Spring (waters), (Hot) Springs and Spring (Equinox)

So hi all, and a special hello to all those who've been missing the blog and especially those who dropped us a line to make sure we were all ok! We are both fine, just found ourselves enjoying life at Didota campsite way too much! Although we've done plenty, there wasn't really enough to make a blog post interesting enough, so I chose to wait a while.

In the end, we totalled 49 nights in Didota (just north of Valencia), and were blessed with some fantastic weather. The first week or so was a bit cool and cloudy, but once into mid Feb the sun came out and the temp went up - in fact during our last week there, the temp gauge on the van to something starting with a 3.........! Anyway, by staying over 45 nights we made sure we got the cheapest rate possible, taking advantage of all the offers. Bearing in mind I was doing 6 exercise classes a week (Zumba x 2, Yoga x 2, weights workout and elastics workout-all free) plus Jase and I went to Spanish once a week, with 7 washes as well we have come in at just £9.63 a night. I can totally see why people spend up to 6 months overwintering there. We also made some great friends too - Marion and Richard who we helped with their upcoming trip to Canada, Lionel and his lady friend who helped improve Jase's French no end, plus Jackie and Martin who became firm friends. Jackie and I threw shapes together at Zumba and Jase and Martin Strava'd (cycled) their way around the local area, topping out with a 105 miler. We also enjoyed a couple of lovely lunches locally before they headed for home a week before we left. All in all, a fabulous time, and somewhere definitely to be visited again.

Departure day was set to last Monday 18th March and with heavy (but fitter!) hearts we rolled away from the site. We planned for our first few days to stay reasonable local but inland a bit so Jase could show me some of the scenery he'd been seeing on his rides. But first off, we had chores to do - the van was desperate for a wash, plus we were out of food and LPG. Luckily we were able to get all of this sorted fairly local, and with a stop in Cabanes we were also able to fill both van and water containers with some of the nicest spring water I've ever tasted.

Our first stop was on the climb up to Sarratella which Jase had ridden on many a day. The journey up was stunning, with views back over the coast and across the hills. We picked a lunch spot and spent a nice few hours watching the vultures circling overhead.

Our overnight spot was just slightly back down the hill with views back over the sea. We'd picked that spot because it felt more sheltered. However, the wind had other ideas! Cue a very rocky night!

The next morning and although the night had been a bit unsettled, the views were worth it. We rolled back down the hill, and towards some hot springs at Montanejos. On arrival it was clear that the car park wasn't somewhere we'd want to stay the night, and didn't have much of a view. We rolled further through the valley and found another great spot courtesy of Park4Night at Puebla de Avenoso. This one was overlooking a reservoir with the surrounding hills around. It was a great parking spot too with plenty of space, plus another camper already in place. We pulled up and had lunch.

Having decided it was the perfect spot for the night, we settled in for the afternoon, watching for vultures and hoping for another glimpse of the Ibex that had run in front of the van earlier in the day. What we didn't bargain on was the local Touristic Train turning up with what looked like a bingo club outing! Of course, having parked in the plum spot, we should have anticipated they'd all pile out and start taking their selfies, not worrying for a minute we might be sat in the van! What was funnier still, was one of the older gentlemen, complete with stick started heading not for the tourist train, but towards a red UK T6! The owners of said van started to look as amused as we did, only to realise his detour was planned, he just wanted a pee-pee!

After all that excitement, the rest of the evening passed without further incident thankfully.

The next morning, and a stunning day indeed, although a chilly 2 degrees outside! We had a lazy start to the day with a successful 2nd use of the hot water system via the inverter.

On rolling back down the valley, we stopped again at the hot springs - and altogether much nicer experience on a quiet, clear morning (yesterday had apparently been Fathers Day, a bank holiday in Spain!). The waters were rumoured to be about 25 or so degrees, and although nice, we didn't fancy hopping in!

We then headed back down the CV20 and pulled into a layby we'd noticed the day before. Again, we were on the hunt for vultures, and we were rewarded with plenty of them - circling, nesting and hunting. We also saw 2 Ibex having a bit of a tussle too.

Our final stop was another Park4Night gem, alongside another reservoir, this one near Ribesalbes. Initially it is a BBQ area, then along the top shoreline we spotted about 4 other vans, and slotted ourselves in. A great place to watch the moon for the Spring Equinox.

Next morning, and after a lovely quiet night, it was a cloudless sky. We decided to stay put and spent the day wandering along the waterside, and chatting through our plans for the next places to visit, as well as trying to decide about life post Jexit. I also got a chance to have a practice at some of the yoga moves I'd learnt at my classes.

Friday morning and we rolled out of our reservoir spot fairly early, and back to a service area at Onda. We stopped there for an hour or so to service the van etc. On firing the van up for the last few days, we'd both detected more than a bit of resistance, and Jase decided that maybe the battery was on its way out. Rather than risking a full breakdown, we decided to head straight for a Feu Vert garage just down the road in Castellon, and get it sorted. Luckily they had exactly what we needed, and 30mins later and €147 lighter, it was all sorted! Fair play to Jase for this of course, without his skills there would have been only 1 outcome.

After such a busy start to the day, and being as it was a bit cloudier, we decided to grab some fuel (€1.18/l) and head a few hours south. We headed for Crevillent, which is about 30km or so inland from Alicante. We'd spotted this place, again on Park4Night, as a place to stay at a nature reserve. On arrival it was a fairly standard gravel car park, so we parked up and headed off for a wander. What we'd found was a place very similar to Slimbridge but totally free! There was a boardwalk area, then marshes and open fields leading to larger lagoons.

It was so good we ended up staying Friday night and Saturday night too and our list of spots includes:

Egrets

Glossy Ibis

Black-winged Stilts

Flamingos

Avocets

Spoonbills

Great crested Pochard

Possible Booted Eagle

Some sort of warbler?

Probably loads more we didn't realise or grab pics of! It was a great couple of days.

And so to today, Sunday. It's been a tale of several halves really. We got up fairly early for a last glimpse of the birds and then planned to drive about 40mins to Fortuna to go into a campsite for a couple of days. We are on a bit of a timeline now, having booked tickets to the Alhambra for the 2nd April. However, on arrival at Camping La Fuente it was pretty clear fairly quickly it wasn't a site for us. The parking was literally like a gravel car park (we can stay in those for free!) and the selling point of the swimming pools were packed! We wandered back down to the van, but had a cheeky peek to the showers and laundry and decided to take advantage of both. A bit daring I guess, and if challenged I would have paid for the overnight, but no one did, so all good.

We then headed for an Aire at Archena but that was full and barriered off so we rolled on.

Our final stop (which I hope will be for the night, although the jury is out at the mo!) is by another reservoir near Blanca. It seems fairly quiet and very pretty. We've seen quite a few locals having a wander around and a fish, plus the police have rolled by but said nothing. For now, I think all is good.

The plan from here is to take a slow meander through the Sierra Nevada and on towards Granada for next Tuesday. After that we want to see some of the white villages around Andalucía. We will have a decision from that point though, whether to stay south towards Cadiz or start heading across to Seville. We have no major rush other than need to find somewhere sensible for Easter which is a massive (and busy) deal here, and plan to be back in France for around May time. So far wild camping has been ok in Spain, but I think it's going to be a question of taking each place as it comes, there won't be much uniformity to it I don't think.

Anyway, that's us all up to date, thanks for sticking with it and I promise not to leave it so long next time.

Stay safe all

J&J x