We eat our highest picnic and Dave finds fossils

As yesterday was one of the hottest days we've had so far this year -

Jubilant at the top of Campanilles 

easily 25c - we thought it would be the perfect time to attempt a strenuous walk with lots of uphill slogging. One day we will learn this is a bad idea, but I suspect that day is still a long way off. We had got ourselves a plan of the Serra d'Irta walking routes from the ever-helpful staff at Camping Ribamar reception and had been told the Ridge Walk that bisects the park is a good six hours In Each Direction! We're not quite that enthusiastic! Instead, we decided on an out-and-back segment starting and finishing at the Ermita Santa Lucia and with our half way point at the top of a hill called Campanilles.

There is a pretty, but narrow winding road up from Alcossebre to the

And the matching pair 

Ermita and a small car park there, right by the start of the footpath. We did remember to take several bottles of water and I carried our lunch in the cool bag section of my stripy picnic rucksack. We've just about decided on our perfect walking picnic lunch now: apple, small loaf of homemade bread, block of cheese and jar of jam. It's easy to eat, looks good spread out on our picnic blanket, and we don't have to worry about sandwiches disintegrating en route.

There are several different environments on the PR CV 431 which was our marked route. Yellow and white dashes initially led us up a steep scree slope, then on a footpath alongside a pine-wooded hill with inland views. We had to follow a wide, dusty car track for a couple of kilometres which was dull physical walking, but compensated with fabulous views out to sea. There is an option to add a couple of hundred metres with a detour to Torre Ebri, a disused stone tower above the track. However, as another caravanner here said, you get such a good view already that we stuck on the road.

When we got back onto footpath, the surface varied from uneven rock reminiscent of El Torcal, to pine needle covered wooded earth, to scree slopes. There was some downhill, but most of the time was ascent and some of the slopes were very steep. Descending the hill just prior to Campanilles, we nearly turned back before our goal. The slope was loose stones and I was making slow going of it. (I get very nervous of falling on this kind of downhill section so am often outpaced by snails. Up the very same hills, I'm generally fine! Dave, on the other hand, doesn't worry about descents, but breathing issues can sometimes impede his uphill progress which he finds frustrating.) In this case, we could see Campanilles had a long steep narrow path that was likely to be loose scree. I would get up but would I ever get down again? We had two hours of pretty hard effort behind us so I carried on. We were too close to back out. And it turned out to be fine! Not only is there a great lunch spot at the top of Campanilles - we used the base of another Geodesic point like the one at Roquetas - but there is a fantastic panoramic view across the surrounding countryside and we got to eat at what we think is our highest munch point yet: 572 metres above sea level!

I loved seeing large areas of rosemary bushes which were flowering all

Swallowtail butterfly 

along the route. We often see beehives while out walking, but yesterday we saw lots of wild bees too which is great news for the local ecosystem. We saw half a dozen different types of butterflies including this distinctive yellow and black swallowtail. We had seen another like it when walking with Andy and Barbara at Cullera but I'd failed to get a photo then. Evidence of wild boar activity could be seen alongside wooded path sections and several bigger lizards flashed away as we approached them.

Most exciting of all though was Dave's eagle-eyed spotting of a large rock with a number of fossilised remains in it. We'll make a Mary Anning of him yet! Unfortunately, I had zoomed off a steep uphill and didn't stop until the stop so he had to lug the rock all the way up in order to show me. And he did. I have such a super boyfriend! This photo is of said rock and hopefully you can see the details by clicking into it. We saw a few others later with plant fronds too.

Dave's fabulous fossil find 

A short hop and we are in Alcossebre

Camping Ribamar, on the edge of the Serra d'Irta natural park, is

There's lots of walking in the Serra d'Irte 

probably going to be our last long-stay campsite in Spain. It is only about a two hour drive from Cullera so we had an easy day's travelling yesterday. Dave had printed out maps which, together with signposts in town, meant we got here without getting lost! The last couple of kilometres is a dirt track road which was a little tricky to drive along, but we managed ok. We tried cycling back along it this morning as the Consum supermarket is only 4km away and I had visions of us doing our shopping by bike instead of by car for such a short distance. We made it there and back, but the track was slow going and I had to get off and push a few times which was disappointing. There are a lot of loose stones and rocks that wouldn't be a problem for an experienced off-road cyclist. For a nervous ninny like me though, they took all the enjoyment away. Oh well!

The campsite itself is lovely. It is clean and tidy. The reception is actually open all day and the staff are both friendly and speak good English. The showers are great and within a warm block. And we're only a five minute walk from the beach footpath and a beautiful rocky coastline. Alcossebre town is just under an hour's walk away although there are a few bars even closer. The site has an open tennis court (no net though) and a nice table tennis table (with net) and a petanque court. We haven't played any of the three since Xabia so I think we'll be back to square one for everything except tennis - I hadn't even reached square one with that!

The pitches are big with a gravelled surface and individual water and waste water. The only trouble is with getting onto them - a kerb proved too much for the motormover. Fortunately, several guys jumped up to help push - thank you all! There's also a whole Library room! My little eyes lit up like stars! I swapped my read books for three others - not a great choice but I did find an almost new copy of another David Vann book. I enjoyed my NetGalley read of Aquarium and this one is Caribou Island. The only snag is that it is in Spanish, but we have a big dictionary and it's not a very thick volume ... !

We saw this line of caterpillars crossing the footpath to the beach all following each other exactly and so close to be practically touching. There were twenty-two in all and they are the furry poisonous ones that mustn't be touched. I also photographed some flowers which were pretty and the rocks on the beach which are weird. They almost look like rocky road cake with coloured chunks stuck together. I guess it's natural, not man-made but haven't seen anything quite like it before. Any geologists reading?

A caterpillar parade 

Pretty Spring flowers 

Can anyone explain this rock? 

We cycle a marathon and begin planning our UK summer tour

In the time-honoured tradition of Doing Too Much Too Soon, we

If you forget where you are, just look up! 

completed two fairly epic cycle rides on consecutive days this week. Sunday afternoon's was two-and-a-half hours taking in the local orange groves, crossing the long Pont De La Bega bridge with its garish orange streetlamps (twice), and getting far enough distant from Cullera for Dave to take this fab photo of the town name on the hill.

On Monday, and already a little sore, we took off in the direction of Valencia, basically to see how far we might get. I only just failed to ascend the whole Lighthouse hill out of Cullera - it is short but bloomin' steep. We passed Barraquetes campsite where we had considered staying, but rejected because their website kept vanishing so we were unsure if they were actually open. They are but, perhaps unsurprisingly, pretty empty. Having gotten used to seeing restored boats as the centrepiece of roundabouts, we were delighted to spot a sail one in a garden. Its crows nest looked like a tree house. We also saw a rice field with water in it! Rice is a widespread crop around here, but we had previously just seen dry bare fields.

The road was generally good for cyclists with an even surface, red triangle Recuerde signs, and most of our route had a nice safe wide shoulder. Plus Spanish drivers are courteous to cyclists in much the same way as their British counterparts aren't! Every car gave us a generously wide berth and most slowed down too. Once we reached the Albufera Natural Park, there was even a signpost reminding drivers that they were entering a 'green routes' zone and to expect many tourists on bikes. Our turning point was at another potential campsite, Devesa Gardens. We detoured for a quick nose around and weren't too impressed. I think we made the right choice in staying here in Cullera.

We gmapped our route when we got home. Devesa Gardens was 13.3 miles from our campsite, so a total distance of 26.6 miles in one journey. That's more than a marathon! And we managed the whole Lighthouse hill from the other direction - it's not as steep. Yay us!

However, Tuesday and today have seen us doing absolutely no cycling at all.

Looking towards our UK return, we have already got two exciting gigs booked: Kris Delmhorst is playing at the Con Club in Lewes on the 15th of April and Chris Smither is at The Greystones in Sheffield on the 22nd May. Three campsites are also booked - a mix of Caravan Club and Camping And Caravanning Club CLs. Initially we are in Hailsham, Sussex for the first half of April. Then we're going to Cawston in Norfolk for the end of April and over the May bank holiday weekend. Then its Derbyshire and Hope in the Peak District until the end of May. Exciting times!

Days out in Cullera and Valencia

It has been a busy few days around here! We braved fairly high winds on

From Cullera castle to
the Sanctuary 

Wednesday for a walk into Cullera town and up to both the Sanctuary and the Islamic Castle. Believe it or not, there is a footpath up this rock cliff and we managed to climb it, although with a couple of nervy moments on my part. Several of the historic observation towers below the castle have been restored including one which I think I remember is the only octagonal example in Spain. The views from the castle across the surrounding countryside and also out to sea are fantastic. Entry is only 3 euros (or 1 euro for Jubilados (Poor Old Pensioners!)) and the next-door Sanctuary is free to visit. A few castle rooms have cases of interesting artifacts unearthed within Cullera. These include some delicate jewellery, pots, arrowheads, decorated glass fragments and the like. There is also a short film of the history of Cullera. It is in Spanish but spoken slowly and with clear enough visuals that we could work out pretty much what was going on during each era.

Spot the footpath? 

Restored Islamic tower, Cullera 

A train journey on Thursday took us back to Valencia to meet up with our friends Andy and Barbara. They have rented a gorgeous little apartment for a few nights before moving on to Granada and Seville. We wandered the streets of Valencia for an afternoon after having visited the Silk Exchange which is an elegant building but with a distinct lack of informative placards.

Sculpture on a Valencian balcony 

Ornate door in Valencia 

Yesterday Andy and Barbara returned the visit by getting the train from Valencia to Cullera. We walked the Sendero PR CV 336 from the aforementioned castle along the hill ridge out above the distinctive CULLERA hill sign - it's painted in huge white letters on the cliffs and is even lit at night - towards the Faro (lighthouse) where we descended to beach level and our fist Menu Del Dia meal of the trip. Lots of food so we were glad to have got the energetic walking out of the way first leaving only a gentle stroll back along the beach.

Asphodel flowers, no Wendel! 

Asphodel flower on hills above Cullera by Stephanie_Jane

The windy delights of Cullera

We didn't need to stop overnight at Bigastro after all. The first part of our

Mulberry trees at Camping Santa Marta 

journey went so well that we just pushed on after lunch and arrived here at Camping Santa Marta in Cullera about 5pm on Friday. To be honest, I felt a bit despondent about the site when we first got here. There's nothing particularly wrong, but it felt dark and is mostly empty which did feel odd after the bustle of Roquetas. We initially had our terrace of a dozen or so pitches to ourselves. Now, a couple of days later, there are only three pitches remaining empty - apparently we are trendsetters! Our arrival was much later in the day than usual so the sun had already sunk behind the neighbouring hotel block and we don't have a nature view, more of a currently-unoccupied-apartments view! We are on an open section of the site where the pitches are marked with the pictured mulberry trees which have beautifully pale coloured trunks and branches. Unlike pretty much every other tree here, they aren't yet showing any signs of Spring. Most of the rest of the site is under a pine tree canopy so very shaded all year round.

In sunny daylight, there are quirky features here that are fun. This huge

Dave thinks at the Roca De Los Pensamientos 

boulder, the Roca De Los Pensamientos, is signposted and is right in the middle of a number of chalets. I suspect the owners were simply unable to shift it when building the site, but it now has a 'myth' and visitors are meant to lay a hand on the stone and think a happy thought - as Dave is doing in this photo!

We also have a 15th century Ermita in the cliff above the site and this path leads up there from the edge of the tent pitches. It's a big campsite. The path is made easier with lots of concrete steps added amongst the natural stone and the climb took us about 15 minutes, but we did stop to admire the views out to sea part way up. Unfortunately, the main part of the Ermita is sealed off with a locked gate. I think there might be a chapel through an arched doorway but we couldn't see it. Instead, I took a photo of 'next door'. The Ermita track is supposed to continue on and around the top of the hill, but practically vanished into undergrowth soon after the locked gate so we came back down the same way we went up.

Path to the Ermita 

At the Ermita 

The swimming pool is empty and both the supermercado and the cafe are closed up for the winter, but the shower blocks are lovely. Nice decor and copious quantities of hot water. We are also happy that not only is there hot water for washing up and laundry, but these sinks are all indoors. A luxury especially considering that there are still very strong winds here most of the time. I just learned that there was an earthquake today too - we failed to notice at the time.

Tiled street in Cullera 

Castle above Cullera 

Exploration of the local area has already begun in earnest with a lengthy cycle ride along the wide beachfront promenade to a river with small boats moored each side. We also found the railway station which we will need to get into Valencia soon. A car journey took us the other way along the front and around a lighthouse. And today we walked into and around Cullera admiring the architecture. It being a Monday afternoon, nothing was open, but we saw this stunning tiled street and the castle on the hill above town. A large park just off the seafront included a duck pond and a giant fibreglass squid. What more do you need?

 

Over the next week or so we want to visit the castle as the approach to it is supposed to be worth seeing. Sadly the Rice Museum is closed at the moment, but there are several other tempting walks and cycle rides, a lagoon to wander around and hopefully a Civil War air shelter to visit. Plus we have two days back in Valencia with our friends Andy and Barbara. No time to waste ... !