Another European Vacation

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Today we are off to the village of Guadalest which lies at the head of the Guadalest Valley, some 35 kilometres inland from where we are staying. The winding road from the coast to Guadalest is almost worth the trip on its own, passing as it does through stunning scenery. The valley is covered with woods of pine, holm oak, maple and ash and in the cultivated areas are orchards of apples, cherries, and pears, groves of olives, oranges, almonds, figs and lemons, and the local fruit, nísperos. The village economy relies almost entirely on tourism these days but from Moorish times its position at the top of a granite mountain where the Moors built their castle, rendered it almost unconquerable. Surrounded by the Aitana, Serella and Xorta mountains, it appears it was first settled by the Moors in around 715AD and the town grew up around the fortress. Although little remains of the castles that were built there over the centuries inside the walls of the old fortress of San Jose can be found an ancient dungeon and the bell tower. We enjoyed a nice coffee and cake in a plaza below the castle overlooking the beautiful Guadalest Lake.

After coffee we continued along roads into the surrounding mountains. No tourists here, despite the fact that the scenery and little villages are lovely. We slowly made our way back to Albir where we picked up some food for dinner, and headed home for a swim.

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