Despite several attempts to locate a sandy beach close by on Google, I had failed. Even my search ‘sandy beach’ turned out to be ‘stony beach’!!
I wasn’t going to be defeated. One more last attempt to locate a beach before my sister headed back home.
Success! I had finally located 3 beaches close to Castellón de la Plana and Benicàssim.
My sister flew into València yesterday and after collecting her from the airport we spent the rest of the day catching up, enjoying a few beers in one of the bars near the beach before dinner and bed. Tomorrow we were off to València for the day.
Ray had sought Tomás’ help regarding where to catch the train to València. He recommended we didn’t park the car at Moncofar station, as he didn’t consider it safe enough. His suggestion was to drive to the town of Nules, a mere 3 kms away. We would be able to park on the streets around the station. Continue reading València – L’Oceanogràphic
The decision had been made. We were going to enjoy a lazy weekend. For a change we were parking the car and would only investigate our immediate area by foot or by cycle.
First things first; the beach. It was only a short walk across the road from our site, through low rise apartment blocks and almost completely deserted.
There was a road which ran parallel with the beach as well as a palm lined pavement which followed the road.
The one disappointment was that the beach was mainly large pebbles and as such, not easy to keep clean, looked somewhat unattractive and was difficult to walk on.
We made our way down to the shore line, which was a mixture of smooth pebbles, shingle and the occasional sandy spot. The water was very clear and it was possible to see the acute drop off of the pebbles a short way into the sea. Neither of us were even slightly tempted to investigate how deep the drop off would be 🙂
There were a few artificial groynes along the shore line, which seemed the popular places to set up your fishing rod. Although apart from the fisherman or occasional dog walker, we were the only ones on the beach!
Continuing on we moved inland and walked further along on a promenade, lined on the town side by a number of what we could only think, were the original single storey houses from the early 1900’s.
Our walk took us to the end of the beach and a small nature reserve.
We turned for home but this time made our way back along the main street. Apart from two café/restaurants, everything else was closed for the season.
In this part of the town, the apartments and villas were all arranged on a grid system, with various one way streets.
The main town of Moncofar also had an unusual system of one way roads, which we were yet to get to grips with but we would have plenty of time to explore them over the coming days.
The following day we decided to take the bikes for a spin. We began by attempting to see if we could cycle close to the beach. Perhaps there was a path to follow? No such luck. We quickly realised that this would not be an option.
Remembering Tomás in reception had given us lots of information about the area, we returned to the caravan to rethink our journey.
Sure enough we had a map of various cycle routes in the area, and we headed off once more in the direction of the orange groves.
We soon discovered that there was a network of easy to cycle roads which ran through the absolutely massive area of orange plantations.
Of course if anyone mentions Valencia, probably the first thing people think of is oranges. Valencia is the land of oranges (naranjas) and the area we are in is aptly named Costa de Azahar or orange blossom coast in Castellon/Castello.
We somehow hadn’t considered how much fruit would be on the trees. That was just our ignorance. Of course these citrus fruits are in season in winter and spring.
We rode through avenue upon avenue of oranges, in different stages of ripeness. It was also the first time we had seen water running in the streams and along purpose built rills to keep the fruit trees supplied.
There were workers amongst the trees. Some picking and packing the fruit into boxes, stacked at the roadside, waiting to be collect by lorries. In other sections were locals tending their individual plots handpicking their crop.
Interspersed with the orange groves we also came across pomegranates growing on trees, which had swollen and burst and were being enjoyed by the birds.
Unbeknown to us, we were later to discover another seasonal fruit in Valencia.
We also discovered today, Sunday, that all the shops were closed. Oops. Who forgot to check that out before hand??
Luckily for us, during the low season, the campsite has a small restaurant/bar .It is open every evening for a few hours during the week for drinks only but on Saturday and Sunday has a lunch and dinner menu on offer. Result!
A few other campers were in the restaurant already and we made our way to a table for two. It wasn’t long before the lady in the restaurant appeared at our table to take our order.
A chalk board is outside the restaurant detailing what is on offer that day. A choice of 3 starters and 3 mains for the princely sum of 10 euro each without drinks 🙂
Our waitress spoke very little English but was considerate and patient and we managed to place our order.
Ray was having the shrimp cocktail and paella. I was looking forward to baby squid and lamb with garnish.
Meal over our waitress returned and in Spanish told us about the desserts on offer. (So we guessed). Unfortunately neither of us had any inkling of the choices on offer. We tried to say one of each, but who knows what we actually said!
I ended up with a bowl of pomegranate seeds, which was fine for me, I quite like them. In hindsight we should have guessed what ‘granada’ was. (I like grenadine too).
Ray’s dessert however was quite interesting. The waitress referred to it as caqui. It could only be described as an upside down tomato, a rather large tomato. Where did he start? How should he eat it?
Peeling the skin back revealed rather translucent flesh which had a jelly like consistency. (That would account for accompanying spoon.) The taste was akin to a very sweet strawberry jelly.
After some exploration on the internet we discovered that the fruit was a persimmon or Sharon fruit; one of the many seasonal fruits that we have since discovered in the local shops.
Today we made a visit to the coastal town of Sitges. Sheltered by the Garraf Mountains, it has a warm micro-climate and was only a short drive from our hub.
We managed to find Parking Zone Azul opposite the Hotel Estela, which was east of the port and free at this time of the year. In the sea below us were a few surfers making the most of the waves. (In wet suits 😉 )
Our journey into town took us through the Port de Sitges, Aiguadolç. A very attractive area with numerous restaurants and plenty of yachts, moored up. It’s impossible not to notice the sound of rigging chiming against the masts. You either love it or hate it!
We left the port and headed towards Sitges, taking a man-made coastal path with sea view running its length.
Down below us was the Platja des Balmains; a sheltered sandy beach in a small bay, which we later discovered was quite popular as a ‘clothing optional beach’.
On the day we passed by there were a few paddler boarders surfing the waves and yes, one man staring out to sea, in the altogether 🙂 whatever floats your boat I guess.
Sitges has 17 beaches (platjas in Catalan) to suit all tastes, but not all in the main part of the town.
After passing a rather imposing church, Ermita de Sant Sebastià, we reached the Sant Sebastia beach, with its promenade and cafes.
Continuing west we reached Sitges’ Old Town. The narrow cobbled streets and alleyways were hilly but gave us an opportunity to look at some fabulous architecture. The Old Town is not particularly big but its position affords views across the sea and the rest of the town.
Here in the Old Town/Old Quarter the Marciel Museum and Cau Ferrat Museum showcase Catalan and other Spanish art.
From here we made our way down to the popular sandy beach of Platja de la Ribera and wandered along the wide promenade (paseo), with numerous restaurants and hotels on our right hand side for a while.
It is possible to continue further along the seafront promenade of 2.5 km, following the Paseo Marítimo and on to Terramar Gardens where you can admire the splendid renovated mansion houses that now sell or rent for a mint!
As you can tell, we didn’t continue any further, but made our way back through some narrow streets up to the main shopping district.
We enjoyed a piña pastry and a café solo at a pavement patissiere before heading back to our car.
For those of you that don’t know Ray, he doesn’t much enjoy shopping but there are a number of big chain stores and cute boutiques concentrated in the main shopping area of Carrer Sant Francesc, the shopping street north of the Cap de la Villa.
There are four main shopping streets in Sitges: Carrer Sant Francesc, Carrer Parellades, Carrer Major and Carrer Jesus. The four streets end together in one point, where the Cap de la Villa is located.
Remember in Spain, shops usually open from 10 am until 2 pm and then from 5 pm until 8/9 pm, so as not to be disappointed.
As we approached the port, the sun was sinking below the horizon and the temperature was beginning to drop. A good time to get back to the car and head for home.
The campsite had suddenly become very busy and noisy, with many Spanish families turning up late Friday night for the weekend.
On Saturday the weather had not lived up to expectations and been overcast all day, but today the sun was shining and the beach beckoned. Ray was even threatening to take a dip in the Med!
We drove to Cunit and cycled along the promenade as we had done previously. Today it was much busier than normal, with many people also enjoying the weather and the weekend.
Nevertheless, we still felt terribly under-dressed compared to the locals, who were sporting coats, scarves, hats and gloves!
On reaching Calafell beach, the restaurants and bars along the promenade were packed with customers and it was great to see so many people enjoying Al fresco dining.
We left the crowds behind and headed towards the quieter end of the promenade, where the low rise apartment blocks were mainly empty at this time of year.
Calafell has 3 Blue Flag beaches and all were deserted bar one or two fishermen or the occasional walker.
We parked our bikes beside a lonely palm and headed towards the sea. We both took a paddle but only Ray had his swimming gear to hand. Would he brave it?
Yes he would. Yes he did, eventually. Apparently it wasn’t that bad, once you had committed yourself 🙂
Back on our bikes we headed for home. By now the promenade was quiet and most people had gone. Once again we had the good fortune to be able to enjoy our last moments on the Costa Dorada in peace and quiet.
