemed to be closed!

Once refreshments had been supped we headed off to explore Valencia's massive indoor market.  Here we found a heady mixture of sights, smells and sounds, along with all manner of edible and non edible consumables, and it was quite easy to obtain the main items on my shopping list which were mainly herbs and spices!

However, so much more of the produce looked so inviting that I was quite sorry that I couldn't do my weeks shopping, but we did feel compelled by buy a few of the massive strawberries to snack on!

Next came the Estacio del Nord and The Plaza de Toros de Valencia - which translates to The North Train Station and the city's Bullring, and nearby we also found the Town Hall and another lovely building that I couldn't identify!



And that really was only a few of the places on our tour, but by 1 ish we were ready for another rest so we consulted Google about a good place to eat and we were advised to go to St Thomaso - an Italian restaurant that was just a bit off the beaten track!  There we were treated to pizza and the biggest calzone I think I've ever seen - it would easily have fed both of us and I was well and truly defeated by it - but I made a very valiant effort!

After that we we toured a bit more and visited the city's Botanical Garden's which were first established back in 1567 and where we found an oasis with many medicinal plants, cacti and palms - and that provided a perfect place to sit and enjoy our after dinner coffee!

Next we  took advantage of the Turia Gardens - one of the largest urban parks in Spain.  It bisects  the city for nine kilometres and passes through the bed of the River Turia whose course was diverted  after a devastating flood on 14th October 1957.

All in all, for saying we're not really very keen on city's we had a lovely day,  and to round it off we treated ourselves to Italian ice cream on the way back to the bus!  However,  7 hours was quite long enough and I don't really expect we'll be repeating the experience any time soon!






Tuesday 9th January 2018

After yesterday's  exertions today was always destined to be a more restful one, and this was reinforced because John was playing host to another cold so he was feeling slightly under par - this is his second within a month so I think I'll have to scrump a few more oranges to top up his Vitamin C!  Therefore, we passed our day with a bit of essential shopping and then a gentle bike ride along what has fast become one of our favourite bits of coast.  It's just 10 miles there and back and there are plenty of benches at the other end where we can sit and sip our coffee while watching the very pretty coast line with it's wafting palms!

Friday 10th January 2018

This morning John was feeling much better - and it was a good job too because today we'd arranged a 32 mile bike ride with a couple of our fellow campers (Jack and Liz) to the town of Sagunto to visit the Via del Portic museum and the Fortress that stands high above the town.   The Via del Portic is an Archaeological Heritage Site and it's contents date back to the Roman Imperial period of the 2nd Century, but what makes it more unusual is that it is underneath a modern day apartment block.  The site displays Roman houses, roads, sewers and religious buildings that have been preserved because the several story high building above it stands on stilts.

And when we'd finished exploring that very interesting piece of history we indulged in a bit more exercise by climbing up what felt like hundreds of steep rugged steps to the Fortress that overlooks Sagunto town.  The castle covers an area of almost one kilometre in length and can trace it's history back for over two thousand years.   In it's time it has seen the presence of different civilisations that included Romans, Visigoths, Arabs and Christians, and since 1931 it has been a National Monument.

And if all that history wasn't enough we also had the pleasure of visiting the Teatro Romano de Sagunto - the remains of a Roman Amphitheatre that have been restored for the presentation of modern day productions.  Apparently it was built in the middle of the first century using the slope of the mountain, and in it's time it could seat 8,000 spectators - and even with today's modernisation, if you closed your eyes you could almost hear the lions roar!

Then later when we'd peddled all the way home and  thought we could just put our feet up for the evening we were invited to a BRANDY party -' a what' you might say!  Well, if you've been keeping up you might recall the Chinese Auction of Christmas Day.  There, another couple - Julie and Ian - had managed to 'steal' a bottle of brandy that had been in both mine and Liz's possession, but rather that sup it all themselves they invited us along to assist them!   And a very jovial and well oiled evening was had by all!!


Thursday 11th January 2018

Thursday is always Tapas day here on the Monmar Campsite, so as we didn't go last week we decided to make the effort and produce something nice for today's occasion!  I decided on ham and blue cheese mini quiches and lemon drizzle cake!  However, although the quiches turned out well the same couldn't quite be said for the cake!  I think I really should have baked it yesterday but the Brandy seemed much more important at the time!

Therefore, when I tried to slice it I found it to be extremely crumbly and more than a tad sticky - but despite that, even if I do say so myself, it was very yummy😋😋😋.  But how could I serve it as finger food?  In the end I divided  it into little fragile sticky potions and popped them into muffin cases - and every crumb disappeared!

Later we challenged Liz and Jack to a game of Boules and later still I'm tapping out this little story, but I'm going to sign off for now cos it's 7.30 and wine o'clock

🍷🍷Cheers 😗😗

Oh, and just before I go, Happy Birthday for tomorrow Sarah - Hope you have a lovely day xxx

Click here to see our Spanish Camping spots