Returning to Javea from Cuenta for Easter

Last night when we got home the sky opened up and it rained very hard.  We were both very happy to have walked home in light rain since we had not bother taking umbrellas. 

Today we are leaving Cuenta and heading home.  I have a few stops planned along the way going home a different route. A couple more hours of driving but much more scenic than the way we came which was mostly highways.

First stopped is Valeria which is a town which has a Roman archeological site and some ruins from a medical fortress.  We drive up to the main plaza and I asked a man there about the ruins and where to park in the little Spanish I know and gestures.  He pointed me where to park and talked all the time like I was fluent in Spanish.  All I could answer back was Gracias.  It cost 2 or 3 Euros to visit the site, but since today is Easter Monday, nobody is there and we step over the chain to enter assuming it was there to stop cars from driving up.  We were the only 2 here, the nice thing about being off season.   This place is on top of a hill and it is very windy as it is exposed to the elements.  Luckily it is only slightly drizzling. Beautiful views from the highest point and the ruins are very interesting.  All the signs are in Spanish of course so we pick up a year once in a while, but that is about it.

Valaria Roman ruins, so windy!

Next stop is Alarcon, which is a walled medieval village with a few more towers outside the village. What an amazing view when we first saw this town from the road.  Perhaps the nicest view we have ever seen of a castle and town. The main castle which is in a triangular shape has been converted to a parador (buildings  of historical significance that have been converted to hotels and run by the government).  We stop outside of the wall to look at the village from one of the towers ground which by itself it very nice.  You enter the Alarcon by driving thru arches in the wall that protected the village at one time.  The tourist office is not open today but this place is only about 3 streets wide so we just wander around.  4 churches are famous for an artist, Jesus Mateo, who painted murals in them.  Only 1 church was open so it was only 2 Euros each to visit.  It was interesting but not really what we were thinking when I read murals.  The town had a lovely main square and the streets were all cobblestone.

Town square Alarcon

Walk to Posada

Amazing view of castle and town from tower at entrance to town

Only one way in (or out) of town

These were the murals in the Church, not what we expected!

I am on the lookout for saffron.  The region we are in is where it is produced.  I saw a supermarket that was open when we drove thru a good size town.  We were lucky and found some saffron.  At the same time we picked up some food for lunch and some for home as well. The country side around this area is mostly vineyards with small sheds and farm land. It is very pretty with rolling hills. This area also has received lots of rain lately as some of the fields are flooded.

Lots of flooded fields on the drive

We're now in grape country

Lots of vineyards

Lots of olive trees

Our next stop is Alcala del Jucar.  Jucar is the river that flowed thru Cuenta and goes all the way to the Mediterranean.  As we entered the town we saw the sign for the castle so we drove up to see it.  It was not open as they close for siesta from 2:30 to 4 and we got there at 2:30, so we saved 2 euro each.  From here we could see the town below where we could see the bull ring.  Not open either.

Alcala del Jucar is at the bottom of the river ravine which must be 300 or 400 feet lower than the rest of the country side.  Not quite as deep as the Grand Canyon, I imagine, but nevertheless quite impressive to see.  There are many switchbacks to get to it.  We stop about half way where there is a pullout on the side of the road and we have lunch.  What a view.  Some of the houses were literally built into the stone ravine.  On the way out the road cut thru a 50 foot wall of stone. No taking the ditch there.  We stopped on the way out of town to have one last view of it.  

 

Bull ring

A few switchbacks to get into town!

Lunch being prepared on the guardrail

Houses built right into the cliffs

On exiting town we went through this, stay between the lines!

From there we drove home.  The first part was following a valley with mountains on one side.  As we got closer to the sea, we drove thru orange orchards.  The last bit was following the sea about 1 km inland and there are no roads just on the seaside to follow.  We stopped at one street side orange vendor but his prices were higher than the grocery store.  Portugal had much better deals on oranges but they are still cheap here too. One interesting thing we did see along this road is female vendors selling their goodies/services along the road. They have plastic chairs that they sit on when they get tired of standing up and looking pretty.  Some of them were dressed as to leave no doubts to what they were merchandizing. 

Before supper we walked to the beach to get some milk for breakfast.  Lots of people out for Easter weekend still.  Vendors were setup to sell mostly jewelry and a few odd things. Wonder if they are here for the summer now as this is the first time we saw them.  One of the ice cream places (Froyosi) is like the one in Moncton where you add topping to your frozen yogurt.  It was not busy, I guess people here prefer the old fashioned way.  Some of the other ice cream places have like 25 tables and they were all full.

One of the many ice cream shops in town

Town is busy compared to what we have seen so far, end of Easter week-end.