Page 2 of 2
2019 - Spain cont:
Tom, Sue and George cycled up the coast to Alcossebre, which is around 23km north of the campsite. It is
a lovely route along very quiet rural lanes and beyond Torrenostra the route runs along the coast right
behind the beaches.
Alcossebre is a lively town, very pretty and well maintained. We hear many more people speaking English
and so it must be popular with the Brits.
(below) are some snaps from the seafront in Alcossebre. Click to enlarge!
180
o
Panorama of Alcossebre beach
The beach side, white, apartments in the photos were particularly attractive and in a beautiful location.
Several were for sale or available to rent. A wonderful holiday spot with children.
The town bustled with cafés and restaurants and probably stretches about 2 miles from end to end.
A pleasant town to visit. Click on the image below to visit the town’s website.
While John and Sue were with us, Sue had some Spanish customers to visit. She hired a car from the
campsite reception. This turned out to be an expensive choice. It would have been cheaper to pick up a
car from Castellon airport - a point noted for next visit.
Having the additional car enabled us to travel a bit farther away to explore. Eight of us took a day trip
out to Montanejos and Fanzara which are about 60 miles inland from the campsite.
Montanejos is well known for its hot springs and year round bathing lake. Fanzara is well known for the
amazing wall paintings/graffiti depending upon your view of art!
(above and left) The hot springs at Montanejos. The warm
waters flow out of a narrow gorge and feed a shallow lake.
look carefully at the photo on the left you can see the
bathers. Keith and Frances were brave enough to go in but
out of the water the air was still quite chilly.
We walked back into Montanejos town and found a lovely
restaurant (below) perched on top of a cliff which
overlooked the town (below left).
(right) a picture from the Internet of the Hot Springs
at a warmer time of year!
After a good lunch we followed the CV-20, a very
scenic mountain road down to Fanzara.
Fanzara, the following extract from a BBC article in 2017 explains it all.
“A Spanish village whose residents were at odds over a planned waste dump have overcome their differences with an art
project that transformed it into an open-air gallery.
For years, residents of the eastern Spanish village of Fanzara, some 80km (50 miles) north of the port city of Valencia, were
divided over plans to build a toxic dump. The plan was eventually turned down and the right-wing local government
promoting it was defeated in an election in 2011. But tensions remained high, and opposing sides avoided socialising with
each other. Supporters went to the village's "upper bar" while opponents opted for the "lower bar". So, in 2014, residents
and street artists were invited by the local council to create one giant mural. Javier Lopez, an ex-councillor and one of the
project's architects, told AFP: "We looked for an arts and culture project that everyone could take part in and that would re-
establish good relations among villagers." The project transformed the city and three years later Fanzara's annual festival,
known as the Unfinished Museum of Urban Art (Miau), is part of the world's circuit of street art events. The village now has
105 works, and more than 200 artists from around the world have applied to take part in the next festival, on 6-9 July
(2018). The project has also breathed new life into the village: 70% of its 350 residents are pensioners, and there are only
18 schoolchildren.”
Click on the logo below which will take you to the MIAU website where you will see many of the pieces of art in
Fanzara.
(below) are just a few of the photos that we took.
Click on them to zoom.
At the next door campsite (Didota) there were
regular tapas evenings on a Friday with musical
entertainment. The tapas was very
comprehensive and the entertainment excellent
value. The cost of all was just 4 euros per head!
One evening there was flamenco dancing (right)
on another there was an Elvis tribute band.
On Thursday evenings there was music and
dancing in our own restaurant which was free!
The beer was cheap and the waiter service
brilliant. No sooner had you finished your drink
than they were back to your table taking orders!
On occasions Frances found it necessary to help
out Keith with his beer (far right).
It was nearly time to reluctantly return to UK. The weather had been amazing, sunny everyday except two and just
one night of drizzle.
Just time to fit in a few last cycle rides and hikes.
(above) last ride through the tracks of the Nature Reserve which was just a
kilometre north of the campsite.
(lower left) last ride along the boardwalk from Marina D’Or and its elephants
which was just a kilometre south.
(lower right) last hike around the headland of Opresa a few kilometres to the
south. The photo shows the disused railway trackbed which is now a cycle
track between Opresa and Benicassim. Below us, in the bottom left hand
corner of the photo, is the southern entrance to the tunnel which passes under
the headland.
The last day arrived, we paid our fees and reserved our pitch again for next year. We said goodbye to Torre La Sal
and started our journey back across Spain to Bilbao. One night stop in Zaragoza and the second night on the
quayside at Bilbao.
As we set off we saw hundreds of people walking over the motorway bridges (below right) and along the narrow
roads which ran alongside the motorway. It was the start of La Magdalena Festival in Castellon. All these people
were had left the town centre of Castellon and were converging upon a tiny church, La Magdalena, in the hills
behind the city (below left).
Click on the poster (below) and it will link you information about the festival. The fireworks that they mention, in
the text, are more like huge explosions!
Goodbye Spain, we will be back !
Click to enlarge
