June 2019

Guadalest Reservoir

In the guard house at Alicante Castle

5th June. After waving a sad farewell to Karen and Sean we left Lake Negratin on the 1st June and enjoyed a lovely 3 days at El Campello, including a trip in to Alicante on the tram and a lovely 40 km cycle ride before returning to Calpe yesterday. Today we were up bright and early to ride to Pinos. After the gentle climb of the N332 towards Benissa we dropped down briefly towards the Jalon valley before taking the CV749. There is quite a climb up to Pinos with a couple of short and very sweet (read that as steep!!) bits that were made all the harder in the heat. The road winds its way around a few hairpin bends hugging the outer edge of the mountain as it climbs and offers the most incredible views both towards the coast with the Penyal d'Ifach (Calpe rock) and to the stunning Sierra Bernia mountain range. We've done this route before but from the other direction when we've cycled along the Jalon valley and entered the CV749 from the other end.

Coffee break in Pinos

Normally I'm concentrating on not descending too fast round the hairpin bends to enjoy the views so it was nice to be able ride in the opposite direction and have time to admire the views. The advantage of doing a route like this is that after our coffee break the return journey was almost entirely downhill and very much faster than the climb up to the cafe had been!! It was a nice but hot 37km ride so now time for a cool shower and a relaxing afternoon.

Jan & Paul on Calpe Rock

9th June. After enjoying a fairly quiet few days and also celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary 2 days ago with a BBQ we woke up to an overcast day today so we decided to take advantage of the slightly cooler temperature to climb Calpe rock. We did climb as far as the tunnel last year however we didn't have appropriate footwear on to risk going further so appropriately dressed the four of us set off. The first part of the climb as far as the tunnel is well paved and easy to do however after that it gets harder. The rock floor through the tunnel is very slippery but there is a rope to hold on to to help steady yourself. 

View through the tunnel on Calpe Rock

After that the route climbs much more steeply and over very rough ground. There are several appropriately placed ropes to hold on to which helped but we definitely did more scrambling than walking as we made the climb to the top. It was actually quite a tough climb but clearly very popular and I was amazed at how many people were also making the climb, several of whom were wearing flip flops which seemed crazy given that it is actually a potentially dangerous climb if you lose your footing. It took us 90 minutes to reach the top but was well worth it for the view over the whole of Calpe and beyond.

View of Calpe Town

Getting back down again was slightly tougher but quicker and we were pleased to make it back to the bottom unscathed. It had been a good experience but not one I was would be in a hurry to repeat. We headed to a nearby bar to reward our efforts with caña and tapas before walking home to spend the rest of the day relaxing.

10th June. We borrowed Jan's car today and took a drive out to Guadalest which is a beautiful village about 30kms inland. It's one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Costa Blanca and when we got there we could see why.

Guadalest Reservoir

It's a small village with a population of only around 200 people and is perched high on a rock forming part of the Sierra de Aitana mountain range and overlooks the turquoise water of the Embalse de Guadalest. Guadalest is most famous for its castle which was built by the Moors over 1300 years ago. It can only be accessed by walking through the Portal de San Jose which is a tunnel carved through the rock. The village itself is a delight with its cobbled streets and little village houses, the old jailhouse and the famous white bell tower of Penon de la Alcala. We walked through the village with all its souvenir and craft shops before stopping to admire the view over the mountains and down to the reservoir in the valley below.

Guadalest

It was absolutely stunning and after enjoying a leisure walk around the village we stopped for coffee at one of the cafes. Adjacent to the cafe was a lovely shop selling all sorts of touristy things as well as an amazing collection of hand made rugs in all different sizes and colours. A gorgeous long runner that would complement our hallway perfectly caught my eye so I dragged Glynn in to look. The rugs were such a good price that we not only purchased the rug for the hallway but a matching doormat sized one too. We then decided to head back to Albir on the coast and enjoyed lunch at one of the seafront restaurants. As Jan misses out on the stunning scenery that we witness on our bike rides we decided to drive back to Calpe and then carried on to the Jalon valley to show her the pretty villages of Lliber and Jalon before following the scenic climbing route of the CV749 over the mountain and back down through the hairpin bends to Pinos. It had been a fantastic day and Guadalest was an absolute delight. 

Any excuse for a BBQ!

15th June. We've had a busy few days as our friends Teresa and David came to stay at Mediterraneo in their motorhome for a couple of days so we had a lovely BBQ with all our friends that were currently in Calpe as they all know each other from Goa as well as Spain. Yesterday Jan and Paul left to start working their way back to the UK as Paul was entered in to a cycle race early July in Wales. It was sad to see them go but they had absolutely loved their first trip abroad in their motorhome and were already discussing where to venture to next year. We went out for a quick ride after they left but it was dangerously windy so we cut it short after only 18kms. Today the wind had died down so we set off in the direction of Teulada and after a coffee stop we carried on to Moraira before heading back to Calpe via the coast road. It's such a scenic route as you get amazing views of the sea and Calpe rock as the road never veers far from the coastline. We did a very pleasant 37kms and then cycled over to Tres Palmeras to meet up with some of the gang. 

Albir Seafront

17th June. We went out for our final ride with the U3A group today before we head to Peniscola tomorrow. We did a lovely ride to Albir and Altea along the N332 and luckily it wasn't too windy or too busy as it can get a bit scary sometimes. For the most part there is a fairly decent lane beside the carriageway to cycle on but there are a couple of places where the road narrows and the lane disappears but luckily the majority of Spanish drivers are extremely considerate to cyclists. We had the requisite coffee stop on the seafront at Albir before cycling back.

Grizzly's

For our last evening in Calpe we walked up to Grizzly's restaurant with Jan and Jeb and enjoyed a very nice meal. We've had a brilliant time as always in Calpe but we're looking forward to finding some new places to cycle. We will be heading home around the end of July so we have a month to explore new places before we head to Calais. A summer of decorating awaits us so we plan on making the most of the next few weeks.

19th June. After a relaxing afternoon yesterday settling in at La Volta in Peniscola we were keen to get out and explore today.

Cervera del Maestra

We did a brilliant 62km ride heading inland to Sant Mateu which involved some nice climbs but nothing too taxing. It was a really warm day and by the time we got to Sant Mateu it was 34°. We are definitely going to have to start heading out a bit earlier now it's getting hotter, thank goodness La Volta has a lovely inviting pool waiting for our return!! 

23rd June. We've done a couple of nice rides over the last four days with a 44km ride to Calig, St Jordi and Vinaros and then a tough very windy 57km ride yesterday to Alcanar and then down to Les Cases d'Alcanar on the coast. The wind was so strong heading back that it felt like we'd ridden twice the distance and we were very relieved to get back in one piece. In spite of the effort of yesterday's ride we set off on the bikes again today passing through St Jordi in the direction of San Rafael Del Rio. We hadn't done this route before so I got a very pleasant surprise when we came to a climb that just kept climbing!! I made it almost to the top but sadly ran out of steam where it reached a painful 13° gradient but Glynn made it to the peak of 14°. It was a really short but tough climb so I was relieved that the return route was almost entirely downhill. We cycled 74kms but in spite of the one tough climb it actually felt much easier than yesterday's windy ride.

Morella and the Sant Miguel Gateway

24th June. We left Peniscola this morning and headed inland to Morella. It was a beautiful scenic ride over the mountains that form part of Tinença de Benifassa natural park with lots of hairpin bends to negotiate. Definitely much more pleasurable for me as a spectator than for Glynn driving the motorhome, especially as I have a bad habit of exclaiming "oh wow what stunning scenery" while he is busy negotiating the bends!! Our reason for driving to Morella was to visit the famous medieval walled city and its castle. Our research had highlighted that there was a lovely free motorhome parking area located directly below the walls of the city so this is where we were heading.

Aqueduct de Santa Llúcia

Because of its prime location strategically located on a hilltop the walled city and the castle come in to view long before you reach the city and I was excited to get there so that we could start exploring. We parked at the camperstop which gave us amazing views of the city and castle above and also the now redundant aqueduct de Santa Llúcia. After a quick lunch we walked up to the city. To enter the old town you have to pass through the huge stone Sant Miguel gates. Just before we reached the gates we passed a big building with an open door and as I looked in there was an old man scraping honey off a huge honeycomb in to a bucket.

Sant Miguel Gateway

I stopped to watch and he held out his large knife with honey on the end for me to taste it. It was amazing and I thanked him in Spanish before carrying on towards the old town. We spent a lovely couple of hours exploring the city which, in addition to the church of Santa Maria the Major and the castle, had some lovely houses with the traditional hanging balconies. It is worth the walk up to the castle to see the far reaching views of the surrounding countryside. There are lots of little artisan shops in the main shopping area selling Morella bread, the famous colourful Morello blankets, local goats cheese and honey amongst other things. I wondered if the honey I had been given a sample of was the same honey that filled the jars in La Casa de la Miel y del Queso ( the House of Honey and Cheese)! Morella is probably not the easiest place to navigate if you have mobility issues with some cobbled streets and many steps to navigate however it really is worth the visit and it's easy to see why it is considered one of Spain's prettiest towns, as is Peniscola, from where we had just come. 

Church of Santa Maria the Major in Morella

27th June. After the lovely stop at Morella we've gradually worked our way further north over the last couple of days and today we arrived at Bellvie, a quiet camperstop surrounded by fields and farmland about 6 miles inland from Calafell. As it had been a few days since we'd been on the bikes we were keen to get out so a quick change into our Lycra and we were ready to go. It's not always a good idea to just hit the road when you haven't researched the area and this turned out to be one of those occasions. We started off okay as we cycled through the nearby town of Santa Oliva and then the road gradually climbed, seemingly at the same rate as the temperature was rising!! When the road has switchbacks it's a fairly good indication that it's steep and this road had a few!!

Heading to Aguaviva

Luckily a large stretch of the road was closed to motor vehicles as workmen were working on the edge of the road. This was quite handy as it allowed me a greater area to weave my way up!! We eventually made it to a town called Aiguaviva and to add insult to injury even the road to the cafe involved a very steep climb. I was so shattered when we got to the cafe that it took me a few moments before I could even get off the bike. It was way too hot to be cycling steep climbs in this heat but as we were now a long way from the motorhome there was little choice other than to continue!! The waiter kindly filled my bottle with cold water and I drank it while I waited for my coffee to cool and as we left the bar he filled my bottle again. There was a group of men sitting in the bar and one of them spoke good English. He told us that if we carried on there was a short but steep climb before a really scenic descent down to La Bisbal del Penedès. He wasn't kidding when he said it was steep and I dropped in to my highest gear and just kept turning the pedals trying not to lose sight of Glynn as he slowly disappeared up ahead!! Shortly before I reached the summit the man from the bar came past in his car waving and shouting encouragement to me. This had the desired effect and I put a little spurt on to reach the top.

Scenic road on the Coll de L'Arca

When he said it was a scenic descent he failed to mention that part of it involved a 17° drop with hairpin bends. I have never been so scared in my life!! I had both hands at full stretch trying to hold the brakes on hard and I was still descending way too fast for comfort. It was 40° and I was sweating so much I feared my hands would slip off the brakes. It was a very steep drop to the valley below and there were no safety barriers on the sharp bends. It was easily the scariest ride I have ever done and I was so relieved to make it to more level ground. I wasn't feeling too well and feared I was suffering with mild heatstroke so we tried to get back as quickly as we could. I was so relieved to get back to the motorhome and after drinking plenty more water to rehydrate I took advantage of the small dipping pool on site to cool down. After I had recovered I did some research on the area and came across a website called dangerousroads.org.  One of the routes featured was called the Coll de L'Arca and that was the route we had just done!! I quote from their website "The road encompasses miles of stunning views through twisty hairpin corners, high elevations and steep grades. The road's winding design, providing stunning panoramic views, is very curvy and fun for a leisurely ride." Well they clearly weren't thinking of cyclists when they wrote that!! I have bookmarked the dangerous roads website so that I can check any future rides and make sure I don't accidentally end up on another of the roads on their list. 

30th June. Way back in February when we were sitting on the beach in Goa a friend suggested that as myself and Glynn were always looking for new adventures we should look at a website called Mind My House. Keen to embrace new experiences and opportunities we duly signed up for a years membership. We had hoped to get accepted for a lovely house sit in South Africa but although we made the short list we didn't get it.  We did a couple of short house-sits during the summer when we were back in the UK so that we could get references added to our profile and we'd had great fun doing them. One of them was in a little village near Oxford which was a place I was keen to visit. We enjoyed a lovely stay house-sitting three really sweet dogs and in between taking them for walks in the local park we took advantage of the couples offer to use their bikes to cycle in to the city and explore. It had been a great way to visit places we otherwise wouldn't see. We recently saw an opportunity to house sit near Barcelona for 6 days and to our delight we were accepted so yesterday we made our way to their house and spent the day with the family to learn the routine. All we had to do was feed their 6 chickens as well as put out some food for the neighbourhood cats once a day. In addition we needed to collect any eggs as well as any ripe fruit from their abundance of fruit trees. The family left for their holiday this morning so we pottered around clearing up after the chickens and collected the fresh eggs before taking advantage of the swimming pool to cool off. It was a living pool with water lilies and the tiniest frogs I have seen. All the planting in and around the pool attracted some amazing insects including a really bright blue species of dragonfly. The heat in the motorhome had recently become almost unbearable as the daytime temperatures were hitting 40° so the house-sit had come at an opportune time. It was definitely time to start heading towards home now that it was getting too hot in Spain so after the house-sit we plan on gradually making our way towards Calais. 

Portal de San Jose, Guadalest

View of Morella from the camperstop

Another view from the top of Calpe Rock

Sant Mateu

Guadalest

Guadalest

Guadalest

At Tres Palmeras with friends

Jan at Alicante Castle

May 2019

Lake Negratin

May 2019.

8th May. Our friends Paul and Jan are accompanying us on our summer tour for a few weeks as although they have travelled extensively in the U.K. they have never ventured abroad in their motorhome so we are excited at the opportunity to show them many of the places we love in France and Spain. We met up with them near the Eurotunnel yesterday and after managing to get an earlier crossing we had made it to the lovely Aire at Le Crotoy for our first night. As we awoke to rain this morning there was little point in hanging around so we set off after breakfast to head to La Fleche Zoo for our next overnight stop. We arrived at the Aire just as there was a brief respite in the bad weather so we decided to stretch our legs with a nice walk before the rain returned. 

Chassiron lighthouse

9th May. Our Motorhomes were buffeted all night with strong winds and rain but this morning the skies had cleared and we woke up to the sounds of elephants, seals and monkeys which was quite novel. We set off for Il d'Oloron where we planned on spending a couple of nights. We headed for the Aire at the top of the island which used to be a campsite and after all the travelling we were relieved to arrive so we could get out for a walk. Jan and Paul are keen walkers so we headed to the lighthouse at Chassiron managing a very healthy 18kms and getting back just as another shower arrived.

12th May. After another lovely day on Il d'Oloron exploring on foot we spent a very noisy night last night at the Ornithological site at Arcachon, kept awake by partygoers and a boy racer on a moped that clearly had nothing better to do at 3am!! We were relieved to arrive at La Teste de Buch this morning to find a lovely quiet Aire and the bonus of blue skies with no more rain clouds in sight. We had picked this Aire for its location to the Dune de Pilat as we were keen to show Paul and Jan this amazing dune which is the tallest in Europe.

La Teste de Buch Aire

As soon as we were settled the bikes came out and we followed an excellent cycle path that ran alongside the Aire and all the way to the dune. The weather was glorious after all the rain and wind of the last few days. As we'd forgotten to bring bike locks Glynn minded the bikes while we climbed to the top of the dune so that Paul and Jan could enjoy the spectacular views across to Arcachon bay. After walking over 40 kms in the last 3 days my poor old calf muscles protested greatly at being made to climb the dune as my leg muscles are cycle fit not walking fit!! I'd really struggled to get out of bed the last 2 mornings as my calves were locked tight and I'd belatedly decided I ought to be doing more stretching!!

Cycling to the Dune de Pilat

After a strenuous climb through the sand we opted for the easier route down via the steps. I was briefly tempted to lay on my side and roll down the dune and then remembered I am no longer a child and healing times are very much longer when you get older. While myself and Jan took a turn to stay with the bikes Paul went back up the dune with Glynn. On the ride back Jan was a little bit nervous of a hill we had descended on the cycle path as she is not a confident cyclist like the rest of us so Glynn got her to practice changing through the gears and she was surprised and delighted to make the short climb with ease.

Jan and Paul climbing the dune

By the time we'd cycled back we had done a very pleasant 32kms so we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sun. Our plan was to enjoy a lovely walk to the nearby lake in the morning before carrying on our journey to Spain.

15th May. After making good time on our journey south we crossed in to Spain 2 days ago and after spending one night on the camperstop at Jaca we drove to Teruel yesterday. Before settling down for the night we had enjoyed a nice stroll in to the town centre which had some lovely buildings. We also spent a relaxing half hour sat outside a lovely little Spanish bar and we could tell we were in Spain as it was only €5.90 for 2 caña and 2 glasses of wine served in lovely wine glasses ( the bonus was it came with free tapas so Paul and Jan got to experience their first tapas). The weather had improved dramatically since we had crossed the Pyrenees in to Spain and we were now enjoying temperatures of around 28° and not a rain cloud in sight.

Teruel

The motorhome parking area was part of a large car park but as it was stationed opposite a police station we felt very comfortable about spending a night there however we were awoken at 5.30am this morning by a very strange noise that sounded almost like an electric skateboard whizzing up and down the pavement outside. While I tried to work out why anyone would be riding a skateboard up and down at such an early hour Glynn quietly ventured outside to see what was going on and came back with a big grin on his face. He had discovered that the grassy area we had parked next too was maintained by an automatic sprinkler system and the noise we could hear was the spray hitting the back of the motorhome as it rotated around.

Amazing bank door in Teruel

Trying to be as quiet as possible we had to open the front screens so Glynn could see to drive in to a space opposite as it was obvious we would get little sleep while the sprinklers were on. It's impossible not to make a noise firing up a large motorhome at that time of the morning so Glynn just moved to a new space as quickly as possible hoping we hadn't disturbed too many people's sleep!! After grabbing a couple more hours of sleep we were up and ready to move on as our plan was to spend a couple of nights at a lovely site at Betera so that we could spend a day exploring Valencia. The site at Betera was undergoing improvements and a beautiful pool area had been added however it wasn't quite ready to be filled with water so we missed out on a swim but happily accepted the offer to enjoy a free glass of sangria at the bar! After so much travelling since we had left England it was nice to have a free afternoon to relax and enjoy the sunshine so we made the most of it. Occasionally we played a game called Tension in the evenings, girls against guys, and so far the men were beating us 4-1. Tonight we decided to play Chronology, myself and Glynn against Paul and Jan. With a win each we decided to call it quits and get an early night as we knew tomorrow would involve a lot of walking. 

At the City of Arts and Sciences

16th May. The tram station is just a short walk from the camperstop so we set off straight after breakfast to catch the tram in to Valencia. We had already purchased our tickets from the camperstop reception for only €3.10 each. We activated the tickets at a machine on the platform and a brief 30 minute journey later we were in Valencia and heading to explore the beach area. Afterwards we headed towards the marina and the City of Arts and Sciences area which is a beautiful part of Valencia. In spite of having visited it 2 years ago I was excited to be there again to show Paul and Jan why we loved it. In addition I was really excited at taking them to the Fallas museum which is my absolute favourite place in Valencia since I visited it on my first ever trip abroad 28 years ago.

City of Arts and Sciences

After exploring the science area we made the short walk to the Fallas museum and paid €2 to enjoy the fascinating collection of winning ninots dating back to 1934. It is an amazing collection of incredible creations from the Fallas festival that have escaped being burnt on the final day of celebrations by virtue of being pardoned by public vote. They have evolved from the original use of wax, wood and cloth to the current works of art that involve the use of expanded polystyrene and papier-mâché to create the stunning displays depicting humorous scenes and caricatures.

Modern greenhouse 

We have never been in Spain in March to be able to visit the Fallas festival as it takes place however we have been lucky enough to visit the Festival de San Juan in Alicante, held in June every year, which involves the same displays of amazing ninots positioned on street corners throughout the city. After leaving the museum we decided it was time for a well earned break so we found a bar and ordered "bocadillos y caña". Feeling rested we then walked in to the city centre to view the architecture including the beautiful Estación Del Norte, the main train station that was built in 1852. We had walked over 21 kms exploring Valencia so it's hardly a surprise that after catching the tram back we opted for a quiet evening and an early night. Unfortunately on the walk back from the tram Jan lost her balance on the uneven ground and fell heavily on her arm as well as grazing her knee so we were hoping she hadn't done too much damage and would just have a few bruises.

Paul & Jan in the Fallas Museum

17th May. Fun and games on the drive to Calpe today!! The day started off well when we woke up to gorgeous sunshine and we were looking forward to getting to Calpe and being in one place for a few weeks so we could get some serious cycling done. We set off for Calpe and as we were driving round Valencia's ring road Glynn suddenly realised he was in the wrong lane for the non toll route so quickly crossed lanes However it was too late for Paul who was following close behind us so he was stuck on the toll road. Not ideal when he didn't know where he was going so was relying on following us. I messaged Jan and arranged that they would come off at the next junction and wait for us to catch up however poor Paul turned left instead of right when he came off the toll road and ended up heading back towards Valencia. This meant we were now ahead of them so we waited in a lay-by until Paul managed to turn around and catch us up. It was like a comedy of errors but we were now back on track!

Valencia Beach

Unfortunately I wasn't watching the sat nav which decided to play up and send us off the main road at Betera so that we were driving down all the back roads. We had been so busy chatting that Glynn hadn't realised the sat nav had gone wrong until we found ourselves on smaller narrower roads. What should have been a straightforward journey that we have done many times was suddenly anything but. I directed Glynn to get us back on the main road and as I looked up from checking the map I realised he was driving on the wrong side of the road!! He'd come out of a junction and momentarily crossed to the left side of the road. I shouted and he quickly realised his error and moved over just as we got to a bend with a lorry coming towards us.

Coastal walk at Calpe

That was way too close for comfort!! It is very rare that Glynn ever gets confused about which side of the road to be on and we'd had a lucky escape. My poor old heart couldn't take any more so I was pleased and relieved when we finally arrived at Mediterraneo Camperstop. After settling in we went for a walk to show Paul and Jan the lovely beaches at Calpe and get some shopping in. After dinner we played Sequence. Myself and Jan beat the men in the first game so we thought we'd better let them win the second game so that they didn't sulk!! Oh and unsurprisingly the evening involved wine!! After the rather stressful drive from Betera a well earned glass of wine or two was definitely on the agenda!!

19th May. This morning we went for a ride with the Calpe U3A cycle club. Jan is not a confident cyclist so it was myself, Glynn and Paul that met them for a lovely ride to Moraira.

Coffee break at Moraira

It was a nice route to break us in gently as there aren't any particularly steep climbs and it was the first decent ride on our new road bikes. It certainly felt a lot easier than the hybrids and was a very pleasant 30km ride. After lunch we decided to re-balance our hamstrings by going for a lovely long walk along the coastal path before spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. With Paul and Jan being keen walkers we have been doing more walking than we've ever done and our calf muscles have finally stopped protesting so much. We've had some hilarious mornings trying to get out of bed with our calf muscles so tight we struggled to even get down the three steps from the bedroom area. 

22nd May. After spending the last 2 days doing lots of walking we were back on the bikes today for another U3A ride.

Cycling in Calpe

We took the main road up towards Benissa before turning off in to the Jalon Valley, past Lliber and then carried on to Senija and then across the top of Benissa and down through Pedromala coming back in to Calpe on the back roads. It was a fabulous ride and a much greater test on our fitness however I experienced the worst attack of hay fever I have suffered since I was a child. Now I have a small confession to make here: When I was a child if I wanted a day off school because I hadn't done my homework or just didn't want to go I would go over to the hayfield opposite our house and sit amongst the hay rubbing my eyes as this would result in my eyes almost closing up and a severe attack of hay fever. It was a foolproof way to get a day off as it would take a couple of days before I could see properly again.

Cycling through the olive groves

As an adult I had all but grown out of hay fever (and the urge to sit in hayfields to get out of doing something) and now I only ever suffered with the occasional cold type symptoms however today I felt like that child sitting in the hayfield again. During the ride my throat started to itch really badly and my eyes were itching and streaming. I was struggling with my breathing and I wasn't sure if this was from a lack of fitness on the climbs or from the severe hay fever attack I was experiencing. Luckily I had some anti-histamine tablets in our medical box so guess where I headed the minute we got back!! After lunch we headed over to Mercadona for some shopping and discovered they had some cava at only €1.99 so we bought a brut and a demi-sec and enjoyed a fun evening playing Tension and testing the 2 cavas. The brut won our votes and the men won the Tension!! 

View of Calpe from Pinos

26th May. Over the last 3 days we've had some mixed weather with rain on and off but we managed to do a ride to Pinos that tested my climbing ability with a nice 10% gradient and we also managed a couple of hours on the beach relaxing during a sunny break in the weather. Today the sun was fully back in place so we did a great ride up to Benissa and I managed to knock 2 minutes off my fastest time. After lunch we did a nice easy ride through the olive groves between Calpe and the N332 carriageway so that Jan could join us. It's a nice scenic route with little traffic and although it's largely a flat ride there is a brief but very painful 16% climb that I have never made before. It's so steep that it's difficult to even walk up so I was absolutely delighted when I made it up without stopping. My lungs were burning and my legs were hurting but I did it although I could have done with an oxygen tank for a while afterwards. The road bikes definitely make a difference to our cycling ability. 

Benidorm Old Town area

27th May. We decided to take a break from cycling and have a day trip to Benidorm. Although we've cycled there a few times it's not a route that Jan would feel safe on as it means cycling the edge of the busy N332 carriageway for most of the route. We got off to a good start when we got on the bus at the station and it promptly broke down so we had to wait for the next bus. When we got to Benidorm we walked along the promenade and stopped to watch a choir singing on the beach. Benidorm is too busy for me on a regular basis but it's lovely to visit for a day. We headed in to the old town area which is really nice before deciding it was lunch time.

Amazing tapas selection

In the old town area the Calle Santa Domingo is known as tapas alley and there are several smaller side streets that also have tapas bars. We were spoilt for choice but eventually settled on a restaurant with a very tempting display of tapas and enjoyed a lovely lunch washed down with wine and beer. We had a great day out, walking over 12kms, and after catching the bus back to Calpe we decided a quick visit to see Mick and Chris at Tres Palmeras was in order before heading home for a quiet night in. 

Enjoying our tapas

30th May. I have continued to suffer the worst hay fever I have experienced since I was a child. The anti-histamine tablets that I have been taking have caused extreme fatigue which is not ideal for cycling but on the plus side I have slept deeply and not woken up early for days. I even had to leave Glynn and Paul to do a ride to Benissa without me 2 days ago as I was too tired to join them. Unlike the U.K. where you can pick up cheap tablets from the supermarket you have to go the pharmacy in Spain to even get paracetamol. I was shocked that it cost me €12.80 for a pack of 20 non-drowsy anti-histamine tablets and the annoying thing was that they did little to improve the chronic symptoms I was experiencing. Luckily our friends Clive and Mary are arriving in Calpe soon so they are bringing me a supply of non-drowsy tablets that will hopefully do the trick.

Torre de la Horadada with Chris & John

Today we were heading south to Cuesta Blanca so we stopped off at Torre de la Horadada to have lunch with our friends Chris and John whom we see in Goa every winter. It's a beautiful area and we enjoyed a lovely walk along the promenade in glorious sunshine before we bade them farewell to head to our next destination. We've stayed at Cuesta Blanca twice before and it's a great little camperstop with a pool that is owned by a lovely Dutch couple. Myself and Jan enjoyed the last of the afternoon sun by swimming in the pool but Glynn declined to join us as he can't contemplate water that is below about 30° so he dipped a toe and declared it way too cold for him. 

Lake Negratin

31st May. After a lovely day of cycling around the area yesterday we headed further south today to meet our friends Sean and Karen. We see them every year in Goa and as they also have a motorhome and were staying near Lake Negratin we had arranged to all meet up at a campsite adjacent to lake. Negratin is one of the largest freshwater reservoirs in Andalusia and sits side by side with Mount Jabalcón which was clearly visible for miles as we travelled towards it. Our first glimpse of the lake as we left the carriageway and navigated the minor road leading to the campsite was breathtaking. The water was the most stunning shade of blue and the lake looked vast with rugged cliffs on its northern banks and a stony beach area on the southern side.

Paella anyone?

Karen and Sean have a beautiful Shar-Pei dog called Nancy who is blind but copes with her lack of sight really well. Once we had all settled on our pitches we wandered down to the lake so that Nancy could get some exercise and we could enjoy the amazing scenery and dip our toes in the water. It's definitely a place I would love to come back to with a kayak. After our walk we headed back and whilst I made a giant paella Karen introduced us to the delights of parma violet gin. Oh my word, it was gorgeous!! What a great evening, paella and various salad dishes washed down with gin for the girls and beer for the boys while we caught up on all our news. What a fantastic way to end the month. 

Our plan for June is to head back to Calpe initially to take advantage of the incredible cycling opportunities the area offers and then we will gradually head north. With all the travelling we've only managed to cycle 220 kms but hopefully June will allow the opportunity to get a lot more cycling done before it gets too hot. Paul and Jan will be heading home mid June as Paul is entered in to a cycle race back in Wales at the beginning of July so the rides around Calpe will act as a good training ground to prepare him for those Welsh hills. 

Lake Negratin

Lake Negratin

Valencia Train Station

Valencia Bullring

Fallas museum

Fallas Museum

Jan, Karen and me at the lake

City of Arts and Sciences

City of Arts and Sciences

City of Arts and Sciences

The men in charge of directions!!

Valencia Beach

Amazing sand art

Nancy

Enjoying the parma violet vodka

Sean, Glynn and Paul

Cheers!!

The view from Cuesta Blanca camperstop

Benidorm Old Town

Benidorm

Benidorm

At the base of Calpe Rock

Moraira

Heading in to the Pyrenees

The lake at La Teste de Buch

view of Arcachon bay from Dune de Pilat

Jan & Paul in Benidorm