Where's Bertie? He hasn't moved an inch from yesterday's reported position in the car park at Alcoy.
Weather: Sunny intervals. Low- to mid-teens (only 5 degrees overnight!)
As I headed out for a run along the Via Verde this morning, Mick set out in the other direction on a mission to find bread and, per my request: 'a bun as big as my head'.
The Via Verde here is excellent and popular. Within the first 1.5km I'd gone through two tunnels and over two bridges, and tunnels continued to be a regular theme. The views over the local hills were good, and there was many a waymarked walking route branching off from the main trail making me think one could spend days here and be happily entertained.
Lots of tunnels. Both snaps taken from the same spot, looking in opposite directions.
Taken from about 100m further on from the last snaps
The entire outward leg of the route took me gently uphill, and I was half way through a 1.2km tunnel when I turned around to enjoy the downward leg back to Bertie. Of course, what I actually did was speed up, rather than enjoying an easier plod back.
Long tunnel! At least this one was lit. The longer unlit ones were 'interesting' in the middle.
Even though the breadshop Mick was seeking was only 800m distant, he didn't beat me back by much, and had covered a much greater distance before he returned empty handed. He'd been unable to find a business at the place Google had taken him, so had wandered down into Alcoy. There he finally gave up on his mission only about 100m before both a baker's and a supermarket (as we later found out when we walked that way again).
What he did find on his wanderings was a place close to Bertie that was offering a Menu del Dia for €10.
We preceded lunch with a walk into town and back, by which time we only needed to kill a few minutes more until the clock ticked over to 1pm and we considered it an acceptable time to present ourselves for lunch.
Between Bertie and the lunch establishment, we came upon a small, neglected-looking park housing approximately 60 benches. Overkill, it seemed to me. Today one of them was in use.
We have an even bigger language barrier here than normal, as the first language is Valencian, but the waiting staff kindly switched to Spanish and we muddled our way through.
All this for €22 (or £18.40 at today's exchange rate). The coffees accounted for the extra €2
Back at Bertie a quiet time has been had for the rest of the afternoon*. What is nice to see from our vantage point here, sitting about 2 metres away from the Via Verde, is how well-used the paths are. We observe the same wherever we are in Spain. Just now, post siesta but still long before teatime, is one of the busiest times of day (the other being 9-10am), with a constant parade of people walking and running by (plus a good few cyclists, roller-bladers and skateboarders). Based on last night's observations, it will continue to be busy until dusk, with a few people even heading out in the dark.
Weather: Sunny intervals. Low- to mid-teens (only 5 degrees overnight!)
As I headed out for a run along the Via Verde this morning, Mick set out in the other direction on a mission to find bread and, per my request: 'a bun as big as my head'.
The Via Verde here is excellent and popular. Within the first 1.5km I'd gone through two tunnels and over two bridges, and tunnels continued to be a regular theme. The views over the local hills were good, and there was many a waymarked walking route branching off from the main trail making me think one could spend days here and be happily entertained.
The entire outward leg of the route took me gently uphill, and I was half way through a 1.2km tunnel when I turned around to enjoy the downward leg back to Bertie. Of course, what I actually did was speed up, rather than enjoying an easier plod back.
Long tunnel! At least this one was lit. The longer unlit ones were 'interesting' in the middle.
Even though the breadshop Mick was seeking was only 800m distant, he didn't beat me back by much, and had covered a much greater distance before he returned empty handed. He'd been unable to find a business at the place Google had taken him, so had wandered down into Alcoy. There he finally gave up on his mission only about 100m before both a baker's and a supermarket (as we later found out when we walked that way again).
What he did find on his wanderings was a place close to Bertie that was offering a Menu del Dia for €10.
We preceded lunch with a walk into town and back, by which time we only needed to kill a few minutes more until the clock ticked over to 1pm and we considered it an acceptable time to present ourselves for lunch.
We have an even bigger language barrier here than normal, as the first language is Valencian, but the waiting staff kindly switched to Spanish and we muddled our way through.
All this for €22 (or £18.40 at today's exchange rate). The coffees accounted for the extra €2
Back at Bertie a quiet time has been had for the rest of the afternoon*. What is nice to see from our vantage point here, sitting about 2 metres away from the Via Verde, is how well-used the paths are. We observe the same wherever we are in Spain. Just now, post siesta but still long before teatime, is one of the busiest times of day (the other being 9-10am), with a constant parade of people walking and running by (plus a good few cyclists, roller-bladers and skateboarders). Based on last night's observations, it will continue to be busy until dusk, with a few people even heading out in the dark.
(*Actually, there was one other minor activity this afternoon: I climbed onto Bertie's kitchen worksurface and stuck the top half of my body through his rear skylight to inspect the solar panel. First thing this morning the leisure battery was reading lower than we would have expected (although the heating fan was on high at the time - it had been a cold night), so I wanted to check that our solar charging wasn't being hampered by dirt. It was! There was a thick layer of dust, even though I only cleaned it less than a week ago. A sponge, a couple of mugs of water and a squeegee and we're now taking full advantage of the sun again.)
Was the solar panel planned for accessibility rather than having to climb up fro outside?
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't, but with four skylights, two permanent vents and an aerial on his roof, the only space left for solar panels happens to be either side of one of the easily-accessible skylights. It saves us from having to carry a ladder, as many motorhomers do.
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