From Javea we started our journey back towards France. We headed inland for the mountain scenery rather than following the coast and we were rewarded with majestic scenery, jaw-dropping views and interesting off-grid overnight stops. First destination was the hills west of Javea and an overnight at the town of Bocairent, a royal village founded in 1256 and one of the most populated and industrial villages of the kingdom of Valencia from the 14th to 19th centuries. Now it seems a very quiet village but still has a bull-fighting ring and is known for the caves in the hills behind. Whilst our parking area for the night was not particularly attractive, the view of the village more than made up for it.
While we were back in the UK we saw a programme about a Brit who had set up a motorcycle tour business in nearby Ontinyent and the roads and scenery around it looked lovely so we headed a few miles down the road there. The long sweeping bends of the roads are certainly great for bikers, so perhaps a destination for a future road trip Joe and Andy?? We passed by the Pou Clar waterfall, this time a waterfall worthy of its name and with beautiful bathing pools in the rocks that must be very popular in the summer time. The crystal clear water looked a little too icy for us. Ontinyent itself was much larger and more sprawling than we had envisaged so we didn’t stop long after exploring the old town.
Our route from there took us through gorges and along wonderful roads with continuous hairpin bends and views across landscapes like a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. We’ve been really impressed with the roads here although there don’t seem to be as many viewpoints or pull-in opportunities as in France. Thankfully the roads have been almost traffic free and we met fewer than a handful of vehicles coming in the opposite direction. We headed for an overnight stop in the hills west of Valencia that sounded interesting and turned out to be a stunning camping area in Yatova, tucked amongst olive and carob trees. This peaceful area looked like a site that scout groups might stay at with roe deer grazing nearby and beautiful views in all directions including cliffs, caves and waterfalls that a couple of rock climbers were exploring. Our only neighbours that evening were a British full-time motorhoming couple.
The next day gave us more stunning vistas and took us further north on an inland route roughly parallel with the coast. We passed by dramatic hilltop villages including the amazing medieval walled city of Morella, voted one of Spain’s most beautiful villages and its not hard to see why. The view that greets you as you come down the road towards it is breathtaking.
Our destination was Ginestar, west of Tortosa on the River Ebro. We were at the River Ebro delta mouth on our way south so it was interesting to see the river further inland where the hillsides are covered with vines, almond trees in blossom and swathes of pink cherry blossom. It’s so uplifting to see these signs of spring on the way. Our stop was another well set up municipal site for 4 motorhomes on the edge of the village looking over the orchards and vines and with a nice walk down to the river. The village seemed deserted, like so many others we’ve seen, so we were surprised to find a bar open and then to hear English voices all around us when we went in. There is obviously some local expat community there.
So three contrasting but interesting off-grid stops with differing levels of facilities ranging from none, to fresh water, to water and disposal facilities – all at no charge. And despite the weather forecast predicting rain for every day we were fortunate not to see any.