Alicante region - lots of oranges!

Sun 2^nd Nov

What a difference a day makes!   We moved inland to El Berro high up in the Sierra D’Espuna. The road up was very narrow and bumpy but worth the effort when we arrived at the campsite. What a gem. Very green surroundings  with lovely views of the mountains. As we moved onto our chosen pitch we passed a Brit Carthago – wait a minute, it’s reg number was the same as ours!  It was in fact only one letter different. How spooky is that! Ours is FJ08BVG – it was FJ08BMG. Even the Spanish caravanners opposite had a double take. We chatted to the owners who turned out to have ben coming here for the last 9 years.

view down over El Berro

We walked about the village and up to the cemetery. The view from here was great. Later that evening we had a very tasty meal in the local bar. Definitely a place to revisit.

Mon 3rd

After a cool but sunny start to the day I cycled back down the mountain then back up the route not recommended fro caravans & motorhomes. It was pretty steep with lots of very tight hairpins but worth it for the views. 

great views - but hard work!

Quick lunch then we headed back down the mountain and on to La Romana 30km inland from Alicante. We were visiting an old colleague of Tina’s – Trish & Alun. They moved here 10 years ago and had enough space for us to park in their garden. We met Trish at the local wine bodega  and followed her down a bumpy track to their house.  We had a warm welcome from all of the three dogs and Alun! After a very hospitable evening we retired to bed (in a house!!!) rather late.

Tues 4^th

RAIN!  First in the area for 11 months so most welcome by the locals but not by us. After a lazy morning we met Trish at her work in Novelda then went for a quick walk about the Santurio de Sanata Maria Magdelena. What an amazing building, it is a small scale version of Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familaia in Barcelona. It has been completely restored and is very different from all the other churches we have seen in Spain so far. They are installing a new organ inside which will be beautiful when finished. The marble being used is fantastic and all from local sources.

Santurio

Trish, Tina & Alun

new organ under construction

Very chilly evening so Alun lit the log burner – very toasty indeed!

Weds 5^th

Sunny but windy so we went for a walk in the “campo” with Winston the springer spaniel. What a daft dog – he will chase anything! Lunch then haircuts for us both an an expats in a nearby village. Both much smarter now. Lazy afternoon sorting out laundry before another nice meal with Trish and Alun.

Thurs 6^th

We packed the van and said our farewells to Trish and Alun after thanking them for their great hospitality. Supermarket shop then on to Hort de Soriano an aire right in the middle of an orange grove. The sat nav Susie got her knickers in a real twist trying to direct us. We drove up roads – actually tracks that were getting narrower and tighter to eventually arrive in front of a very impressive park. The warden arrived and helped us onto our chosen spot. What a gem of a site. It looked like an old Finca / estate complete with huge house and a now defunct swimming pool above it . The parking and picnic areas were huge with well organized bbq areas and walks starting from the park. We parked by some palm trees and went for a walk before settling in for a very quiet night.

huge terraces

lovely site amongst the palms