Las Negras - reunion!

It's another hilly (>1000m cumulative total), but quite a nice ride along the coast and through a big national park. My destination is Las Negras on the South eastern tip of Spain, where I have planned to meet my flatmate, and six month van-life veteran, Bjorn. 

Las Negras, like all the other towns on the coast, is still in its winter slumber. It's small and all the houses a picturesque white. I meet up with Bjorn in the town and we chill and catch-up with each others news at sundown. 6 months of van-life, the majority spent in Spain, has allowed him to meet many people and regain some lust for life. 

Águilas (nice decathlon here)

After a terrible night's sleep in the hostel dorm - new arrivals being loud at 2:30, snoring and multiple early alarms going off - I grab a quick breakfast and am on the road early. As I am nearly on the South coast, the temperatures are rising and the midday sun can be intense. 

The day includes two hill climbs of 450m, so for the first time there will be some pressure on my climbing legs. Actually, it turns out to be not that hard and I decide to wild camp at about the 90km point near Águilas. There seem to be beachfronts full of RV / camper vans. I guess the cops do not enforce their wild camping rules at this time of year. I decide to do likewise and set up my tent overlooking a nice beach. 

I check the water to see it is still too fresh to swim, and, yes, yes it's pretty fresh - about 14C I reckon. I guess this is why it is off season - in June the water temperatures are always above 20C. 

I battled my way to Cartagena

Not expecting the 90km today to be challenging, but boy, was I wrong. Firstly, finding the cycle friendly side roads beside the N332 was very confusing. However, it was a full frontal headwind which slowed me right down. There seem to be no trees in Spain, so the wind can do whatever it likes, never having to be rebuffed by pesky trees, or for that matter buildings.... soil erosion must be pretty devastating here. The wind tends to be strongest in the early/ late afternoon, exactly when I do most of my riding. 

Just counting down the kilometers to Cartagena, I see few other cyclists, even those in lycra. Guess it's just the hardcore who bike in these parts. 

No luck finding a WarmShowers or Couchsurfing host, so it's the only hostel in town for me: a chance to wash clothes, cook food and shower. All these small things take on a bigger significance, when one goes without for a while. In the hostel, I start a conversation with some of the teenagers here --> they have come from Mali and have already been here two months. 

A quick look about town the next day suffices - museums, galleries and shops all in full swing, but simply in the mood to chill about the hostel. I don't know how the guys have spent 2 months here at the hostel - it has all the amenities, but a new batch of mostly teenagers every day and the only entertainment coming from each others company and their mobiles. 

I escape tomorrow.  It seems difficult to stay in one place, if even only for one full day. 

Allante Alicante!

Another 100km+ day today to reach Alicante. It is definitely more hilly today and the total elevation is more than 1000m for the day. The prevailing south westerly winds impede speedy progress. I pass by the very ugly, skyscraper-filled Benidorm, which even at off season, seems somewhat buzzing with tourists at the beach. 

Alicante does not seem to offer much for the tourist, so I pass through the city and onward toward Cartagena. 

I have tried to find hosts using Couchsurfing and WarmShowers in Alicante to no avail. 

The essentials I need when I stop somewhere: toilet, water bottle refill and some shade. Extra nicities include WiFi, coffee and a place to charge my phone. 

Just south of Elx, after nightfall, I find a spot to camp for the evening. The next morning I am rudely awakened at 7am, just like Arthur Dent in A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by a big yellow bulldozer. Looks like I camped right beside an early riser's quarry. 

Coast road to Xàbia

The choice is to follow the downloaded Eurovelo 8 gpx route to Alicante, involving 1000m elevation and deviating from the coast roads, or stay along the busier coast and have approx 300m max elevation. My knee is feeling a little weak, possibly due to the saddle being a tick too high, so I decide to keep my mountain paths until later in this adventure. 

The road south of Valencia is a lot less cycle friendly, but one passes the Parc de Bufala just outside of town. It's pretty flat and nothing special today, as I am always out of sight of the beaches. I complete over 100km and wild camp in a bamboo field. This time, due to limited floor space, I try camping without my tent. A success and less packing the next morning!

Valencia, in party mode

Spanish cities are usually quite loud with traffic, chatter and general bustle. However, Valencia between 1st and 19th March is extra noisy. Las Fallas is a gradual created in honour of Joseph (Jesus' pa), by carpenters using their offcuts to create effigies to just about anything on their minds - some shaped like officials and in their burning, relieve some of their frustrations. These days it is a much more commercial affair. People come from all over Spain and abroad to see the 40 blocks try and outdo each other with their creations. Instead of wooden statues, these days they are made from other materials, which release a horrible smoke and smell when burned on the night of the 19th. 

I learn this from my host Sol, as she guides me through the streets. There are stalls everywhere selling sweet baked pastry including Churrico and beer. There are lights on every street, each one seemingly sponsored by a beer company. 

My accommodation at Sol's place is a private bedroom with ensuite bathroom. This is what I love about Warm Showers: one never knows exactly who you will meet and where one will stay. Sol has been a WS host for a while, and knows that the first essential tasks on arrival are a refreshing shower and the offer of washing my clothes. A warm home-cooked meal is just what my belly ordered. We stay up late watching Spanish reality shows (First Dates). 

The next day I hang with Lauri and she shows me all around town. I met her last year in Greece on an Erasmus Plus training course. We stroll the streets and "enjoy" the mascletas (rocket bangers every day during las Fallas at 14:00 at the town hall). Also I try my first horcheta (sweet drink from the region). Finding anything vegetarian is particularly hard here in the city - we spend hours teaching down a tasty falafel. 

Cambrils, a ghost town in off season

Pretty light ride to Cambrils. Lots of casual bike riding along golden beaches and lots of space too. I have a warm showers host in Cambrils called Joan.  He lives in a spacious apartment nearly on the beach and often receives guest bikers doing the coast road. He is the first person I have met who is a "cuber", having a large collection of assorted rubiks cubes. He also shares my interest in chess, mathematics and board games.

The next day, I explore the town. It seems like nearly all the apartments close to the beach are unoccupied and most of the shops and restaurants are closed, awaiting the seasonal tourist rush in summer. It's great being here, enjoying the tranquility and without being surrounded by the tourist masses.