Our Last Week in Spain (for now)!
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For our second week house sitting in Oliva we managed a couple of adventures before heading to Valencia for a couple of days.
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Costa Blanca Day Trip
I’ve heard a lot about Javea over the years from friends and family visiting so we decided to check it out. We wandered the old town which is really cute, although almost completely shut down on a Sunday!
We then went to the beach area, first driving up to the lighthouse at Cap de Sant Antoni that overlooks the marina. The beaches in town are rocky but great for walking along until we reached the super busy Playa Arenal.
Hiking in the Montgo Natural Park
Since arriving we have been staring at the Montgo Mountain in the distance. We took off one morning to explore the area a little.
After driving to the far side of Denia, we found parking and hit the trail to Cova Tallada. We took a detour by the Gerro Watchtower for some great views of the coastline.
The trail to the cave skirts the mountain edge before dropping down to sea level. As we entered the cave it seemed rather unimpressive – and loud. Lucky for us, we arrived to find a couple of high school field trips had taken the place over!
As we walked past the teenagers and stacks of kayaks, the cave opens up into the mountain. In pitch black, we wandered back a little way to explore by cellphone light.
Not long later the school group hopped back in their kayaks and paddled off, leaving us able to see just how awesome the cavernous space really is. You can wander outside the cave to a rocky outcrop basked in sun with perfectly clear blue water to swim. From the fish we saw just standing there, I’d say it’s a great place to snorkel too.
Kitesurfing in Oliva
Terry finally managed to get a kitesurfing lesson organized. I wouldn’t say it was as well organized as his kiteboarding lessons in Tarifa, but it got him in the water again for a few hours!
Valencia in Two Days
We were flying out of Valencia to Belfast, Ireland but decided to stick around for a couple of days first. I’d heard good things about this city so was looking forward to it.
We kicked it off with a free guided walking tour. By the end of three hours on our feet we were ready for a cold drink and a seat. In search of lunch, we stumbled across a bar with delicious cider on tap and somehow forgot about eating…
Probably our favourite thing about Valencia is the old Turia riverbed. Due to flooding, the river was diverted years ago and the city turned the entire dry riverbed into a long, winding park space. There are cafes, sports areas, playgrounds, fountains, ponds and all sorts of areas to explore. The walking and cycling paths throughout the entire space make that easy.
We walked the length of the park to the beach on our second day in Valencia. This also took us through the City of Light and Science. While we didn’t pay to enter any of the buildings it is still an impressive area to see and there are a number of exterior water activities available.
The beach in Valencia is incredibly wide and long. When it was all seeming a little dull after Barcelona‘s beaches, we came across 15 volleyball courts. While nothing much was happening at that moment, they were advertising multiple tournaments and free workout classes throughout July! We might have to return…
← Read about our first week in Oliva here.
Next week? Read about our week long road trip around the Republic of Ireland →
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