Archena, The Ricote Valley, Southern Spain - Days 113 to 115

Sunset behind El Ope hill in Archena

We left Ricote feeling slightly hacked off, we’d had a lovely few days, two nights of fireworks (yup, more after the last blog posting, but not so near us, and not all actually visible from where we were parked) some interesting food with a wonderful atmosphere, while staying for free. We hadn’t even had to pay for water as they seemed to have turned it on, negating the need for tokens, for the gachmigas cook up. The ethos is to spend what you would spend on a campsite in the town, but nothing had been open, including the supermarket. We did manage to find it open, and heaving just before we left, so got some fruit etc, but there wasn’t actually much we needed.

Cabezo del Tio Pio mountain that we summited on Thursday

Our long 25 minute drive was uneventful and we arrived in Archena, much bigger, but still in spectacular scenery. The lady in the tourist information was very helpful, though she was only covering for the boy who was sick, but she told us lots about the area, places we’d been through but actually not much about the town. Oh well, we’ll find our own way to the peaks surrounding us then. We’d set off from the van to walk into town, to see if any lunch was going, but had got chatting to Paul and Jackie, next door but one in British motorhome row. They used to have a Frankia, but for one reason or another had downsized to a small campervan, and had yet to convince themselves it had been the right thing. We had a nosy, and everything is there, but very compact and cosy. By the time we’d finished chatting it was well past lunch time, so back to Ted for bread and cheese. (Campsite location: 38°07'21.6"N 1°17'38.9"W) (campsite amenities: click here and on item 46 in list)

Our second summit on Thursday

On top of Cabezo del Tio Pio

So our plan the following morning was to summit the three surrounding peaks. We did the first two with relative ease, only having to climb one locked gate as our exit route between them was not quite as it had appeared from the top! At that point however my legs were feeling heavy and we stopped for the day, except for a quick trip down the river path to feed cats and a quick trip to the supermarket, emperador (swordfish) Thai curry for dinner, experimental but very nice. We also chatted to our new neighbours who had moved in from the far corner, as we got the sun earlier, and had no trees, not normally a problem but we have had some very very windy weather since we’ve been here. I’m convinced I could hear a chain saw at 23.30 on the first night, dealing with a fallen tree perhaps? We then popped to the local cafe for a beer and tapa before dinner, seemed only polite! Another experimental tapa, carriennas de cerdo. Pork cheeks, will definitely be having them again, so tender and tasty, yum, much better than the pigs tail!

Archena and our motorhome Aire from the summit

Got up this morning planning to leave, chatting with next door and next door but one for them both to recommend the Roman Baths and the spa, which is what the town is known for, and the river walk, and We didn’t actually do the third peak. We’ll stay another night then, used to be indecisive....!

Jackie finds a nest of cats keen on here stock of cat biscuits

The old Roman baths at the 4 star hotel and baths complex

Walked along the river to the baths complex, had a nosy around and continued on, along the cycle path which must bring us near the last hill, and so it did. We did the little tourist path, but then continued with a scramble to the cross and geographical marker on the summit, followed by the ridge between it and the next little peak and a blunder down off the edge back to Ted. It was a lovely, interesting walk, thankfully as I’d probably be in trouble if it hadn’t been! We still haven’t cycled the other way along the river path, but I’m sitting outside Ted writing in the sun in shorts and t-shirt. Was it really only three days we were in 4layers, coat and hat and gloves? It is still a bit gusty but it’s obviously coming from a different direction, the van overnight was 17degrees, ten degrees warmer than Ricote.... we just have to hope that the football game or training or whatever on the pitch right next door finishes a little more reasonably than the 23.30 it was last night!

The Ricote Valley - a little bit of background....

On the way up El Ope hill in Archena, today

The Ricote valley is an area of fertile countryside watered by the Segura river that flows onwards through Murcia and eventually out into the Mediterranean Sea at Guardamar del Segura, just north of Torrevieja. There are eight small towns in the valley, linked by a narrow twisting road with superb views at every corner. We stayed at two, Ricote and Archena but all have an interesting history, having been occupied since the bronze age by Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, Muslims and Christians and all have left their mark here. Early bronze age artefacts have been found at Ricote, the Romans built thermal baths at Archena using the hot springs next to the river, which is still a spa town with an open air swimming pool, thermally heated, steam baths and the full spa works available in a four star hotel in the town. After the Christian reconquest of Spain from the Muslim Moors, the valley continued to exist with Christians and Muslims living alongside one another owing to it's relative isolation among the rugged mountains here. The result is a rich cultural and artistic heritage that is a blend of all it's past; the food has a certain arabic angle to it as did some music we heard playing, making us imagine we were perhaps in Morocco rather than Spain and the the rugged mountains are a walkers and mountain bikers paradise, hence the reason we've spent some time here.

On the scramble to the first summit of El Ope

An exposed step on the scramble to make Jackie think a bit

An on the summit with the cross behind 

And the view the other way showing the other two summits we did yesterday. And our campsite is in view

Just to prove Brian was there too

Back at Big Ted in time for lunch

Here's our Strava plots of our two walks. Here's the Cabezo del Tio Pio and other summit. Where our track reaches the road near the top of the map there was a high gate that we had to scale. I think we probably shouldn't have used that route!


Here's todays walk to the Roman baths (top right on our track) and the two summit scramble of El Ope at the bottom