Summer in Spain (again)

[royandsharont]

I’ve done a bit of digging on Google maps and found the museum with the restaurant with a view I spoke of. The climbing museum appears to still be there, their website is HERE but no mention of the restaurant. If you’ve never visited, and plan to revisit the church, it is worth stopping at to see & enjoy the views over the city & valley beyond. A small car park but lots of room for your bikes

 

[jumartoo]

I’ve done a bit of digging on Google maps and found the museum with the restaurant with a view I spoke of. The climbing museum appears to still be there, their website is HERE but no mention of the restaurant. If you’ve never visited, and plan to revisit the church, it is worth stopping at to see & enjoy the views over the city & valley beyond. A small car park but lots of room for your bikes

Thanks for that. I didn’t know about the musuem. We used to climb there and visited the church then. That's many years ago now though. We need to have a revisit. It's not far to go from home.

 

[jumartoo]

Today we had another domestic duties day. Martin headed off to Alhama on the scooter to pick us some "small" parcels and a part for our leaking toilet cistern. The small parcels were three mtb tyres. He thought they'd be folded, but they weren't . He got them back stuffed under the scooter seat.

I took our rubbish, and recycling to our underground bins. Some people can't manage to lift a lid . I then went for an unsuccessful look in the postbox. I suffered a nosebleed on the way. My tissue was more red than white. No-one I saw on my way back here asked if I was OK until I saw Salva, our builder and keyholder, who was most concerned until I told him it was no problem.

I came home, nosebleed under control, and then went to shop at our local store.

The toilet was repaired on my return.

We've had a nice lunch of pasta with scrumped brocolli, smoked salmon and King prawns.

Mug of tea time now ...

 

[jumartoo]

Riding day again today. Again we headed to the parking at Librilla, and set off, uphill through the edge of the Badlands. We were stopped by a snake. About a metre long. Honest!

We continued down to the, slightly wet, concrete Ford. It's good to see there is still some water about.

From there we rode a bit of road and then went to recce a track that we'd failed on previously. We found the way today .

We eventually arrived above Fuente Librilla and stopped to take a photo of a bee-eater on a cable. Not a good photo. It was too far away for the zoom to make a good job of the shot.

We then chose a road ride to take us to canal (trasvase) from where we had an easy ride back to the car.

The Carob tree was in the parking, providing shade for our car.

 

[Littlewheels]

I came home, nosebleed under control

Glad it was controlled. I had one a month back, normally fold and stuff tissue up and after 10 minutes all sorted, this time it wouldn’t stop after swallowing blood lots because of the flow off we went to A&E, well 5 hours later waiting to see a Doctor he said it will stop eventually and off home we went.

It did stop but l had swallowed a lot of blood and my toilet the following morning was black and l felt ghastly, anyway l survived and have been fine since and have no idea what caused it.

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[jumar]

Glad it was controlled. I had one a month back, normally fold and stuff tissue up and after 10 minutes all sorted, this time it wouldn’t stop after swallowing blood lots because of the flow off we went to A&E, well 5 hours later waiting to see a Doctor he said it will stop eventually and off home we went.

It did stop but l had swallowed a lot of blood and my toilet the following morning was black and l felt ghastly, anyway l survived and have been fine since and have no idea what caused it.

Fortunately it wasn't a serious bleed and Judith controlled it well...
Generally speaking...(From a trained and experienced person) it's not a good idea to allow the blood to enter the stomach...but pinch the soft tissue area below the bridge of your nose and sit upright or slightly forward until the bleed stops......

 

[jumartoo]

Glad it was controlled. I had one a month back, normally fold and stuff tissue up and after 10 minutes all sorted, this time it wouldn’t stop after swallowing blood lots because of the flow off we went to A&E, well 5 hours later waiting to see a Doctor he said it will stop eventually and off home we went.

It did stop but l had swallowed a lot of blood and my toilet the following morning was black and l felt ghastly, anyway l survived and have been fine since and have no idea what caused it.

That sounds frightening. I had nose bleeds (left nostril) some years ago and then again last year. They've started again because, I think, I'm blowing my nose constantly with all the dust.

I'm glad yours was a one off event (hopefully).

 

[Littlewheels]

Fortunately it wasn't a serious bleed and Judith controlled it well...
Generally speaking...(From a trained and experienced person) it's not a good idea to allow the blood to enter the stomach...but pinch the soft tissue area below the bridge of your nose and sit upright or slightly forward until the bleed stops......

I did this but it had no effect and all through the wait in A&E it kept filling up and had no where to go, l kept going to the servicio to re plug my nose coughing and gagging knowing everyone in the waiting area could hear me trying to clear myselfit was a total bloodbath in there and highly embarrassing.

Apologies for going so far off topic on your thread.

 

[jumartoo]

I did this but it had no effect and all through the wait in A&E it kept filling up and had no where to go, l kept going to the servicio to re plug my nose coughing and gagging knowing everyone in the waiting area could hear me trying to clear myselfit was a total bloodbath in there and highly embarrassing.

Apologies for going so far off topic on your thread.

No need to apologise. This thread is just treading water until we get away for the summer

 

[jumartoo]

Today was make or break day for an early getaway. The motorhome had to go for its ITV (MOT equivalent).

I went for a ride ...

Yesterday I made a jar of deeeelicious lemon curd. Today I picked up more lemons to make some more.

They're falling off the trees here, unwanted.

I didn't pick any from there cos that was on my way out.

I rode along the via verde and stopped to talk to two guys from Camposol. I then continued on an easy, signed ride. I spotted sheep on the right, then heard barking and saw the Farmer/Shepherd running and yelling. Two white Mastins bounded down the field and chased me, one either side. The dog dazer is in Martin's bag!

My muscles in my calves were crawling with anticipation of being bitten. I just kept pedalling and, luckily for me, they gave up the chase.

A bit of colour...

Amongst the dry, dusty land.

I eventually turned to return on the Canal de Taibilla. No water to be seen, its transported underground.

Mancomunidad de los Canales del Taibilla - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

es.m.wikipedia.org

It's marked by concrete marker posts.

Martin Checkley Tours, of course

I returned via more dusty fields and passed the pyramid that's being built here. It's some company taking landfill (not exactly filling) that's not household or noxious, but I don't know what it is, except it's soil, as far as we can see.

And .... the motorhome passed with "excellent"

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[dryad]

crikey look at those lemons, what a shame they're just going to rot!

and i feel the tension with you escaping those dogs, another dog dazer in your bag would be good too when you're out on your own, but thankfully they gave up, lucky escape and no harm done apart from an extra work out of those leg muscles..
hope you're not too sore in the morning..

.

 

[jumartoo]

crikey look at those lemons, what a shame they're just going to rot!

and i feel the tension with you escaping those dogs, another dog dazer in your bag would be good too when you're out on your own, but thankfully they gave up, lucky escape and no harm done apart from an extra work out of those leg muscles..
hope you're not too sore in the morning..

.

Toni, I never expected to meet Mastins here. I could easily have taken the dazer with me. I will next time. It was more worrying seeing the Shepherd running. The shepherds don't normally move so quickly.

The lemons are being wasted because there's no market for them.

I can't understand why Spain, a big lemon producing country, have never made more of using lemons. Lemon curd, in my opinion, is far nicer than any jam you can buy. Nice and tangy. Then there's lemon drinks (limoncello) and lemon meringues. There's a niche market there for someone.

 

[Tombola]

Toni, I never expected to meet Mastins here. I could easily have taken the dazer with me. I will next time. It was more worrying seeing the Shepherd running. The shepherds don't normally move so quickly.

The lemons are being wasted because there's no market for them.

I can't understand why Spain, a big lemon producing country, have never made more of using lemons. Lemon curd, in my opinion, is far nicer than any jam you can buy. Nice and tangy. Then there's lemon drinks (limoncello) and lemon meringues. There's a niche market there for someone.

great info , thanks

Those LEMONS !!!!!! wow.

We are down in Torre Pacheco and they are still only just green on our gardens trees

 

[royandsharont]

I think you had a lucky escape there with the sheep dogs

 

[jumartoo]

I think you had a lucky escape there with the sheep dogs

I must admit I was a bit worried especially seeing the Shepherd running. I usually disappear and leave Martin to deal with dogs. I couldn't do that today. They just saw me off far enough from their sheep.

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[jumar]

I'm the Dog Dazer trained operative...I normally fend off the dogs as jumartoo scarpers as fast as she can go....
Big dogs, big barks, very intimidating...I was brought up in a household of big dogs, so I'm not too worried...providing I can see them...but when there are more than one, it's quite testing....
Get off the bike as a last resort and put it between yourself and the advancing teeth..on a non electric bike it's a good weapon to clobber the hound with a raised front wheel...with an eBike...best to keep pedalling ..

 

[Just smiffy]

Love lemon curd and especially lemon drizzle cake….

 

[jumartoo]

Love lemon curd and especially lemon drizzle cake….

Another way the Spanish could use lemons. Lemon Drizzle cakes.

 

[jumartoo]

We went for a proper mountain ride today. An old favourite that's slowly getting harder and rougher to ride. We decided to try riding it in the opposite direction to normal, but it was still pretty tricky negotiating the stoney ground and the water washed gullies.

The scenery is still lovely though

We parked at the Mirador Restaurant at Gebas. Rumour (two years ago from a good source) had it that they are making a motorhome parking area there. It's still half done, but not open. We'll be keeping an eye on any progress.

So. We rode on the road to El Berro and then took the track to the right signed to the water bottling plant, Fuente Dueñas. Then the track started to deteriorate as it climbed. Long story short, we managed, and are back home to tell the tale. I DID get off for a short, rocky, waterwashed, downhill section of 20 metres or so. I'm so conscious that we're soon wanting to head off for the summer.

We reached the area known as Prado Mayor. When we first rode through this area the old mine houses were still in reasonable condition, now only one or two are habitable, but where the, very nice, houses are now, was then just a shelter for the goat man.

Once we reached the col, it was a relatively easy ride down the Parades de Leiva, with the towering cliffs on our left. We used to be able to climb there. Climbing is still allowed, but not for us

 

[jumartoo]

El Berro village, with its campsite, has changed quite a bit since we first visited.

The campsite has improved and the village has had some improvements, especially the road surface. What has deteriorated is the opening hours of the two bar/restaurants there. They used, between them, to open 7 days. Now the opening is less frequent, open only Friday and weekends and the MdD, at Bar Espuña at least, is no more. Not sure about the opening times of the other bar La Parra.

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[jumartoo]

The full moon, as seen with my new camera.

We then went for a ride near Sierra Espuña. We're running out of different, easy, rides to do so I suggested one we used to ride from Totana. It's on minor roads and tracks. We saw a few changes in the 6 years or so since we last rode on one section.

There's been a building, abandoned for years. Work was being done on it sporadically for years. It's now a hotel and it looks very nice. It was nice to see the old building brought back into use.

It's in a handy spot to visit the archaeological site of La Bastida, Aledo, and the Estrecho de Arboleja.

Turismo Totana - La Bastida

Página web oficial del Ayuntamiento de Totana

turismo-totana-es.translate.goog

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-senderismo/espectacular-estrecho-de-la-agualeja-o-estrecho-de-la-arboleja-aledo-murcia-lugar-de-interes-geolog-103504429&ved=2ahUKEwiT9N7Eh6iGAxXgW0EAHT1SDOkQFnoECDsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1yPrXltT3P6QT014HqlVXO

There's ample parking for the Estrecho for motorhomes! It's made it onto P4N.

We didn't visit either place this time though, hence the links.

We did continue our ride though. And yes, these are photos of me!

We're riding again today. Don't know where yet.

 

[Tigertom]

Last Feb. I saw a large delivery van go through that arch with a few millimetres to spare…….thought they were going to have to let the tyres down to fit through!
Never a dull ride around there .
Keep the posts n pics coming.

 

[jumartoo]

Sorry for the sparse posts. We've been riding locally, and you've already seen photos from here. We've got almost everything ready for a getaway as soon as my blue bike motor returns from Barcelona and Martin's refitted it and tested it.

I've still got the van interior to clean, but until all work inside has been completed and we know when we're going, I'm not wasting time cleaning to have to redo it. It's been exceptionally dusty here recently.

We've decided against riding the Pirinexus. It already seems pretty busy up there and the accommodations, in parts, are sparse and expensive. We should really be getting there very soon if we were going to ride it. It would mean driving quickly up to Girona, missing our some good places. We haven't given up on it entirely though. There's always another time.

So, instead I'm planning a motorhoming trip, still heading north east towards the Pyrenees to begin but spending longer getting there, with the chance of stopping off in many more places on the way.

A few, dry looking, photos from our recent rides.

 

[Just smiffy]

That’s a rare picture…

 

[jumartoo]

That’s a rare picture…

View attachment 902399

First go at a selfie with the new camera

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[jumar]

That’s a rare picture…

View attachment 902399

Yep... collectors item....

 

[jumartoo]

Today we had another ride into Sierra Espuña. Mostly easy tracks amd roads. We're trying to ride easy routes as we're getting so close to leaving for the summer, avoiding any accidents , but we're running out of easy routes so we're cobbling together mixed ones and riding more roads than normal.

We've been enjoying them though, so it's not a hardship.

 

[jumartoo]

We've had a message from Barcelona to tell us my bike motor has been repaired and should be with us on Monday. So, if refitting it goes well, we're now able to plan our summer getaway.

I've committed to feeding our Penthouse cats all next week (if needed) so from Monday, 10th June we may be free to travel. Fingers

I've got lots of places already in mind, but ... the high temperatures may scupper my plans, and we may have to quickly head further north.

 

[Peavy]

High temperatures sure will be a problem, I read somewhere this summer would be 70% another hell on earth for us in the north east. Let's hope that 30% works in our favour and don't have to put the van in storage for most of the summer

 

[jumartoo]

High temperatures sure will be a problem, I read somewhere this summer would be 70% another hell on earth for us in the north east. Let's hope that 30% works in our favour and don't have to put the van in storage for most of the summer

We've already decided not to try to do the Pirinexus route. It's already too hot, and it appears to be too busy also. It also makes us rush through lots of lovely areas. We MAY have to miss those areas due to the weather, but that's our choice.

Fingers crossed that in a week or two the temperatures may reduce ...

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