16th January – Jávea (Xàbia)

We were both sad to leave new friends behind in Villajoyosa having enjoyed learning how to play new games and swapping stories, but it was now time for a new venue. Another change was using the Autovia AP7 to speed us on the journey, but more crucially to avoid the bottleneck of traffic through the smaller coastal towns. The mountains in the Serra d’Orxeta, including the peak of Puig Campana at over 1,400 meters, were a fine backdrop behind the villages at the beginning of the trip; moving north we saw fields of grape vines trimmed ready for the new season’s growth. Halfway into the trip more distant mountains in the Serra del Ferrer stood looking like a jagged row of teeth and the famous Ifach Rock at Calpe towered above the town on the coast. Our destination is Jávea (Xàbia in Valencian) where we are staying at Camping El Naranjal, closer into the town than our previous visit here last year, we met up again with friends and fellow Bessacarr owners, Gilly and Alan. It took a lot of wiggling backwards and forwards to get Bessie parked on the very tight pitch, avoiding trees was stressful but once the engine was turned off everything soon got sorted. We are staying here for 3 weeks but we won’t be able to use Bessie to go out and tour around which is a shame; car hire was €180 (£165) for a week, absolutely not happening! It just means more walking and time to relax.

For the first week we had endless problems with our awning, the air tubes going soft and constantly needing more air. After speaking with the supplier, we tested it for leaks and found a tiny hole on the foot of one seam. With the help of friends the puncture was mended and all put back together, however, it blew the patch after only an hour! More telephone calls and the promise of a new unit being flown out to the campsite; it arrived in a week! After working out the way to remove the old air tubes and replace the new set, like a four legged octopus, we fitted it quite successfully. Feeling very chuffed but quite nervous, we inflated the awning – success – it hasn’t gone down, and hasn’t needed topping up either. Chris decided to call the awning Elton, after his song – I’m Still Standing!

From our pitch we had excellent views of Massís del Montgó , a mountain standing at 2,470 feet (753 meters), it is beautiful to wake up and watch the sides of the mountain start to glow red as the sun comes up. The colours and shadows change all day and is especially pretty when the setting sun turns the sky pink and purple sky late in the day.

 

The wide sandy bay known as The Arenal is only a 10 minute walk away, lined with restaurants, bars, a few shops, palm trees and benches, it was a great place to people watch, have a drink or tapas and make plans. Many miles have been walked in the town, around the lanes by the orange groves, making new circuits and loops to extend our range.

Wanting to go further afield and bus timetables researched, we set off early on a grey, overcast morning for a 2 mile walk to the bus station for a trip to Altea, 17 miles away. (At the bottom of the map above).  It was great to be a passenger and to watch the changing scenery on the journey, eventually arriving in time for a tasty Spanish breakfast of tostadas, olive oil and fresh tomatoes, orange juice and coffee. We walked nearly 2 miles along the promenade to the sandy beach at Albir, passing orange trees trimmed like parasols in order to check out a campsite there. After retracing our steps we slaked our thirst at a bar decked out like a galleon, then checked out the ‘Old Town’ area of Altea using a map from the Oficina de Turismo.

The narrow, cobbled streets lead steeply uphill between white washed housed with ornate wrought iron grills, railings and street lamps. Paint around windows and doors with flowering bougainvillea, geraniums and jasmine added much colour as we climbed steps while navigating the routes indicated on our leaflet.

Arriving at the top in the Plaza de la Iglesia the cafe bars welcomed visitors with seating in sheltered corners, we paused to admire the blue and white tiled domes and single tower of the Catholic church of The Virgen del Consuelo which was built in 19th century. The panoramic views to the sides of this square give views over the terracotta rooftops to the coast, the harbour walls looking like arms jutting into the bay and in the distance Benidorm could be seen with its towering skyscrapers.

 

Apart from blue skies and sunshine the majority of the time, it has been extremely windy for a few days, 40-50mph winds battering this area, rocking the motorhomes and testing the awning guy ropes. The promenade has a few hardy soles braving the gusts and the surf looks beautiful on a blue sea but I wouldn’t want to be in there like the surfers and paddle-boarders. Away from the coast holiday apartments and hotels give way to residential homes, shops and businesses, moorings for boats and houses with areas for vegetables and hens. We found old run down buildings with colourful graffiti, roadways with wide tree lined pedestrian walkways and seating next to play area and boules courts and a modern office block with mirrored windows that reflected the scenery around it.

Nearly at the end of our stay here and we had one last walk we wanted to do. Setting off towards the harbour it look 50 minutes reach a cafe where we watched the waves splashing as we enjoyed a Spanish breakfast to sustain us on our planned route.

We climbed a several steps initially and then continued on a rough stone and rocky pathway, climbing steadily while it twisted and turned following the contours of the land. The steeply sided hillside had huge boulders and much of it had been terraced for growing vines in the past as the stone walls indicated, but long ago it was abandoned and now fully returned to nature. The path lead us around a headland with amazing views across the bay with the harbour now far below, the thin line of sand just visible to show where we had been walking 2 hours ago, while Montgo Mountain looked quite small from this distance.

The gentle uphill track snaked its way along the side of the next valley, across the short end and along the far side, now heading in the direction of the sea again. Bright yellow gorse, and a smaller relative of the dandelion family made welcome splashes of colour in the rocks, while rosemary and lavender smelled beautiful as it grew all along the pathways. Steadily climbing and looking back over to the distant path we had just walked up, it was obvious just how much higher we were, and there were black redstarts, crested larks, Sardinian warblers and stonechats among the heather and scrubland bushes.

A circular viewing area, or mirador, gave views out across the Mediterranean Sea where we could see Ibiza away in the distance. Closer to hand was the small white lighthouse at the end of the huge rocky promontory with its glass reflecting in the bright sun; less attractive but equally essential were the two masts for radio communications one adorned with satellite dishes. All over this headland were formations similar to limestone pavements with deep fissures between and low growing plants in the crevices. There were large numbers of black redstarts all vigorously flicking their lovely chestnut red tails every time they landed, gulls squeaked as they rose on the updrafts of the cliffs and the sound of buzzing was all around the gorse bushes, the sound of summer!

Leaving the lighthouse we walked along a very minor road before descending along pine tree lined tracks to a high ridge with numerous old disused windmills. These can be seen from the campsite miles away and was the main reason for our walk. Close up they were not as big as I imagined, only one had any sails that were literally just the wood spokes, another one had been done up with windows and grills over them and the door for security, may be it was a holiday home. The were great views from up there, the whole valley spread out before us, Montgó Mountain towering over the lower mountains, the farmland and city, all the way to the sea. Returning from the top, via lanes and a few miles downhill on a fairly busy road, via the Old Town for a tapas lunch at nearly 3pm, eventually after 13.5 miles I was shattered but back in Bessie.

Packing up next day, all the washing done and domestic duties done, a friendly game of boules with 18 others in the afternoon and a Chinese meal out with Gilly and Alan in the evening, finally our 3 weeks in Jávea was over – for this year. Already booked to return for the whole of February 2020!

I’ll leave you with a view of a sunset over Montgó Mountain.