East to the Med then inland to the Centre

 As I pulled in to the aire at Cretas amongst olive trees I realised we had stayed there a couple of years ago en route to Barcelona but not actually ridden from there. The old town was full of beautiful stone buildings, cool arched walkways and was attractively lit at night.

I set off along the Via Verde heading north for a couple of hours noticing a transformation from pines to olives and almonds in the surrounding scenery. It was warm by day but again nights were frosty.

 

The VV also headed south with the lofty tops of the NP dels Ports looming and an isolated top with a ruined chapel caught my eye for a possible walk. The old stations were mostly abandoned although one did have a cafe based in an old railway carriage but it only opens in the summer. One other station also had a closed cafe but its wifi was still working allowing me to do a bit of planning whilst I enjoyed the last of the oranges from Burgos. The following morning as I prepared to leave a tractor turned up with another plus trailer followed by a 4x4 which contained a film crew. They were here to record the first tractor with its olive harvesting attachment - basically a large fan unfolded around the base of the tree and then two jaws gripped it and shook it violently to dislodge the ripe olives. It was fascinating to watch and the small crew took various clips, did interviews and launched a small drone for aerial shots.

 

I moved on to a huge monastery below the ruined chapel I had seen and enjoyed the 90 minute walk up steep paths for a panoramic view before dropping in to Tortosa where the aire was well organised but located under a rather noisy bridge. It was almost full but by tucking away beside a larger French van I was well shielded from the traffic.

The next day I cycled north up the VV de Zaffran to reach the old station with its wifi, again passing through a number of tunnels and crossing various rivers on lofty viaducts - it was a very enjoyable section and also passed a large weir that diverts water from the Ebro in to a huge network of canals that irrigate the rice paddies of the delta. Orange and lemon groves were full of fruit about to be picked and there were a number of spring flowers out in the warm sun.

A long but flat ride, initially along an irrigation canal and then following the Ebro River finally brought me out on the coast of the Med - the Ebro actually rises quite near Santander so had been following a pretty similar route to me over the last few weeks. The sea was calm and in the lagoons behind and on the flooded rice fields a range of birds and waterfowl were dabbling in the waters.

 

Back at Tortosa I found a laundrette and supermarket before heading out to the delta again for a stay on another busy aire on the south side of the river. I guess as it was the coast and warmer the increase in numbers was to be expected but again there were very few UK vehicles. I rode out to the coast and took a number of long sandy tracks along the shore line to reach the enclosed lagoon at the north, home to hundreds of flamingoes. It was flat easy cycling and the miles soon added up - 40/50 a day being my comfortable average.

The following day I returned to the coast, followed a sandy track and treated myself to a day on the beach where at one point a large tractor turned up to dredge the outlet from the irrigation channel so that the fields could dry out a little for planting.

Moving on I climbed high in to the PN dels Ports to the summit of Monte Cova arriving at the same time as two Spanish cyclists who shared the remarkable views before they shot off downhill. I fixed the GoPro to the screen and followed them with the camera set to speed up the descent making for an entertaining clip. Hidden corners were still quite icy but the cyclists had descended safely as I passed them and turned inland to Morella.

The aire is across the valley from the walled town and castle so has a good vantage point and being a small van I could park away at the end of the terrace with enough room for a small private 'garden' - thus out came the solar panel and chair for a couple of hours.

 

I walked in to town the next day passing the remains of a three tiered aquaduct that had brought water in for many years from a distant spring. The lofty castle was reached by a series of narrow streets and had a bull ring within its lower walls. The various levels and battlements culminated in a substantial courtyard at the top with the main keep and made for a very worthwhile visit. Down in the town I chose a small but smart restaurant for lunch and worked out that only the second Covid dose and booster Q codes actually enable you to enter premises in Spain.

After a quiet night I got up early to catch the sun rising over the town before heading to Viafame where another castle loomed over the town. A young German lad was touring in his BMW estate car with a roof tent and had a slide out kitchen with stove and cool box in the boot - he'd also made a hot water system by mounting a section of black painted plastic 6'' pipe horizontally on his roof rack with a filler cap and spout - ingenious..

The aire at Segorbe was no more than parking along a road by the railway station but it was quiet enough and allowed me to pick up the VV de Ojos Negros north that ran to Teruel and beyond and passed through more almond orchards and empty landscapes.

The location for the village of Alcala de Jucar was spectacular - set deep in a limestone valley and overlooked by a beautiful castle it made for an enjoyable half day. The steep streets beneath the castle have many cave houses set deep in to the rock - ideal for winter warmth and summer cooling - and there is one incorporated in to the castle as well which was fascinating.

 

The village of Lezuza west of Albacete was my base for two nights - the aire was a large old dusty football pitch with plenty of space and no other occupants. From the village a 40 mile mountain bike route was signed so I took a photo of the board, translated the route on to my GPS and set off for a memorable ride through empty farmland passing many uninhabited dwellings and not seeing a sole. The route used various tracks and trails and offered expansive views before returning me to the quiet parking once more. I used the facilities to fill with water and deal with the bathroom before loading the bikes on again and spending a comfortable night with the heating in use again as inland was much cooler at night.

A few miles away I parked at an old station to ride a length of the VV D'Alcaraz which skirts the mountain range of the same name before pulling up at a rather small aire in Riopar alongside a Dutch van. The following day I took a drive through the Sierra D'Alcaraz following a very quiet minor road and then another through Bogarra and Ayna. Whilst stopping for lunch on the forest road down to Molinicos the Dutch guy turned up on his scooter and we enjoyed a good chat over coffee in the sun. I stayed the night in Molinicos which was the start of a good walk up in the hills on a hot day with a ruined village towards the end providing a snapshot of a lost way of life.

Heading inland again I stopped above Ruidera in an aire amongst pine trees by the Penarroya reservoir with a dramatic castle overlooking the flat water. It was a lovely spot with a good sunset.

The wetland bird reserve of the Tablas de Daimiel is suffering from a lowering water table caused by agricultural boreholes so whilst much reduced in area it still attracts a wide variety of birdlife which could be seen from the various walks that crossed the reserve on duckboards. At dusk the birds were very vocal but it soon became a very peaceful place to spend the night with just one other van parked nearby.

A stunning drive through the Sierra de Cabaneros brought me to an unusual aire - it was fairly new, fully fenced in and watched over by CCTV. Payment for water, waste or electricity plus a nightly fee would have been around £10 but as I had no need for these services I pushed on eventually parking at the old station in Aldenueva de Barbarroya for, you've guessed it, another VV. With the rest of the afternoon still available I knocked out 20 odd miles up to Calera y Chozas before returning for a quiet night. On the Saturday I headed south to the final station before a long tunnel under the Sierra de Guadelupe which is closed off although a Camino Natural (rural track) does carry on over the Puerto de San Vicente to the monastery at Guadelupe. Back at A de B a party was starting across the line at a house and a few local kids turned up to drink a few beers right next to me but all was well and it was quiet by late evening.

 

On arriving at Logrosan I realised it was another aire I had used before and indeed we had cycled the VV before as I recognised the huge solar thermal power station and long concrete canal structure as I headed south. Storks were nesting on the poles and pylons, cranes in their hundreds were prowling the fields, buzzards and kites floated overhead and I saw three otters cross the path ahead of me as I returned in the late afternoon to find three other vans pulled in amongst the trees - all UK plates. One had managed to damage his awning so they were all busy trying to repair it so I left them to it and created some very successful chickpea and onion burgers for tea.

Today I have moved on to Trujillo for one or two nights and expect to be at my friend Gary's small campsite near Marvao in Portugal by Wednesday. I've not seen him for 3 years so it will be a good catch up after which I will look at the options for crossing to Morocco by late February. After 6 weeks in Spain the Brexit clock is slowly counting down and I will need to focus on my options.

Anyway an update from Portugal next week will follow - meanwhile click here for more pics.