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Published: March 3rd 2012
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The beginning of February and we were back in Spain after a month in Morocco which will always live in my memory as an experience I am glad I had but am also glad to have left behind. Now our little party was down to just 4 having farewelled Kit and Morag the previous day.
The next few weeks were to be spent on the sunny shores of southern Spain in company with David and Janice. Together we explored some beautiful and peaceful areas of the coastal hinterland behind Marbella and Malaga such El Chorro Gorge with its unwalkable walkway; El Torcal mountain with its pancake rocky peaks; Fuente del Piedra where there were Flamingos and the wonderfully, elegant Cranes which did a fly past for us; and a number of other lovely walks from mountain villages.
Brian managed to find a good dentist in Alhaurin de la Grande who replaced a filling for only 33 Euro (he is talking about going back next winter to get more dental work done!)
We spent 5 nights at Orgiva in the Las Alpajurras on the southern side of the Sierra Nevada. This was a lovely spot with excellent walking nearby.
Brian and I finally got to put his knee to the test and it has stood up to the rigours pretty well so far. Another good feature of the site was the restaurant out the front where we were able to enjoy a beer and tapas with a view of the mountains we had just walked around - they also did a pretty good "menu del dia" which we availed ourselves of on another day. Together with David and Janice we did a number of pleasant walks around the hills and valleys, and visited pretty villages scattered amongst them.
Our next stop was Cabo de Gata Natural Park where we were to spend 10 nights at Camping Los Escullos - an absolute record stay for us and we could easily have stayed longer. The area is full of walking opportunities and the weather remained kind with lovely, mild sunny days and cool nights. The coastal scenery is stunning, the walks are as easy or as hard as you wish to make them and there are refreshments to be found in the little villages dotted around the place. One day the four of us hiked from Los Escullos to San
Jose (about 11km along a cliff top path), lunched in a waterside cafe in San Jose, then caught a taxi back to camp for just 12 Euro. That's what I call a good day out.
The birding around Cabo de Gata is good and we had numerous opportunities to spot interesting birds such as White Headed Ducks (quite rare and we were lucky to see several breeding pairs); Stone Curlew; and Trumpeter Finch with their lipstick coloured beaks. One day I awoke with a pinched nerve in my shoulder which persisted for a couple of weeks, however, on this day we decided to go to the markets in Cabo where there were piles of fresh produce going so cheaply you were hard pushed not to buy vast quantities e.g. 2kg of tomatoes or peppers for 1 Euro! It is easy to see why when you look around the region surrounding Cabo which is covered in a sea of plastic greenhouses - this is one of Spain's biggest growing areas and is not a pretty sight.
On Thursday 23 Februay we farewelled David and Janice and headed towards Valencia where we spent two nights at Camping Devesa Gardens which
is in the L'Albefura Nature Reserve and a bus ride from Valencia. On Saturday and Sunday we enjoyed the sights and shops of Valencia. They have some lovely architecture and the place has a relaxed feel about it. The old central market is reminscent of the Adelaide market with excellent produce you just can't resist sampling. We enjoyed lunch at local cafes on both days, got to watch a parade of traditional bands on Sunday and visited a couple of interesting museums. The Ceramics museum had a terrific collection and history of ceramics in Spain and was housed in a lovely old building, and later we visited the art gallery and the best thing is they are all free entry on Sundays! To finish off we walked along the riverside parklands to some magnificant modern architectural buildings which wouldn't look out of place on Sydney Harbour.
Monday we continued northwards to a beautiful hilltop town called Morella which has a motorhome aire located just across the road on the next hill with fabulous views of the town. We walked the cobbled and porticoed streets of the old town winding our way up to the top of the old castle
which was originally built by the Moors well over a thousand years ago and which has a commanding 360 view of the entire region. They also have some really good local produce such as truffles, sheeps cheese and apple cakes! Next day we did a hike along a section of the GR7 (Grand Randonee walking routes which cover much of western Europe). Whilst stopped for lunch we got great views back to Morella and of several magnificant Griffon Vultures.
Wednesday (last day of February) we pootled along through yet more lovely scenery, stopping to enjoy ancient villages set amidst mountains covered with olive and almond groves (the almonds are all in lovely pink and white blossom coats at the moment). We decided to stop the night in the Els Ports Natural Park with magnificent scenery, good trails, Griffon Vultures and Golden Eagles. We were pleasantly surprised to have the company of David and Janice for one last night as they had caught up with us on the road after staying on in Los Escullos for a week longer than us. So we freecamped at a lookout with great sunset views and a glass or two of wine over a
game of Farkel - not a bad way to finish February.
So, that's your lot for now - more next month!
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