Valencia day 2: back to La Albufera

October 24, 2023

So I’m a couple of days behind again. We’re at the Valencia airport waiting for boarding, so I’ll see if I can dump this out in the few minutes I’ve got available.

It was windy yesterday, but it’s even windier today; so Rachael’s walking again, on a ramble through the city and to points west. She brought back photos and I think will bundle them into a slideshow, but it’s not ready yet so it will get posted later.

For myself, I’m out to La Albufera again, giving myself one last shot at picking up another bird or two. And I’ve learned from my mistake and am biking out along the east side of the lake, between it and the sea. Like yesterday, I’ve gotten an early start because we’ve got another 2:00 lunch date, although Rachael reminds me before I leave that 1:30 would be much better.

Now that I’ve tried both sides, I can report that biking along the seaside is much better. I leave town on dedicated bikeways that carry me well out of town before eventually dropping me back on the road just at the beginning of the lake.

There’s no end to these gorgeous day, it seems. We couldn’t have done better on this tour. We carried all that rain and cold weather gear for nothing!

So much better than biking through the busy suburbs.

Five or six miles into the ride the bike paths end and drop me onto the road next to Albufera lake.

Biking through the fishing village of El Palmar, I slow down to admire the boats lining its channels. The bay is filled with hundreds of mallards, giving me hope of seeing something new today. Definitely more promising so far than yesterday’s outing.

Just past the south end of town I leave the through road for the small roads passing through the park. From here on until I return I’ve practically got the place to myself.

It’s much wetter on this side of the preserve, closer to the lake and sea. The water isn’t as high as four years ago, but has a similar feeling.

So what is this? I’ve seen about. Half dozen of these out here, presumably associated with rice cultivation somehow.

I’ve bagged one new bird but still haven’t seen the one I expected, a glossy ibis. When I come to a painting of one on the side of a shed I consider whether to claim credit for it.

Just a few hundred yards later though I come upon the real thing - not just one, but maybe a thousand.

So that’s it. Out of time, except to note that my route comes upon another dead end nd I have to backtrack the last eight miles of the reserve before I’m back on course, doing about five miles to the ride I have planned. I give Rachael a call to let her know I don’t know when I’ll make it back, so she can make her own food plan.

And then I head back, at times into a 25 mph headwind. Miles go close nd come hard until I’m back at el Portal, when conditions improve considerably. I make it back at 2:15, which is good enough. Rachael has gotten by in the meantime by finding an ice cream bar, so she’s fine. We head down to lunch, and I spend part of the afternoon packing her bike. I’m saving mine for tomorrow after I take a short cruise through the city.

Done! Boarding starts in two minutes.

Heart

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Ride stats today: 40 miles, 700’; for the tour: 1,413 miles, 54,200’

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2023 Bird List

204. Glossy ibis

205. Common ringed plover

Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 1,414 miles (2,276 km)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesGreat trip and journal, great birding too. Have a good trip "home". Until next time.
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6 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesYup. Sorry we couldn’t hang around n Valencia and wait for you. Maybe next spring in Mallorca?
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6 months ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonOk, we hope to be there second week in February!
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6 months ago