directions_bike by Chris Riches -

Valencia to Xeraco

It was starting to get dark when I arrived in the centre of Valencia, Spain’s third largest city, making it hard to see the sights, and I was more concerned with navigating through the multiple cycle paths in the city and avoiding pedestrians, cars and other cyclists but was keen to see it in the daylight. During the cycle ride from the harbour to the centre in the evening there were many people out running in the parks.

The following day the sky was blue and the temperature was perfect and I looked around the old part of the city, it was fairly quiet with few people around. The old buildings, walls and towers provided the character of the city and there were also a lot of interesting contemporary murals, including one on the wall next to the place I was staying.

Cycling southeast out of the city took me through a large park area which was very nice and eventually I went passed the City of Arts and Sciences buildings, which in contrast to the much older architecture earlier, were extremely modern and futuristic looking. One building looked like a space ship.

It was a shame to miss the cities many museums and the shops looked good too but I had to checkout before midday. There was a very good cycle path leading out of the city. On the journey south I stopped at the seaside towns of El Perellonet and El Perelló, both of which had a nice long beaches.

The scenery was quite different on the inland stretch through the Parque Natural de la Albufera, with the views of the hills to the south and the wetland birds flying around.

Now that it was getting later in the season and opening hours seemed to be reducing I was keen to find a campsite before it got too late. Fortunately it was easy to find a very reasonable one right next to the beach near Xaraco, which was relatively quiet and empty. This meant it wasn’t far at all to go and cool off for a late evening swim.

Distance: 37 miles

Maximum temperature: 28 degrees C

Valencia

Valencia

Valencia

Valencia

Valencia

Valencia

Valencia

Valencia

Valencia

City of the Arts and Sciences, Valencia

City of the Arts and Sciences, Valencia

El Perellonet

directions_bike by Chris Riches -

Xeraco to Altea

The scenery on the ride south to Altea was quite varied and spectacular at times. The first half of the route was fairly flat and the second half involved gradually climbing up to 900 feet.

There were quite a few cyclists on the roads and motor traffic was banned on the excellent Via Verde linking Gandia to Oliva, which had orange groves either side of it (with oranges that were actually green) and it seemed to be an old road converted to a pathway.

I cycled passed the busy market in Oliva which stretched for a long distance down the promenade, then went through Oliva Nova.

The climb up in to the hills near Gata involved cycling / walking the bike on an empty rough gravel path which followed a similar route to the motorway but was entirely segregated from it and the path tunnelled under it at times. The bike lacked mountain bike tyres and was loaded with luggage, some of the rocks were fairly big, the bike was unbalanced and the tyres lacked traction so I didn’t mind the walk. There was a steep sided gorge and very nice scenery. The pace quickened when I was able to get back on the bike as the roads became sealed again just before Benissa, one of the oldest towns on the Costa Blanca with it’s traditional Spanish houses. There was a very enjoyable long descent down to the coast with excellent sea views looking towards Calpe with it’s enormous 332 metre limestone outcrop, Penyal d’Ifac. There were a lot of houses on the hillsides, and the road then went through a few small tunnels before reaching the sea at Altea. There was a nice section of cycle path along the seafront and eventually I reached the campsite, where most of the vehicles had Dutch number plates.

Distance: 50 miles

Maximum temperature: 29 degrees C

Sunrise at Xeraco

Gorge near Gata

Gorge near Gata

Looking towards Calpe and Penyal d’Ifac

Calpe

Calpe

directions_bike by Chris Riches -

Altea to Santa Pola

After breakfast at the hotel near Altea, I retrieved the bike from their storage area and headed south west towards Alicante. The Brutalist skyscrapers of Benidorm, which apparently has the most high-rise buildings per capita in the world, rose abruptly between the pretty hills and the Mediterranean.

The route went slightly inland following the tram line then rejoined the coast at the pleasant town of La Vila Joiosa, and after continuing west I stopped to see the light blue waters of Playa El Paraiso.

Once I had cycled through El Campello the route went alongside the beach at Muchavista for a while, which had quite a lot of surf. I stopped briefly in the centre of Alicante then continued south passing the airport and beneath an ascending Ryanair plane, and I arrived at the campsite at Santa Pola just before 5pm.

I enjoyed a swim in the large pool and the beers and company kindly provided by a very hospitable neighbouring British couple.

Distance: 45 miles

Maximum temperature: 29 degrees C

La Vila Joiosa

La Vila Joiosa

El Paraiso

Muchavista

directions_bike by Chris Riches -

Santa Pola to Pilar de la Horadada

Leaving the campsite at Santa Pola around midday, the first surprise on the ride heading south west was a large group of flamingos in the salt lake next to the road, in the Salinas de Santa Pola.

Continuing around the outskirts of Torrevieja was a large salt lake with the salt piled up in pyramid shapes, being transported by a conveyor belt in the direction of Torrevieja. The city experienced rapid population growth between 1990 and 2010 when much of the land was rezoned to allow building.

When I reached Pilar de la Horadada, there were a large number of homes that looked like they had been built fairly recently, in traditional style. The town is home to thousands of British, Germans and Northern Europeans.

Distance: 30 miles

Maximum temperature: 28 degrees C

Flamingos at Salinas de Santa Pola

Salt at Torrevieja

Pilar de la Horadada

directions_bike by Chris Riches -

Pilar de la Horadada to Cartagena

Knowing it was only going to be a short ride to the next destination, Cartagena, I had a relaxing morning at the pool at the campsite with no rush to get packed and moving on the bike. It was a beautiful morning, and the route was entirely inland and fairly flat.

There were many hills on the horizon and occasionally palm trees but generally the landscape was very flat and barren, although there were some signs of agriculture with people working in the fields. As the latitude slowly decreased over the course of a few days, it felt as though it was getting hotter, and generally, cheaper.

Cartagena had many busy streets and tall residential buildings as I approached the city centre and eventually I arrived at the apartment where I was staying for one night. It was nice to have the use of a fridge, freezer, oven, electric lighting, air conditioning and a good washing machine after mostly camping.

The city centre was full of character and had a lot of dilapidated buildings. Some streets had elaborate, very old looking facades which had clearly been preserved whereas the remainder of the building had been demolished. With just the front wall of the building left standing, this left them looking structurally precarious. Perhaps as a consequence of the siesta the centre felt very empty in the afternoon. I had finally memorised the Spanish word for ‘Open’ but after spending over 2 weeks in Spain the usual opening and closing hours of shops and restaurants was still a mystery.

The lack of people was quite nice especially when visiting the Roman Theatre, the port area and Castillo de la Concepción which provided excellent 360 degree views of the city and the forts on the other side of the harbour. There was a large 3000+ capacity cruise ship called Celebrity Reflection in the port when I was there, with many passengers enjoying the evening view from their balconies, and by the time I had walked up to the castle at the top of the hill she had left the harbour and was heading out to sea to her next destination.

The following day I visited the Quarter of the Roman Forum, an excellent museum displaying the Roman ruins which you could walk around. The site had been excavated as recently as 2008.

Distance: 25 miles

Maximum temperature: 29 degrees C

San Javier, en-route to Cartagena

Torre-Pacheco

Cartagena

Cartagena Port

Roman Theatre, Cartagena

Roman Theatre, Cartagena

directions_bike by Chris Riches -

Cartagena to Mazarrón

There wasn’t a coast road on the first half of the ride to Mazarrón, so I followed the road from Cartagena up in to the hills, where the scenery became increasingly rugged looking.

I passed through some small villages with traditional looking houses, then after reaching the highest point, enjoyed the excellent view which stretched for miles along the Costa Calida and then descended towards Puerto de Mazarrón. This view was a nice surprise and one of the best views that I had seen so far on the trip.

Upon reaching the campsite, I chose a space to put the tent which was next to the quiet beach that was adjacent to the campsite.

Distance: 21 miles

Maximum temperature: 29 degrees C

Descending towards Puerto de Mazarrón

Coastline near Mazarrón

Beach near Mazarrón

Playa de Bolneuvo

directions_bike by Chris Riches -

Mazarrón to Aguilas

Once I had left the campsite and started cycling west, it wasn’t long before the coast road turned in to a gravel track, with access to cars and motorcycles prohibited. The path provided fantastic views of the beaches below, with their perfectly clear water and the rugged hills as their backdrop, they were mostly empty.

It was very peaceful without any traffic on the path and there were very few people around. This stretch of the Costa Calida was completely undeveloped, and a big contrast to the large resort towns of the Costa Blanca to the east. According to a sign it was a protected space, and I wasn’t lucky enough to see any of the local wildlife such as the spur-thighed tortoise, Bonelli’s eagle or peregrine falcon. The lack of a sealed road added to the unspoilt look of the coastline. When I paused to take some photos it was tempting to stop for a swim, but I knew it was going to be a challenging ride ahead and was keen to keep moving.

When the route turned inland there were many large plastic covered structures in the flatter lowland areas, some agricultural depot buildings, and trucks were transporting produce but it was difficult to determine what was being grown inside the plastic structures.

The steep ascent up in to the hills commenced, the roads wound their way up the hillside with metallic looking rocks on either side where the road seemed to have been carved out, and very little traffic. At the highest point, similar to the day before, the views of the coastline and surrounding hills were spectacular, and it was a relief to see the road change to a downhill direction.

There was a long descent, then a few more small hills to climb. I went through the port town of Aguilas, cycled along the seafront and it was still fairly hot when I reached the campsite on the other side of the town.

Distance: 29 miles

Maximum temperature: 30 degrees C

Costa Calida, near Mazarrón

Costa Calida, near Mazarrón

Costa Calida, near Mazarrón

Costa Calida, near Mazarrón

Looking southwest from the hills, towards Aguilas