High Tide!

Tuesday 6th November 2018 - Denia.

We are having two nights of 'wild camping'.  

Yesterday we did some serious shopping, fitting in a Lidl and a Decathlon in one morning.  As you know we have a serious weakness for Decathlon stores we found a nice big store on the South side of Valencia.  

I am sporting my new body warmer, trainers and exercise mat.  We bought walking trousers too and most importantly....more microfibre towels.  We had been rather sceptical of them until we bought some at our last Decathlon but since then we are impressed by the way they soak up the water and how quickly they dry ..and.. they pack up really small.  

They are so good they could be replacing the flannel technique in the future.  Whilst the flannel is smaller and soaks up the water it does tend to stay very wet and it is a struggle to dry it out, resulting in a soggy, musty smelling mass.  I have championed the flannel for such a long time I never thought I would change my mind....but it proves..a leopard can change its spots!!  

We moved on to find our wild camp location at Faro de Cullera, which is north of a larger town called Gandia.  The small car park was on the north edge of a large bay and was right next to the sea, a perfect place to stay.  There was one other motorhome but otherwise we were only disturbed by the noise of the waves.

We walked along the beach for half an hour one way and then back.  This time of year suits us fine as there was hardly anyone around (despite all the high rise apartments that must have been closed).  We would probably hate it if we came in the peak of summer when it was bustling with crowds.....and this will be one of the smaller resorts!

We did our morning stretch routine on the beach, with the added bonus of using the exercise mat for press ups and V-sits.  This isn't a holiday after all!  We moved on to find a new gas connector for Spanish gas bottles and went to a motorhome dealer which had an accessory shop to get sorted.  It seems that every country we go to we need a different gas fitting.....we currently have an English gas bottle and connector and a French gas bottle and connector, we don't have room for the Spanish one when we get it but we will work something out.

We wanted to look at a town called Denia and looked for a place to park the van whilst we looked around.  However, the car park was so good, we decided to stay overnight.  It is so close to the sea, we thought the tide was in....but we forgot the Med hardly has a tide.  This is how close we are......

We hopped on our bikes and cycled back into the town.  It was named by the Romans after the Goddess Diana but in the 6th-8th Century AD it was taken over by the Visigoths and from the 8th-13th Century it was an important city of the Islamic Moors.  From the 13th Century onward it became a Christian territory.  It has had a castle on its hill during the whole of the period and its substantial ruins have 30 towers.  It was so nice we paid (the reasonable) 3 euros each to get in.

There were fantastic views of the harbour and surrounding mountains.  Overall we were very impressed by the town.

One of the things that has been a concern to me has been the absence of hot chillis on the stalls and shops that I have looked at.  It was concerning me, particularly, because the blog background shows chillis and it would have been embarrassing if the Spanish didn't use them in their cooking.....obviously Mexicans are heavy on the chillis but the Spanish may not be.  However, we called into the Market Hall and I was relieved to be able to buy some.  

I suspect they may last the whole trip.....and more!

We cycled a bit further up the coast for even better views and less people.  Tomorrow we will go closer to Benidorm.....we are going to have to go and have a look if nothing else but to say we have seen it.  I believe it is nicer than it once was!  Janice has already admitted to knowing some of the characters from the TV series of that name......the shame!

I hope it isn't a 'high tide' tonight.