So 10 days have slipped away since our last post and a lot has happened. Our first trial drive in Pinot to the Supermercado, then washed the big bugger and filled the tanks with diesel and water at the local petrol station, hope I got them the right way round. Air in the tyres and even went to our local for a coffee…..no booze allowed when in command of this thing. Back to base camp with a full fridge and no bumps or cutlery spilled across the rig….phew ! and Amanda said she wasn’t in the least concerned (what a fibber). Not poking fun at Amanda (well not much) and she can have her turn at me later, but I wheeled the shopping trolly from the supermarket to Pinot and opened the door and passed all the bags into Amanda, which she promptly set aside and when I asked her why she wasn’t unpacking and putting them away, she replied “I’m waiting till we get home”……….sorry darling but we are home so get used to it and I swear she almost wet herself giggling! ps I should add her packing of all things loose like crockery, food, kettle and associated kit was brilliant with not one (honest) single rattle.

With that first little trip under our belts we decided to up chocks and make our way North slowly as we need to be in Barcelona next week for a couple of days. More about that later though.

We have been blessed on our first camping spot in Mojacar with the best neighbours on site we could have wished for. Now I’m sure they won’t mind me saying they were all a little older than us but they had the most vigour and zest for life you could imagine. Oh and they are all very capable sun downers. Along with Paul, mentioned in an earlier post they gave us an invaluable introduction to motor homing. Without their tutoring we could have ignorantly blundered on for weeks with trial and definitely a lot of error. So hats off to this bunch of friendly, giving and good humoured motorhomes, it was so very much appreciated.

So on the morning of departure we had a dozen or so lovely people  with a collective 200 years at least camping experience watch Amanda and I very closely pack up and then negotiate our way out of a very tight pitch and out into our adventure,no bloody pressure then guys! Gracias y felices viajes to you all.

So off we went with a vague idea of where we wanted to be and drove about 300k’s north to a beautiful little town called Xabia or Javea It’s an absolute cracker of a spot in the Marina Alta in the Province of Alicante , about 100k’s south of Valencia. It’s a pretty vibrant fishing area and sits below a massive lump of rock called Montgo………..and it is massive (750metres high or over 2,000 feet in the old money) cause we cycled over it yesterday. Our local mountain at home in Brisbane is about 300 metres high and I made a solemn vow never to ride over anything with MOUNT included in it’s name, but more about that later. It’s had the usual visitors in this region including the Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Visigoths and of course the Moors given it’s proximity to North Africa.

Some of you may know the Island Ibiza, well it’s only about 90k from here and you can catch a ferry to all the Balearic Islands. We saw it from a beautiful vantage point on one of our rides a couple of days ago. Anyway enough about all that, the pics will show you how beautiful this spot is. The weather has been brilliant and Spring has now sprung. When I zipped back to UK last week, it was SNOWING when we landed ( I know , I mentioned the weather, but again SNOW that’s a big deal when you’ve lived a large part of your life in Brisvegas). I should mention one of the main reasons I had to go to the UK for a day or two, was to buy Amanda a Remoska. It’s a steel pot with a heated lid which is powered by electric and is kind of a mini oven and you can’t buy them in Spain. Hats of to her, she has only had it a week or so and has produced all sorts of amazing tucker. So between her cooking and the great Tapas accompanied by all this cheap wine, it’s a dead set winner. Happy wife happy life.

Of course seeing I had to fly a couple of thousand k’s back for this cooker, I bought a new Honda 125cc scooter which is being shipped to Barcelona and we pick it up on Tuesday….Happy days !

 

Seeing these guys out training on our way to Xavier should have given us a clue about the hills around here.

Our first day in Javea was spent taking a great ride along the foreshore to the port and then back towards El Arenal and up the Los Miradores route (I think Miradores means lookout). As our friends and family know, Amanda is pretty new to cycling and only took it up a couple of months before we left home. This little trip turned into a 48k ride with amazing views along the way. She refuses to get into the lycra on the hybrid bike, so we rode in shorts…..my bum was a wee bit sore but she had no problem. Toughen up Allen! no chance I’m going straight for my nics.

C

The picture below was attached to a menu and gave some basic tips on vino…..like we need help?

Day 3left the bikes back at Pinot and went for a little dander around the place. Wrong ! Amanda never does things the easy way and wants to see and do everything. So off we went from the Marina across the little hill toward another Mirador……..stay with me guys, that’s a lookout remember! We ended up doing 20k’s up hills and down dale. What an amazing day we had and passed old limestone kilns which the locals used until a few decades ago apparently. The picture below is at the start and is a view back toward the Port from Cap de Sant Antoni. I am damn slow at typing so it’s Amanda’s turn now.

The scenery was just beautiful along the way.

Ok, my legs by now are like mush ! After yesterday ‘s bike ride and now climbing  Mt Everest (it felt like it ) I could barely stand straight when we got back down, but another great day and I enjoyed every minute.

Day 3 and it was time for another bike ride  Javea to Denia OMG I nearly died ! Up and up and up and up we went, had the biggest smile on my face at first, then it started to get grumpy and I started to curse ha ha but not for long as we came over the mountain it was worth my pain . But no time for pics as I was zooming down the other side now and happy face had returned!

Ok, nice reward after another big day, had a lovely evening in a very cute Tapas bar in the old town.Day 4

Yay, a Morning of leisure, coffee and a gentle walk. An afternoon of washing, and dare I say an iron was involved! Loved our time here at Camping Javea.

The fresh Sardines being unloaded where amazing.

Note, selfie stick is back in action 😊

To say we are happy is an understatement. Feeling very grateful !

Next stop Valencia …love to all xx