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| Orihuela |
2nd February. The month started with glorious weather so I spent yesterday chilling on the terrace while Glynn went to watch a local game of football. Every year in the city of Orihuela there is a medieval market that is held over three days and it is one of the largest medieval markets in Spain. It spreads out over an area of four kilometres around the streets and plazas of the historic old town with the Sierra de Orihuela forming a spectacular backdrop. As today was the last day of the event we decided to drive over and take a look. When we cycled to Orihuela in January we had only stopped for a quick coffee break and didn’t explore so we had no idea that the city has a stunning old town area that contains a wealth of historic buildings including a 13th century cathedral. The narrow streets were lined with beautifully decorated stalls selling arts, crafts, clothing, food and drinks.
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| Orihuela |
The choice of places to eat was incredible with giant pans filled with paella or stews. There was an enormous hog roast and racks of ribs being cooked on a huge circular BBQ. There was also a large choice of bars selling wine and beer as well as jugs of sangria. Lots of stall holders were dressed in medieval costumes and there were mini re-enactments taking place throughout the old town. The event was so well attended that it was difficult to actually negotiate the streets at times. We had a really lovely time and I would like to go back another day to be able to see more of the old town area and the stunning buildings without all the stalls and people. We decided to head to Conesa castle for lunch and discovered there was an American car event taking place so the area in front of the castle was lined with beautiful classic vehicles. Whether it was the good weather or the attraction of the cars the restaurant was full and we only just managed to get a table outside. After a very nice 3 course meal we had little energy left to do anything other than relax on the terrace reading our kindles.
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| Orihuela |
3rd February. As we hadn’t been out on the bikes for a couple of days we decided to head towards the Mar Menor and just see how far we got. The weather was glorious so we just got in to a rhythm and before we knew it we had cycled to Cape Palos on the edge of La Manga. After enjoying a well earned coffee break we took a steady ride back and did just over 100kms in total. A nice easy ride with a lovely comfortable temperature of 23°. To counteract the long ride we enjoyed a lovely stroll along the seafront at sunset and then spent a quiet evening relaxing.
4th February. The weather forecast is for some rain and cooler temperatures over the next few days so we decided to make the most of todays very pleasant 27° and drove to San Miguel cemetery to find the start of a Lemon Trail we had seen advertised.
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| The Lemon Trail |
We found a large sign called Senda del limón which means lemon path. There was a map of the route through the orange and lemon groves which takes approximately 1hour and 50 minutes. It was a beautiful circular walk through the groves and we really enjoyed. We then headed back to make the most of chilling on the terrace in the sun before the weather changed.
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| Lemons!! |
6th February. After showers yesterday today started cold and cloudy. We decided to head out for a short ride so followed the canal path to San Miguel. The canal was being dredged and the machinery made the canal path really muddy so we decided to head back along the main road to Los Dolses and then on to La Zenia. Glynn then went off to play walking football while I relaxed. I’m pretty sure the walking part of the football is largely ignored when the referee isn’t looking as Glynn managed to come home with a grazed knee when he fell over following a tackle.
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| Amazing El Zulo sculpture |
9th February. The good weather returned so we decided we would cycle all the way to Cartagena. We didn’t hang around on the ride there and I recorded my fastest ever 40kms according to my Garmin. After exploring the beautiful city and enjoying the requisite coffee break we headed back via a more scenic route and I was really chuffed to record my longest ever ride of 105kms. We had been slightly limited by having our bikes with us when it came to exploring the city but we had managed to see the Roman Amphitheatre as well as the lovely dock area and the dramatic bronze statue, El Zulo, which is dedicated to victims of terrorism. As we were expecting my son Darryl and his wife Lisa to arrive in 3 days we planned to come back in the car with them to explore properly.
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| Darryl & Lisa on the beach |
12th February. I had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Darryl and Lisa so I was really excited to head out to the airport to pick them up. It was so good to see them after months of being away. As they had flown in to Alicante we took them for a visit to the Skechers outlet store before heading home. We all chilled on the terrace so they could soak up some sun and then we took them for a stroll along the seafront. After a couple of drink stops to celebrate their arrival we headed back and enjoyed all the lovely tapas I had prepared and a jug of sangria of course. It was a brilliant evening just relaxing and catching up on all the news.
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| Darryl & Lisa in Cartagena |
13th February. I woke up with a slight hangover which is par for the course when my son is involved!! Lisa is a huge fan of history so we decided to take them to Cartagena. As we didn’t have the bikes it was easier to explore and after climbing up to the Roman Amphitheatre we wandered along the promenade to show them the bronze statue and then around to the harbour. We had a really lovely day out and the weather was glorious.
14th. As Darryl and Lisa were only with us for 4nights we had to cram in as much as possible. We started the day with a visit to the market at Pilar de la Horadada where we had the typical Spanish churros with chocolate sauce. After lunch Darryl borrowed Glynn’s bike and we cycled to the mar menor while Glynn and Lisa agreed to follow a bit later in the car.
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| Enjoying his sangria! |
We found a lovely beach front bar and ordered a jug of sangria while we waited for them to catch us up. After heading back for lunch and another chill on the terrace we walked down to the beach before finding another bar for drinks. We decided to take them to Conesa Castle for dinner and after a wonderful 3 course meal we headed home to enjoy a game of Tension. I partnered with Darryl and we drew 1 game each. A perfect end to a really lovely day.
15th February. Our last full day with Darryl and Lisa and the sun was shining again so while the men went out to volunteer at the kennels to walk some of the dogs myself and Lisa took full advantage of the peace and quiet to relax on the terrace and top up our tans. After lunch we enjoyed another walk along the beach and stopped at a bar for a drink before the men went out on a bike ride and myself and Lisa went back to topping up our tans. For our last evening I did tapas again and we just relaxed. It had been a really busy few days so it was nice to just chill.
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| Fun on the beach. |
16th February. I was sad to say goodbye to Darryl and Lisa when we dropped them off at the airport. While they had been enjoying the Spanish sun the UK had just experienced storm Dennis which caused a delay with some flights. Luckily their flight was only one hour late departing. As we were due to start heading home in a few days it wouldn’t be too long before we saw them again. Unfortunately for Darryl and Lisa their relaxing break didn’t end quite so relaxing when Lisa couldn’t find her door key. After they phoned us we discovered it had dropped out of her case and was in the wardrobe. Luckily they eventually managed to track down a spare key at Lisa’s mum’s so they could get home and unpack. At least they didn’t have to get up for work the next day!
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| Riumar beach |
18th February. We spent the last 2 days packing everything up and this morning we started the journey home. It was a wet and miserable day after the lovely sunshine of the last few days. We had booked an Airbnb at Deltebre which was a good 4 hour drive away. When we arrived we discovered a lovely 3 bed house all to ourselves for less than the cost of 1 night in a hotel. We drove to Riumar beach to have a walk and stretch our legs. It was a lovely area but we were surprised at how cold it had turned.
21st February. After leaving Deltebre the other day we drove a mammoth 6 hours to Chalabre in France which is where my dear friend had Tilly recently moved to. We have been friends for over 30 years but often go several years without seeing each other so it was lovely to be able to catch up. We then left her the next day to drive to another Airbnb at Muides-Sur-Loire. Another mammoth drive but we sensibly opted for some toll roads to knock an hour off the journey. Today we did the long drive to Calais and managed to get the Eurotunnel 5 hours earlier than planned however this was somewhat offset by the major delays we experienced at Dartford following a crash. Our normal 2 hours journey from Dartford to home took us 3.5 hours!! It doesn’t seem to matter what time of day we arrive in the UK we always seem to have a horrendous journey home.
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| Me & Glynn |
This was our first winter in Spain after years of wintering in Goa and whilst the temperatures weren’t anywhere near as good they were certainly very pleasant with only isolated periods of poor weather. I suppose the biggest difference was how cold it could get at night the minute the sun set. We could be sunbathing in shorts and t-shirts during the day and need winter coats in the evening. The biggest bonus for us was that instead of laying idle on the beach all day in Goa we were able to go cycling, play badminton (the least said on that the better!!) and have modern jive dance lessons. In spite of the down time I had when I injured my calf in November I had cycled nearly 3,000 kilometres whilst Glynn had cycled even further and he’d raised over £1,000 for Alzheimer’s UK. Our primary reason for spending the winter in Spain had been to be closer to home in case Glynn’s mum needed us however we had enjoyed it so much that it’s unlikely we will ever go back to 5 months in Goa. During our stay in Spain found a bargain long weekend to Athens so we have that to look forward to in 3 weeks time and we also received the most amazing news when we were offered a house swap for 4 months to Perth in Australia by the cousin of a good friend of ours. This is such an amazing opportunity to explore the western coast of Australia that we jumped at the chance. Now that we are back home we can finish our application for our Australian visas and then hopefully we will be heading out to Australia in September. In the meantime we are starting to catch snippets on the news about a virus that has originated in China and seems to be causing some concerns. Let’s hope it comes to nothing!!
