On to Altea, Costa Blanca

Our journey through France and Spain so far

Our 2000km (1250miles) journey from Solihull, West Midlands, UK to Altea La Vella, Costa Blanca, Spain, via the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre, a week in Pechaud, Dordogne, France at Judith and Richards house and a two night stay in Zaragoza, Spain is finally over – for now!

We arrived at Richard (Jackie’s dad) and Elizabeth’s house in Altea La Vella mid-afternoon on (3:00pm) on Wednesday after a 7 hour uneventful journey from Zaragoza. 

Coffee in Altea with Richard and Elizabeth

Leisurely breakfast at the hotel, retrieved the car from its underground car park in Zaragoza, but were confronted by another car waiting to come into the lift as the door slid open for us to exit in our car. Oh well, they had to back out onto the road as we had nowhere to go, but it was all done with good humour and we were soon out onto the narrow, fairly busy streets weaving our way through the south of the city and then out onto the free A23 motorway to Valencia. 

Richard and Elizabeths house with the scary Bernia Ridge on the skyline

300km of 2 lane fairly empty motorway through relatively flat, fairly scorched landscape with the cruise control set at 120km/hr for nearly 3 hours, followed by a more scenic drive down the Mediterranean coast through quite stunning rocky and mountainous terrain on one side, sea on the other with clear blue skies in between.

The view from their balcony

It’s lovely to be here again, great to see Richard and Elizabeth, their hospitality is second to none, but the ‘icing on the cake’ is their fabulous house in a superb setting with absolutely great views from their balcony. It really does feel like paradise and for us, with our liking for all things outdoors, it’s got everything we could possibly need, clear blue skies, pleasant temperatures for this time of year, more climbing routes than we could ever do, an endless quantity of walks of all standards through to scary exposed ridge walks, many canyons to explore with and without wetsuits and climbing gear, as well as gorgeous strolls through beautiful towns and villages. It’s no wonder there are so many ‘Brits’ here, enjoying the winter warmth and laid back way of life.

The balcony evening view while enjoying pre-dinner wine and olives

So far we have only had an easy walk along the promenade in Altea, plus a lounging day in the hot afternoon sun with a book by the swimming pool at the house and a great seafood dinner last night at R&E’s (and now our) favourite restaurant in nearby Calpe.

Our walk along the promenade in Altea

We are here for a month – it’s going to be hell! Even better for Jackie is Pepa the cat, who we are going to be looking after while Richard and Elizabeth take a 2 week holiday in the UK from next week. Pepa’s a bit of a ‘scaredy cat’ and wants very little to do with us at the moment, but Jackie’s gradually winning her around, I’m sure she’ll soon be sitting on our laps….