Where's Bertie? He's in an Aire at the Coves de Sant Josep in La Vall d'Uixó. Exact location: 39.82353, -0.25018.
Weather: A thin layer of cloud this morning gave way to blue skies this afternoon.
I said at the beginning of last week that by the end of the week we would have jumped all the way up to the coast to the north of Valencia. Only four days later than planned, and after a couple of hours of driving this morning*, here we are ... except we're not on the coast because I spotted this Aire and thought it might be an interesting place to visit. We are, however, now a little further north than where we first hit the Spanish coast six weeks ago.
A couple of forays out since arriving here, on the edge of the sizeable town of La Vall d'Uixó, have not involved a tour of the caves in whose car park we are sitting, as, from all the information I've seen, I'm not sure I'd enjoy it (bearing in mind other caves I've visited in the past) enough to justify the entrance fee. During our wanderings, we have, however, visited most of the other signed points of interest (a couple of chapels - one on a hillside above the town, the other up above the caves, remains of an historic aqueduct, and an archeological site of an old settlement) - all of which have scored at the very bottom end of the 'How Interesting!' scale, but it doesn't much matter as it's a pleasant enough location just for ambling around on the local paths.
We've also learnt that a 100km defensive front, built to resist Franco's forces during the 'Levante Offensive' in 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, runs through the hills only a few hundred metres from where we're sitting. Having gone out without taking any water with us this afternoon, on a stroll that turned out to be longer than intended, thirst caused us to turn back just before we got to the remaining evidence of that defensive line, but the route we plan to take tomorrow may well take us there.
Ermita Sant Antonio. Not an interesting building, from my point of view, but ...
...its elevated position did give a good view up the valley...
...and down the valley to the sea...
...and across the valley. Spot Bertie.
(*We nearly got distracted by the town of Xàtiva, within 10km of our start point. When I spotted an impressive-looking castle/fortification spreading across the hill above the town I quickly looked up to see if there was anywhere we could stay in the town. There was, but we steeled our resolve (we simply can't stop *everywhere* that looks interesting!) and drove on.)
Weather: A thin layer of cloud this morning gave way to blue skies this afternoon.
I said at the beginning of last week that by the end of the week we would have jumped all the way up to the coast to the north of Valencia. Only four days later than planned, and after a couple of hours of driving this morning*, here we are ... except we're not on the coast because I spotted this Aire and thought it might be an interesting place to visit. We are, however, now a little further north than where we first hit the Spanish coast six weeks ago.
A couple of forays out since arriving here, on the edge of the sizeable town of La Vall d'Uixó, have not involved a tour of the caves in whose car park we are sitting, as, from all the information I've seen, I'm not sure I'd enjoy it (bearing in mind other caves I've visited in the past) enough to justify the entrance fee. During our wanderings, we have, however, visited most of the other signed points of interest (a couple of chapels - one on a hillside above the town, the other up above the caves, remains of an historic aqueduct, and an archeological site of an old settlement) - all of which have scored at the very bottom end of the 'How Interesting!' scale, but it doesn't much matter as it's a pleasant enough location just for ambling around on the local paths.
We've also learnt that a 100km defensive front, built to resist Franco's forces during the 'Levante Offensive' in 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, runs through the hills only a few hundred metres from where we're sitting. Having gone out without taking any water with us this afternoon, on a stroll that turned out to be longer than intended, thirst caused us to turn back just before we got to the remaining evidence of that defensive line, but the route we plan to take tomorrow may well take us there.
(*We nearly got distracted by the town of Xàtiva, within 10km of our start point. When I spotted an impressive-looking castle/fortification spreading across the hill above the town I quickly looked up to see if there was anywhere we could stay in the town. There was, but we steeled our resolve (we simply can't stop *everywhere* that looks interesting!) and drove on.)
I envy your blue skys and warmth as I look out at that kind of fine rain that penetrates so efficiently - I don't even want to go out to the garage to put the washing machine in motion. Yesterday I managed to walk eleven miles in decent weather before the rain that was forecast for "later in the sfternoon" started just as I was getting back into the car so it's not all gloom and doom. You haven't mentioned Coronavirus - are you cocerned at all or doing anything differently than you were before?
ReplyDeleteOff the top of my head, and hoping that I'm not going to tempt fate, I can only remember ten minutes of light rain since we hit the coast towards the end of January.
DeleteThe last time I saw any figures on the subject (a few days ago now) Spain had nearly twice as many Coronovirus cases as the UK, but with a smaller population. Being completely cut off from the Spanish media, we have no idea how it is being reported over here, but we've seen no evidence yet of changed behaviour or panic buying.
We do have concerns of varying levels on various aspects of the virus. At the moment, even with the higher incidence in Spain, I don't feel that we're significantly more at risk of catching it than we would be in the UK (because, other than regular trips to supermarkets, we don't come into close contact with many people). Our biggest worry is for relatives and friends who are in poor health. Then there's the question of what happens if travel restrictions are placed on an area whilst we are there? At the moment it feels like it would be an overreaction to curtail the trip to mitigate that unknown, but that could change.