The sweet smell of Orange blossom.......

After two nights 'wild camping' in Navajas we decided to move onto the campsite on the other side of town ( Campsite Altomira) securing a pitch nearby to our friend Paul. As soon as we had settled in and made a few sarnies the three of us headed off on our bikes along the Via Verde in the same direction as the day before, but this time we kept our eyes peeled for the direction signs along the way so as not to get lost again.

The trail climbed steadily uphill for miles, taking us through a quiet villages, stopping for coffee and avoiding a light rain shower on the way. Eventually we found a peaceful picnic area where we had our lunch then we turned back towards home getting a bit of speed on as it was mostly downhill.

At a picnic stop on our route we bumped into Steve - a solo motorhomer staying at the campsite, he has been overwintering in Spain and is on his way back to Cornwall, so we all headed back to the site togetehr, chatting as we went exchanging notes on Via Verde's as well as interesting places to visit. In fact the whole evening turned into a motorhome brainstorming event of things to buy when we get home - from window locks to various cleaning materials and even a solar panel.
Paul cooked us a delicious chilli (very well cooked by a self-confessed man who can't cook!) later Steve joined us and we exchanged yet more gadgets and gizmo information, we left with a whole list  of things to buy when we get home.

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Wednesday morning arrived and we headed south, Paul headed north on his way to catch a ferry to Sardinia at Barcelona and Steve stayed at Navajas for the Easter holiday before he continues his journey home. Having said our goodbyes we headed for Camperstop Dunes at Daimus - a large camperstop with basic facilities near to Gandia (not far north of Alicante on the Costa Azahar)

We were lucky to arrive when we did as the 50 spaces on site were soon filled and we realised that it is better to book ahead for the Easter holiday in the future! We checked in for a few days to cover the Easter holiday, too nervous of moving away for fear of other sites being equally as full!

Initially we were not impressed with the area, apart from the beautiful wide sandy beach the surround was just a faceless concrete jungle of hundreds of apartment blocks, but over the next few days we explored the area and found ourselves another Via Verde - only 6km long but smooth and wide it took us through the orange groves, the trees heavy with oranges and blossom, the heady scent of the fragrant orange blossom filling the air.

Good Friday and we cycled a few miles to the resort town of Gandia and found the Spanish on holiday! It was like Brighton on a hot summer day - the beach, the shops, the cafes and bars just heaving with friends and families enjoying the sunny Easter holiday, great for 'people watching' as we slowly cruised along the seafront cycle lane, stopping to eat our sandwiches on a promenade bench. 

I think I even spied a few brave souls in the sea, the air temperature was lovely but the sea in March is still pretty chilly!

For the first time since we left home almost three weeks ago we have been able to sit outside for long periods in the daytime enjoying the more or less uninterrupted sunshine - it makes the 1300 mile journey to get here a lot more worthwhile!