Day 72: Valencia Day 4

November 6, 2023

I took this last snap of breakfast at the hotel, because I know that tomorrow in an airport there will be basically no breakfast, and after that we will be back to our home routine of one "egg McBagel" and a probably re-micowaved coffee. But it's not just this that has us rankling at the thought of going home. I think I have figured out the problem now. We cycled north to south. In the south now we have flowers, fruits, and sunshine. But what we "need" to accept our fate is falling leaves and cooling temperatures. For Northerners, that is the trigger for getting ready to hibernate.

But wait, it's not over 'till it's over, and there is one more really super adventure still to come. At the town of La Vall d'Uixo, about 45 km north of Valencia, a (sort of) navigable river runs through an extensive cave system, called the Coves de Sant Josep. You can get into a little boat and be poled a certain distance up the river (and into the mountain). We are hopping a bus tour to take us there.

Our bus is clearly called Rodrigo, but our driver is Xavier and our guide is Anais.

During the ride through town, Anais described the sights we were passing, and we were pleased to realize that we had already figured most of it out on our own. However, there were some details that were new to us, and interesting. For example, 400 people died in the 1957 flood that led to the diversion of the Turia river. The dried river bed was slated for a highway, but extended public protest resulted in the present linear park. Within the park is a Gulliver statue, where the little kids playing can be the Lilliputians. We passed through that but were too close up to realize it. Industry had naturally lined the river, so with the river gone there remained an unsightly former industrial area. That is what got transformed into the City of Arts and Sciences. The opera house part of that is one of the biggest in the world, second maybe only to Sidney, and the aquarium is the biggest in Europe, with some millions of living creatures.

We enjoyed passing again the City of Arts and Sciences, including the structure with the palm trees.

We thought we saw a lot of the parrots on top of the palm tree frames, but a zoom in reveals they are pigeons!

With Rodrigo we took to the highway, in an unfamiliar position for us, on the left. See the Mediterranean over on the right. We are heading back north!

Anais had a lot of information on the countryside as we passed. For example, there was an area of pottery production, for which Stadler is a major producer. She also mentioned a town famous for shoe production, and that they had the contract for boots for the US Army. That would be a major one, but they also needed no doubt to make one pair for Bob Dylan's Boots of Spanish Leather!

Below is the monastery at El Puig de Santa Maria.

El Puig was conquered by El Cid in 1093 on the way to his conquest of Valencia; however, it was briefly retaken by the Muslims.

El Puig became a symbolic location for Valencians when it was conquered for good by James I of Aragon in 1237 at the Battle of the Puig.

We can see as we roll by, the mountainous nature of the land north of Valencia.

And here we are back at Sagunto, the mountain fortress that we stayed at the base of, but (unlike the Andersons) did not have time to go visit.

As we arrived at the Caves, we got a serious lecture from our guide about the need to not take photos, except in one designated time and place, and also about the procedure for getting into and out of the boats (taking seats on the left and then right, moving along the length of the boat). At first all this made no sense, but once we saw the conditions directly, it was clear.

The first point is simple - like a canoe, the boats are tippy. Loading ten or so people in requires a balancing act - side to side and forward to back. But the other big thing is the often low ceiling. By low, I mean that you have to scrunch your bottom backwards and lean forward, else your head will hit a stalactite. Also, scrunch or not, the stalacgtites extend low enough into the boat as it moves by that if you are looking at your camera screen and not watching out, you are going to get a lasting souvenir crack on the head!

Going in, this is my last photo for a while, because you have to watch your head!

As is commonly found in caves, there are coloured mineral deposits and strange shapes. Photography is hard, not only because it's not allowed (and flash would be a bit of a giveaway) but because it's hard to give context and perspective to a shot.

Off on the journey (and keep your head down!).

The boat docked at a point from which one walks to a more distant pick up point. There was a girl walking in front of me, and I was grateful for her lead, so I could see what to duck. Obviously it's best not be claustrophobic in here!

In the dark, the following photos are just shapes and colours.

In a large cavern they killed the lights and then put on a bit of a sound and light show.

Just beside the cave entrance, some steps (that turned out to be longer and higher than I expected) led up to a church, an archeological dig, and a view out to the valley and the sea beyond.

The steps looked manageable, so I ran up, only to find that they continued way longer. Puff. Puff!

The first thing encountered up the steps is the church of the Sagrada Familia. If you think Gaudi's version is humbug, then this is the one for you. It's setting in the mountain could be considered competitive with the Barcelona version.

Looking toward the sea, we see Moncofa and development in its general vicinity. There are also several churches and an aqueduct down there.

And here nearby is a Roman ruin. Habitation here has been traced to pre-Neolithic times, to Bronze Age, and on the present.

Having absorbed enough religion and archeology, it was time to check out the gelato, especially with the sad thought that this could be the last of this trip. So what was the momentous choice for this event? Mango, which is SO good here, and Torron, which as we now know is Nougat!

On the walk back to Rodrigo, Dodie liked the light on the rocks.

A we cruised back into Valencia, our route was slightly different and we got to see two things new to us. The first was a statue in a roundabout, called the Iberian Lady. It is apparently composed of thousands of statuettes of the Iberian lady (if I have this right). I guess you have to jump off the bus and go look.

The statue represents a lady wearing a head dress. It stems from the Lady of Elche, which is a 4th or 5th century statue discovered near Alicante.

The next thing we came upon was an unfinished stadium. This is one proposed for an upcoming World Cup of Football, but it has been mired in some kind of administrative hangups, and people of the city despair of it ever being completed. If so, the World Cup will have to shift elsewhere.

We returned to the hotel and picked up our bags, descending then into the park to eat sandwiches and feed Collared Doves.

We have been really pleased to discover that the Metro has stations near our bike storage, near the hotel, and at the Airport. From the park we zoomed to the Airport fast and for 6 euros total. Our scheme was to stay at the airport Ibis, which is theoretically at walking distance, and to walk walk at 3 a.m. to board our flight, which goes at first to Paris. Out of the airport door, the GPS pointed the way to the hotel, but as usual, big roads can block even walkers. We had to trudge back and forth a fair bit with our bags, to find a way almost through. "Almost" means that at the last we encountered hopefully our last "route barree" for the trip:

Even when we did get very close to the Ibis, there was no way in without walking all around the building and finding a small access. We got to our room, but now ran into another familiar glitch: Ventilation in a little hotel room is characteristically poor, so you hope to open a window, because of course the ventilation controls never work. But when you open a window (the little crack permitted by their chain) you (usually) invite in smoke from people below, or if in Germany, noise from the biergarten. But with this Ibis it has been continual pounding from some kind of pile driver or rock cracker in the surrounding construction site. For all the time it has taken to write this entry, my head has been blasted by this. They cleverly put the built in desk by the window, so I can hear more clearly! Whatever they are charging for this room under these conditions is clearly too much. Hey, it is at least making me feel better about returning to our quiet farm!

The sound track for this is (literally) hammered into my brain.

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Gregory GarceauYour guide was the first person I've ever heard of named Anais except for Anais Nin. I wonder if her parents were French or Spanish bohemians.
Anyway, you're right about most northerners getting ready for hibernation when the cold temps move in. All I can say is: don't join them! Bundle up, put on knobby tires, and ride.
Nice tour, Grampies!
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6 months ago

Andrea BrownI can't remember when you said you were returning to Valencia. If it's mid-March, you may want to see the Fallas (pronounced FY-us) festival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencia_Fallas
We saw a smaller (and probably less crazy but still very impressive version) in nearby Xativa (60 km to the south). Tall sculptures, many political or sardonic, parade around, each plaza gets theirs, and at midnight, they all go up in flames. This is a 'plan ahead' event, I'm sure hotels are booked months before so if it interests you, act accordingly. Xativa is a nice town on its own, I thought, even though our rental car got towed there. There was a fallas depicting a tow truck so that should have tipped us off.
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6 months ago

Sue PriceI remember coming home in November after a few months in the sun and I don't envy how you will feel returning to our very very wet coast! Lunch soon when you've rested up?
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6 months ago

Karen PoretTo Gregory GarceauYes, I thought the same thing about the name Anais. Until…this past year not one, but two neighbors have named their daughters this!
It is refreshing to learn more people are choosing names other than what I grew up with ( I am OLD) Kathy, Mary, Jane, Patty. Simple then but nowadays anything goes…
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6 months ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Sue PriceWe are on the ferry and its not half bad! Yes, Willow Street, soon. We hope for good weather to cycle there.
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6 months ago