Beech's Euro Tour Part Deux

[Helen Ariel]

Would the statue be Hippocrates?

I’ve checked and it’s a statue of Aesclepius. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia ("Hygiene", the goddess of cleanliness), Iaso (the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (the goddess of the healing process), Aegle (the goddess of good health) and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). He has several sons as well. He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep.[2] He shared with Apollo the epithet Paean ("the Healer").[3] The rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff, (similar to the caduceus) remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as the Therapeutae of Asclepius.

 

[Helen Ariel]

The aire at Palamos was really smart, 13 euros with services and electric, lovely seaview but sadly lost the sun early at 1pm being on the hillside facing North East.

After lunch we headed off into the hills to check out the mtb trails, following a route from Trailforks app and whilst still pretty windy it was 19 and sunny so we actually got hot on the long climb up. We kept seeing the entrances to enticing looking singletrack trails on our mainly XC route but decided to stick with the route whilst we got our bearings and we were loving the views as well.

There was a small taster of the singletrack at the end of our route a nice flowing blue trail and then it was back to check on Beech and see if her limp was any better (still a bit wonky unfortunately) and cook up a nice spicy peanut and beef curry with the beef we couldn't finish from the night before.

Near the end of our ride we had spotted a handy little wilding spot just on the edge of a small town/suburb called Vall-llobrega we decided to move there the next day and get another ride in before the forecast rain arrived. This ride was shorter but steeper both up and down but we were absolutely buzzing at the end as the red singletrack trail we descended on was trail perfection, fast and flowing in places with some rocky and loose technical sections to test the nerves and provide an adrenaline hit.

We've hardly ridden our bikes this summer so we're both really keen to rebuild our fitness and skills on this trip and Spain has so much potential for this unlike Portugal.

The rain arrived that night and was forecast to continue for the next couple of days so we thought perhaps a city visit would be preferable to being stuck in the van in the countryside.

Girona has a really handy aire a short walking distance from the main sights so we arrived there yesterday morning. 13 euros for a secure, fenced compound with cameras and services for 13e.

Beech seems better after a couple of rest days so we all got our coats on and prepared for a wander round the city and just as we departed the heavens opened and basically didn't stop all day and night. Not showers either but a proper deluge.

After an initial soaking, some interesting architecture and a delicious cake stop we dropped Beech back at the motorhome and headed back out in search of lunch.

Sadly the heavy rain forced a rushed decision on the lunch venue and though the place was cosy most of the dishes were a bit disappointing. Incredibly cheap though so not much of a loss.

We found a nice bar to mull things over and as the rain shows no sign of easing until Saturday we decided to cut our losses and head further South to warmth and sun. We'll most likely be returning home this way so will hopefully come back and visit on a better day and there are heaps of mountain bike trails in this area we still need to explore.

So a spot near Benicassim is our next stop

 

[Helen Ariel]

Hmm.. not keen on this Benicassim aire. Packed in like sardines and the sea is not dissimilar to Brighton quality. Rough and brown just now. The search for a basking spot continues. Still Beech enjoyed a run on the mucky sand and it's mild at 19.

Whilst Dad sleeps off all the driving and a night kept up by rain. We're doing some people watching from his seat.

 

[busby]

Which aire are you on? BUSBY.

Hmm.. not keen on this Benicassim aire. Packed in like sardines and the sea is not dissimilar to Brighton quality. Rough and brown just now. The search for a basking spot continues. Still Beech enjoyed a run on the mucky sand and it's mild at 19.
View attachment 556400

Y.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Which aire are you on? BUSBY.

Y.

Far end by the planetarium. It's rammed and a huge caravan just turned up causing a bit of a stir

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[busby]

Far end by the planetarium. It's rammed and a huge caravan just turned up causing a bit of a stir

You get caravans on the park at the airfield..That one was rammed back in Oct when we were there.Hope weather improves for you.BUSBY.

 

[Helen Ariel]

You get caravans on the park at the airfield..That one was rammed back in Oct when we were there.Hope weather improves for you.BUSBY.

It was absolutely packed when we drove past!

 

[mitzimad]

View attachment 555252
I wouldn’t be putting my lips anywhere near those wine goblets You don’t know where they’ve been.

ancient she wee

 

[Helen Ariel]

Ok I'm happy now! Been to a supermarket with an awesome fish counter and Paul relented to letting us find a campsite so for the 1st time of the trip i can get the sun lounger out and fire up the bbq for a bargainous fish platter for 2 tonight.

The sea is just the other side of the fence so there is a lovely soothing sound of waves and hardly another soul here. Not bad for 15 euros.

 

[busby]

Ok I'm happy now! Been to a supermarket with an awesome fish counter and Paul relented to letting us find a campsite so for the 1st time of the trip i can get the sun lounger out and fire up the bbq for a bargainous fish platter for 2 tonight.
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The sea is just the other side of the fence so there is a lovely soothing sound of waves and hardly another soul here. Not bad for 15 euros.
View attachment 556636

Where is that? BUSBY

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[Helen Ariel]

Where is that? BUSBY

 

[Helen Ariel]

Campsite stay has been great. Very chilled, friendly locals & other van lifers, cheap bar onsite and clean facilities.
Helen worked her BBQ magic with our fish purchase from the amazing fish counter in the supermarket we visited.

So much choice and incredible value. A kilo of huge ‘gambon’ prawns was only €10.50! Half a kilo in this pic.

A kilo of sardines was only €3.95! Another half kilo please!

And a whole bonito which was just under a kilo. Related to the tuna, it’s a scaleless fish with an incredibly meaty flesh. We couldn’t finish it all so kept it for lunch the next day.

Took Beech for a long walk along the coast and watched some paddle boarders and surfers riding some fun waves.

Also spotted a couple of huge motorhomes parked up in a car park so we’re going to stay there tonight as it’s right beside the sandy beach.

We then went for a ride to more trails about 10 miles away through never ending fields of oranges & avocados. Not too steep a climb which was nice as it’s low 20s now. Unfortunately the first downhill trail was almost unrideable as it was mega steep and just loose shale rock, but the trails after that made up for it.

We were out for 4 hours, did 25 miles and about 500m of climbing. Back to feed her majesty and some bbq pork for us, washed down with some cold beer & cider. It was a good day!

Chilled day sorting out an annoying creak on my bike and indexing Helen’s gears, doing a laundry & sun-bathing.

Debating a visit to Valencia tomorrow, but a German couple we met have recommended a small village in the hills with a gorge that’s good for hiking so that’s more likely. We need to go shopping, especially for more amazing fish!

 

[Helen Ariel]

Well we're really in our element now! We took the recommendation for the gorge visit yesterday. It was only about an hours drive from the campsite and it really did not disappoint.

We headed down into the gorge after lunch and the photos will speak for themselves. It was just stunning in the afternoon light and quite hot when not in the shade.

We stopped and watched the climbers scaling the gorge walls for awhile. Rather them than me and we also got a great view of a mating pair of Bonelli's eagles soaring above the gorge and then back into their cave high on the wall. The females wingspan can reach nearly 6 ft.

Beech took a bit of convincing to cross the suspension bridges but got there in the end.

We overnighted in the carpark above with a couple of other vans and it was so quiet and calm you could hear a mouse fart and so dark we had a great display of the night sky once the moon had set.

Today we drove through the beautiful village of Chulilla which is perched on the hillside, bought bread then carried on to a carpark at a hermitage in the next valley to do an 8 mile Wikilok hike to a cascade. It was another stunningly clear day and toasty in the sun.

I was chuffed to find some fossils and forage some pomegranates for the 1st time. They were bursting open on the trees along the river walk back.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Brilliant photos.

 

[AG 2602]

Great photos

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[paddymcc]

I am so jealous. Great photos, thanks

 

[Lenny HB]

That's one I've not heard off have to catch up with it, looks brilliant.
Hopefully we will be back in Spain in Feb.

 

[Helen Ariel]

That's one I've not heard off have to catch up with it, looks brilliant.
Hopefully we will be back in Spain in Feb.

I'd certainly recommend it. Easy to get to and the full gorge walk is about 5 miles there and back.

 

[Mikey RV]

Looks fantastic.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Update on the rest of our mini break in the mountains!

After our big hike we over nighted in a large empty carpark by a hermitage on the side of the hill over looking the tiny town of Sot de Chera.

In the morning we drove down into the town, planning to park in the carpark there so Paul could go and recce some mountain bike trails that start from there but as we drove through the narrow main street a friendly looking man flagged us down and asked where we were headed and then recommended we stay in a nicer spot just below the town by the river. He mentioned there was another van down there and it turned out to be the German couple from the campsite who'd recommended this area to us.

We had a catch up with them and Paul headed off to ride and Beech and I went for a very gentle walk round the town to loosen our stiff legs that were suffering from the previous days exertions (really it was just my legs tbh as Beech was leaping about like a puppy at the prospect of another dip in the river).

Just after we all arrived back the guy who'd directed where to park appeared on his mountain bike and we had a good chat. He's a New Zealander who's lived in Sot for 20 years and runs an Italian restaurant in the town as the cuisine is very limited.

We got a recommendation for the best mountain bike route (he rides it nearly every day) to ride the next day unfortunately he couldn't join us as he was going to be picking olives.

The locals bar was buzzing at 3pm on a Wednesday so we had a couple of glasses of wine and basic plates of food. Nothing special but enjoyable in the authentic setting.

Thursday dawned a bit cloudy and cool as forecast and we got going quite early to check out Marcus's route recommendation.

It was absolutely brilliant. A long steady climb through olive groves with amazing views from the top then magically the cloud disappeared for the 5k descent which had some very rocky technical sections and ran close to the edge of the mountain with a lot of exposure but amazing views.

Our motorhome is just visible amongst the trees in this pic.

After lunch we headed back to the coast as the forecast is for showers the next few days. We booked a campsite in Denia as after 4 nights flt everything is full or empty and we are getting hook up and WiFi which mean we can stay in and watch some tv and relax without worrying about battery life. We arrived late after a food shop so are yet to explore the area but the campsite is the busiest place we've been so far and lots of Irish and British vans here so will be nice to have some company.

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[Lenny HB]

You are certainly finding some nice places, we will have to try harder on our next trip.

 

[Helen Ariel]

We've had a very enjoyable stay in Dénia the past 3 days. A 6 mile round trip to the centre of Dénia on Friday along the promenade to suss the place out, then on Saturday we walked in without Beech so we could go and eat some tapas in a few different places.

Had some lovely ox tail croquettas and calamari in the 1st little cafe, then we stumbled across a really funky covered food hall, loads of eateries under a canopy, music and a real buzz about the place so we tried out a couple of different places before grabbing some shopping supplies including more fresh sardines for Sunday bbq and some calamari and clams for a risotto. Splashed on a taxi back to the campsite.

Forecast was for heavy rain this afternoon so we got up and out early to do a hike along the cliffs to some caves.

Dad's down there somewhere!

It was hard going as it was very rocky and the previous night's rain had made it slippy but we made it to the final climb down to the caves and Beech and I waited while Paul climbed down.

Apparently the caves weren't anything too special so i didn't bother going down and we could see a huge black piece of sky coming towards us from out to sea so we made haste back to the campsite to pack up.

We'd definitely return here. The campsite was excellent and the city is small but cosmopolitan with loads of restaurant choices and we hope to climb the amazing mountain (752m) that looms over Dénia when the weather is better as the ascent looks quite challenging.

We're wilding a few miles away tonight on a peninsula overlooking Xávia. The views are stunning through the windscreen now the rain has stopped.

Tomorrow we are heading to do a bit of shopping on our way to Murcia area. We are thinking of buying some snow chains as we have been invited to stay on the finca of the daughter of a customer of mine near Segovia at the end of the the week and the forecast there is for a high of 3 and low of minus 4 and possible snow! I think i might buy a warmer coat too as i really didn't pack for that kind of weather. It's a bit of a crazy detour but we'd like to see some more inland Spain and will be an adventure.

We'll only stay a couple of days i expect and then we plan to wizz across into Portugal and head for our favourite city from our last trip, Figueira de Foz for some all you can eat Japanese.

 

[Dutch 68]

Well we're really in our element now! We took the recommendation for the gorge visit yesterday. It was only about an hours drive from the campsite and it really did not disappoint.

We headed down into the gorge after lunch and the photos will speak for themselves. It was just stunning in the afternoon light and quite hot when not in the shade.

We stopped and watched the climbers scaling the gorge walls for awhile. Rather them than me and we also got a great view of a mating pair of Bonelli's eagles soaring above the gorge and then back into their cave high on the wall. The females wingspan can reach nearly 6 ft.

Beech took a bit of convincing to cross the suspension bridges but got there in the end.
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We overnighted in the carpark above with a couple of other vans and it was so quiet and calm you could hear a mouse fart and so dark we had a great display of the night sky once the moon had set.

Today we drove through the beautiful village of Chulilla which is perched on the hillside, bought bread then carried on to a carpark at a hermitage in the next valley to do an 8 mile Wikilok hike to a cascade. It was another stunningly clear day and toasty in the sun.

I was chuffed to find some fossils and forage some pomegranates for the 1st time. They were bursting open on the trees along the river walk back.
View attachment 557803
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Absolutely stunning, have you got coordinates for this please?

 

[peterc10]

What site did you stay at in Denia please?

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

It's almost 1000om to Figurera de foz ,have you been to Obidos ,it's a small castellated town ,with a roman aqueduct.worth a visit ,it's an hour south of your destination with a nice campsite at Foz de Arelho with Fatima close by also.An hour north of Lisbon ,( 100 Kms)

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[Helen Ariel]

Absolutely stunning, have you got coordinates for this please?

It’s easy to find on the road from Chulilla. We stayed at the top of the entrance to the gorge walk/Ruta de Los Pantaneros.

 

[Helen Ariel]

What site did you stay at in Denia please?

We stayed at Camping Los Pinos as it was recommended on another thread. Chatting to some other Brits who arrived after we did and were regular visitors today, and they couldn’t believe how quiet it was compared to previous years. Apparently you’d have to book your visit a year in advance!
Much cheaper prices if you’re retired btw.

 

[Helen Ariel]

It's almost 1000om to Figurera de foz ,have you been to Obidos ,it's a small castellated town ,with a roman aqueduct.worth a visit ,it's an hour south of your destination with a nice campsite at Foz de Arelho with Fatima close by also.An hour north of Lisbon ,( 100 Kms)

Thanks for the tip Jimbohorlicks

We‘ll try to check it out. Helen loves an old ruin, luckily for me!

 

[Lenny HB]

Yes Obidos is well worth a visit, when we were there in early November a couple of years ago, they were building the Christmas Market in the castle ruins. Even better the Aire is free during the day and only a couple of Euro to overnight while cars have to pay in the car park, that appealed to me.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Appeals to me too after 4 nights on a campsite @ €15 per night. That did include hook up & WiFi though!

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