Valencia - wet but wonderful!

 

Despite having spent many of the past 15 years’ summers a mere 100kms away in Oliva, we’d neglected the delights of Valencia since the building of the huge Science park complex with its futuristic buildings. We had visited in the 90s – and thoroughly enjoyed it, in spite of an attempted break-in to our old campervan, foiled by deadlocks we’d fitted after being robbed the year before in the Basque country. Maybe that put us off, who knows, but we hadn’t been tempted back since.

With this in mind, and the awareness that cities are almost always higher risk, we opted for the relative security of a campsite (Coll Vert) a few kms out of town, near El Saler, with a handy bus service into the city. We knew the site would be noisy as it lay between two main roads, but the ease of access to Valencia swung it, and we arrived in the dry to a pleasant if basic site.

The first thing we noticed was the much more cosmopolitan and largely younger clientele, with a wide variety of vans and nationalities, quite a change from the usual German/ Dutch predominance in this part of Spain. As well as a variety of professional panel van conversions like our own home made one, we also saw two enormous 4x4 ‘explorer’ type trucks (both German) and got chatting to the couple that owned one of them, Rita and Rudi Menrad, who had travelled around most of the western hemisphere in their truck and were busy planning their next adventure whilst seeking a bit of sunshine away from Germany. They have a very interesting website chronicling their trips here if you fancy having a look at some serious travel adventures – complete with translation buttons!

With night came the first of a series of waves of rain that were working their way across most of Spain. Indeed we’d chosen to have a couple of days in Valencia in the knowledge that there would be plenty to keep us occupied and entertained when and if the weather turned. Van life can be fun in changeable weather, but 48 hours of heavy rain might have triggered an outbreak of cabin fever that would be better avoided!

So, with our slightly old but very informative guide to Valencia city and the province at hand, and a bottle of local tinto to assist us, we set about planning what we might do over a couple of days. As Spain’s third largest city, there’s loads to choose from and in the end we plumped for one day at the Oceanográfic– an enormous complex dedicated to marine life that shares a site with the Arts and Science centre; and another day exploring Valencia’s famous municipal market, followed by lunch and then the museum dedicated to the ‘Fallas’ – the crazy festival of fireworks, fire and fun held annually in March.

The heavy rain that had started the previous night continued into the morning, so we had a pretty late start to our trip to the Oceanográfic, eventually catching a bus in a gap in the rain. Like most mainland European countries, public transport in Spain is both cheap and reliable and after parting with €1.50 each for a ticket into the city, we arrived at the Oceanográfic to find, perhaps understandably given the season and weather, a complete absence of queues. Not cheap at €28.50pp, we went through the turnstiles hoping we’d made a good choice.

I’ve got very mixed feelings abut these captive marine exhibitions, even where, like this one, there’s also a dedicated ‘research institute’, but even I was impressed by the enormous range of water/sealife on show, and for the most part, the giant tanks seemed spacious and the animals looked healthy enough. The centre has a range of outdoor exhibits, combining exotic birds, butterflies and fish, but the real showstopper for us was the series of underwater interlinked tanks and tunnels showcasing different climatic areas and habitats. My favourite part (if not making for the more exotic photos – most of these are tropical!) was exploring the Mediterranean zone, showcasing some of my favourite seafood – a bit odd perhaps but good to see what they look like before they make it to the table!

The day at the Oceanográfic finished with the daily dolphin show. Now this bit I was definitely not too keen to go to, as the idea of keeping such intelligent creatures captive seems a bit much to justify an income stream for the ‘research institute’. Still, not wanting to be overly bah humbug, I went along and surprised myself by enjoying the spectacle. The trainers were clearly very close to their animals and the combination of acrobatics and interactive swimming could not fail to impress – even under a darkening and lowering sky. As well as the show the conservation message was made loud and clear, including a live demo on what to do if you find a stranded /beached dolphin.  The dolphinarium complex here is the largest in Europe and also includes separate facilities for treating injured animals.

Our second day in the city was meant to be drier, and we’d been pleased with the accuracy of Accuweather forecasts so far and planned it this way round on purpose – but our forecast dry-ish day turned into a steady drizzle for most of it. This didn’t stop us from having fun, first in the recently renovated Colon Market, with its quirky display of giant snails and numerous eateries, and then the main event – the Mercado/Mercat Central. Built at the turn of the last century, it is a daily homage to all that’s good about Spanish/Valencian food. As well as the expected displays of jamons and cured meats and a huge range of seafood, including an astonishing array of shellfish, there were some interesting bits we’d never come across before, including ‘salted seaweed/seashore plants’.

After a proper market lunch at a café just outside the market, which made full use of the ingredients on sale inside, we wandered wetly over to the cathedral district (via some interesting veg inspired graffiti!) and then on to the impressive gardens that line the bed of the old river Turia (diverted after a major flood in the 50s). This area is given over to the remnants of the old royal gardens with plenty of exotic greenery, as well as an amazing city centre leisure and recreation area. Not particularly photogenic in the rain, this part of the city would make a great place to laze or stroll away an afternoon after a big lunch!

Making our way towards the Fallas museum, we weren’t quite sure what to expect as we’ve only experienced local versions in Oliva. We arrived at the same time as a large group of Spanish pensionistas so we sat and watched an explanatory film with them, benefiting from the subtitles – still in Spanish but easier to keep pace with than the dialogue! It turned out that the museum is the repository of the winning or reprieved ‘ninot’ (or 3D figurine and often a caricature) that is saved from the fire each year, the tradition otherwise being to burn them on massive bonfires whilst setting off thousands of fireworks in general, and street bangers in particular. The ninots were largely restored versions (dating from the 30s to the present) and ranged from the folksy, to the political, to the downright bizarre. We’ll leave you to judge what the intentions might have been in this selection!

After a brief wander round the archetypal Spanish department store, El Corte Inglés, we walked back to our bus stop across the riverbed and, as if on cue, the skies started to clear – a good omen for our onward journey south the next day!

S.

Montanejos - mountain adventures part 2

 

After a lovely lazy day ligging about on the campsite in the low 20s and catching up with van duties, we were looking forward to our trip to the small spa village of Montanejos in the Sierra Espadán. The route was to the south this time but involved another short hop across the mysterious Parque Desierto de las Palmas. Mysterious, as its neither a desert nor laden with palms in the bits we traversed – a place for subsequent exploration if ever there was one!

The drive up to Montanejos was similar to the one to Morella a couple of days earlier, but this time we were treated to more, and richer autumnal colours. Autumn can’t have advanced that much in 48 hours, so we put this down to a landscape that included more deciduous trees than the ubiquitous evergreens that can dominate these parts.

We arrived in Montanejos and parked up at the far end of the village where we would be closer to the river source that feeds the many bathing areas that the village is famous for. Allegedly with water temperatures of 25c, there are various access points for public bathing as the river snakes its way towards the source. With a small number of other visitors heading in the same direction we noticed both how clean the water was, and well populated with some very large barbell-type fish that clearly enjoy the warm water conditions…. unlike potential bathers at this time of year, of whom there were precisely… none!

The water was quite a bit warmer as we neared the end of the public access zone and we might just have been tempted to take a dip, had the winter sun not dropped below the top of the gorge, casting the bathing area into shadow. (The fact we hadn’t brought any bathers had nothing to do with it!)

The walk up to the source was in many ways very Spanish – lots of signs with rules about not washing in the river with soap, no double lilos (really!) etc, and also what looked to be some smallholdings that had probably been established before the area had received its tourist makeover and were stubbornly holding on to their right to stay put. We’ve seen this before where home owners refuse to sell up and end up surrounded by new developments – but none quite so quirky as one with a collection of gnomes and Virgin Marys watching over the route to the source!

Walking back to the van looking out for a lunch stop, we passed the municipal water purification plant – a little more picturesque than most UK equivalents.

We’d expected (it being a weekend) to be spoilt for choice on where to eat, but with such a fabulous backdrop all around us, and a limited choice of eateries, we opted for a picnic by the river instead. And besides, we’d soon be off to Valencia city where many gastronomic delights would be awaiting us!

S.

Morella - mountain adventures part 1

 

We’d last visited Morella over 20 years ago and were keen to return for two reasons: hopefully the castle would be restored and open by now; and by a fond memory of some interesting mountain fare – that had included pickled quail. That trip had been in our old Dodge camper and we’d free camped under the walls of the old town – surprised at the dramatic drop in temperature overnight even in summer – and a very scary soundtrack of what sounded like pigs panicking before being led out to the abattoir…

This time of course we’d taken the easy version and were doing it as a day trip from our campsite at Torre la Sal. It’s still a beautiful drive and the walled town makes for a dramatic focal point as you get closer.

We’d read that since our last visit the town had built an Aire just outside, so we decided to give it the once over and enjoy what was stated to be a 7 minute walk to the town. The Aire itself was pretty impressive – free and with fresh and waste water/ toilet emptying and space for 20+ vans it would make a very picturesque stop over, particularly at night with the town backlit against a no doubt impressive starry sky.

So, even though we weren’t stopping overnight, we parked up and began the 7 minute walk… After 10 minutes and with the town still looming in the distance ahead of us, we spotted what looked to be the small French campervan we’d overtaken on the way up form the coast, perched jauntily in the way so many French campers seem to, with a view to die for high up under the walls and within an easy stroll of the town… So, beating a hasty retreat to the Aire and leaving the other campervans behind, we drove the short climb up to the town walls – to where we’d free camped all those years ago, with the French camper parked in the very spot we’d claimed back in the day!

With a brief walk into the town itself, we loaded up with info at the Turismo – where it was confirmed that the castle was indeed open – and headed off to look for somewhere for lunch. We had remembered the town fairly well, including the main street with its vaulted archways where most of the restaurants were to be found – except this time and for reasons we still can’t explain, it all seemed so much smaller – like going back to a place we’d visited as children! And, either our sense of ‘interesting mountain fare’ had recalibrated over the last 20 years – or the restaurants were offering some pretty pedestrian menus. Still, with a keen desire to eat and then wander round the castle after, we plumped for El Roque – once one of Morella’s most fashionable eateries, but now sporting a somewhat dated charm. This didn’t stop us though from tucking into some tasty regional soup/stew dishes typical of the region and before long we reckoned we had just enough time to get up to the castle before it closed for last visitors at 5.00.

The castle is pretty amazing – originally a pre-Roman hill fort and then added to and extended by the various conquering armies over the centuries, what is there today is based on some Prussian engineering overhauls to the mainly medieval castle. The castle continued to see active service until the early 20^th C and included the Spanish War of Independence/Peninsula War that the Sharpe TV series was set in. So with images of Sean Bean and his merry crew uppermost in my mind, we wound our way up the hill and round the castle right to the top, with breathtaking views all around. It’s easy to see why this was such a popular defensive point to fortify, and with a very real reminder of the scenes of death and destruction in the cemetery for those killed in the Carlist wars of the late 19^th C set in its grounds, we had left just enough time to climb back down to the town as dusk descended. Although we had been lucky with sun and clear skies, it was noticeably cooler up in the hills and we were glad we’d be returning to the coast!

Pausing on our way down to the van to visit the ‘gigantes’ in the town hall, we were struck by the attitude of the locals here – not only was the town hall adorned with a large poster welcoming refugees, but the history of these giant figures used in festivals (very common in the Valencia province) gave an interesting twist to the usual ‘Moors and Christians’ tableaux played out in boisterous celebrations of the Christian reconquest elsewhere in Spain. Here, the gigantes (made in the 1930s) are paraded as equals and serve as reminders of the rich racial mix of the region – a stark contrast to all the other festivals we have seen which follow the standard ‘Christian victory’ story.

After a quick cuppa in the van and with the sun setting in the hills to the west, we set off back across the route we had come, glad that we had made the trip when the castle was actually open this time! It’s good to mix old and new destinations and we were looking forward to exploring Montanejos in a couple of days’ time – somewhere we’d never been.

S.

Benicássim by bike

 

One of our more recent discoveries in Spain is the amazing network of cycle/ hiking routes or Vias Verdes. Most of these are old railway tracks and the one between Oropesa and Benicássim – the Via Verde del Mar – is no different. Built in the 19^th C to facilitate the movement of tourists up and down the coast it is now used by walkers and cyclists alike following its restoration after the railway closed.

We had been warned by the staff at the campsite that the start of the route in Oropesa was a little difficult to find, and sure enough we missed it and had to make a steep ascent up a concrete ramp to get started! Once we were on it though, we were treated to a succession of beautiful coves, cuttings and coastline. Running directly along the edge of the rocky shoreline for most of its length, there are plenty of places to stop and admire the view.

The ride took a slightly alarming turn however, at the sight of a helicopter heading towards us from over the brow of the next cutting and flying very, very low… Half expecting it to start playing the Ride of the Valkyries and for us to suddenly love the smell of napalm in the morning, it veered right towards the sea and its intent became clearer; a cliff rescue right by the Via Verde. The area is peppered with walking routes and it looked as if someone had come a cropper walking out to one of the many headlands along the coast. Trying to strike a balance between understandable interest and mawkishness, we stayed long enough to see two crew winched down and attend the casualty.

Conscious that we wanted to get to Benicássim for lunch, we silently wished the crew and casualty good luck and cycled off towards the north end of the town, where we had read there were a few beachside villas worthy of note. And wow, were they impressive! Built mainly at the turn of the 20^th C by the rich and famous, many saw service in the Civil War as troop billets and hospitals for the Republican Brigades (including international ones) and some still survive in public and private ownership.

We’d arrived the morning after a stormy night and although it’s only the Med, there were a number of locals surfing the break that peeled around the headland at the north end of the beach, which was just losing its power, so the surfing had given way to drinks on the terraced bar overlooking the waves...

We lunched at El Torreón opposite the Torre San Vicente on the Playa Torreón. The menú del dia delivered a three course delight of an assorted fried fish starter, followed by a Valencian paella and chocolate pannacotta, with drink, coffee and bread for €13.50 each – not bad for a beachside restaurant with views over the Med!

With a lot more of Benicássim to explore on a subsequent trip, we mounted up and at a more stately pace as befits a post-lunch and slightly uphill return gradient, we got a different view of the coast that included another tower like the one at Torre la Sal that had been built to watch out for pirates - this one hidden from view as we’d headed south but a prominent feature on the return trip.

And so, with just about enough daylight left for the trip back to the van, we stopped for a quick photo at the marina at Oropesa – as much to prove that I really had found my shorts as the stunning backdrop! Although this Via Verde is a relatively short one, it enabled us to take in some stunning views and a decent lunch – and reminded us to be proactive and seek out more of these routes – they are a great way to spend a day and see bits of the country that otherwise would be too easily driven past.

Next trip will be to the walled town of Morella, up in the hills and a very different experience no doubt!

S.