Lost in translation …

Starting off through the Old Town of Denia, it is way bigger than I thought. Within 3km we are climbing up the suburban hills with lovely houses. Too far from the beach says John. In no time time we are into our first climb for the day … climbing up the mountain. We have been following these mountains for days and it’s now our turn to venture on the other side. There is a lot of low cloud which keeps the temperature down although it is humid. We climb around the mountain catching some great views, the traffic is very forgiving as cars are held up intermittently behind us. I don’t think anyone will be late for work on our account. Not many opportunities for pics with the blind corners of the road! 2.5km seems like 5km …

Up to the top then another 2.5km down with brakes on all the way. On our decent we see many road cyclists … it must be a training run … they don’t even look puffed!

The other side looks like a different world, the landscape has changed dramatically. We are now riding down windy country lanes and down hills. Small vineyards on the tiered hills … peaceful. It’s getting warm, up to 30C as we are now back on the road amongst traffic up and down hills getting glimpses of beaches that are built out by houses. Signage is predominantly in English … we are nearing Alicante aka Little Britain.

We pass by some small beachside towns and weave back to the hills … hot and bothered we find a bar on the road and order lunch … she can only do a bagette … that’s all we want with ham, cheese and salad with egg …no tuna … and a beer of course. Out came a lovely mixed salad for 2. Okay … no bread … that’s okay John, we’re looking after your cholesterol. We finish the salad and 2 large baguettes appear with ham and cheese. Umm lost in translation.

We then decend to a lovely very salubrious town of Calpe featuring giant rock formations dripping into the sea. Very Ritzy apartment buildings then we are climbing our last hill … 11km to Altea … with tired legs … there is a God … a series of short tunnels cutting through the rocks …. then the downhill began with great views and down into Altea.

John hit the jackpot… our hotel is on the beach and our 4th floor room has a balcony looking out at the ocean. A work in progress below as the beachfront is being revitalised. We watch truck loads of rock being dumped and spread – that is the beach. The paved areas nearby are in the process of new paving … good signs to come … ‘come back in 2 years and see what it looks like.’ he says …

So here we are in our office on the balcony, people watching, listening to the waves on the beach … John doing his admin and me blogging …John’s just had a beer or two and I’ve downed 1ltr of orange juice .. 500g of strawberries have also been consumed … life on my bike … can we stay for a week?

Double jackpot … another random surprise … the church on a hill of course is the old town with white washed houses small streets and loads of stairs. At the top by the church are restaurants, shops adorn the nearby small streets. What another little gem this town has to offer.

Oh … I will be shot if I forget to mention that we clocked up over 1000km yesterday.