Exploring the beauty of Spain

After some great weeks in the countryside in Daumazan-sur-Arize, I decided to move on. We had finished the tiny house, and meanwhile, I launched my website. Everything was done, and I wanted to hit the road again. My next destination was Spain. I planned to drive along the east coast and maybe visit some places to volunteer as well.

My trip started with a visit to Andorra. There, I filled up my fuel for cheap (a tax-free country) and soon moved on to the border of Spain. In this area, there are lots of hot springs, and I took the chance and visited a local hot spring. These are located in the mountains, and you have a nice view from there. I arrived there in the evening and enjoyed the beautiful sunset while relaxing in the 38-degree water. The next day I moved on.

The days were getting colder, and I decided to go a bit faster in the direction south to get to some warmer areas and have more opportunities to do something. I found some nice hiking spots in a national park near Valencia. The weather was a lovely 20 degrees there, and nearby was a parking spot with electricity and accommodation to provide water (hosted by the local village). Everything was provided to have some great days. During my road trip to Valencia, I did a short 2-day break near Capellades. I parked my van at a public parking lot, by a little riverside. I went to the local supermarket, bought some stuff, and prepared a meal in the van. Nobody was there, and it was really quiet. As the evening started, more and more people came with their cars, and I found myself stuck between two cars that I can’t move away. I was really confused and thought, “Well, what the … is going on here?”. Half an hour later, I heard some loud music and went out of my van to see what’s going on there. Surprisingly, I saw many trailers decorated with lights and some guys on the trailers. Now I realized what happens there. Next to my parking spot, they hosted an event to celebrate the holy Three Kings Day. I laughed at myself because I didn’t check the calendar for a while. A few meters from the parking side was a little stage prepared for the event, and some people talked in Spanish. I didn’t understand anything, but it was funny to see that the Spanish locals celebrate this day in a big way. The highlight was the huge firework at the end of the evening. This day had some unexpected ending. I prepared myself for a cozy evening in the van, and it ended up with a firework. Loved this moment.

With some amazing memories in the bag, I moved on to the national park Serra d’Espada near Valencia. Before I went there, I did a little side trip to the Ebro Delta on the east coast. There I enjoyed a windy day at the beach. It was so windy that I could stand angled to the ground. My van was afterward completely filled with sand everywhere, but it was worth it. The next day I moved on to the village Sueras, which is located in the national park. I parked my van at this beautifully made parking lot for motorhomes, and afterward, I grabbed my hiking boots and did a hike through a part of the national park. This was a beautiful hiking spot with some nice forest landscapes. The weather was a lovely 20 degrees, and I enjoyed the walk a lot. During my time at the farm side, I didn’t do a lot of sport activities, so this was welcomed. I spent some further days at the parking spot, enjoyed the day, met some people, and planned a bit of my route to the south.

My next destination was Valencia. I had nothing concrete planned for this city, and I didn’t want to do this classic touristic stuff. So, I signed up for couchsurfing in the hope to meet some fellow travelers and do some activities in Valencia. Luckily, there was an event on a Saturday morning where travelers and locals meet each other and play some volleyball at the beach. That sounded nice, and I agreed to the event. Before I headed to the city, I enjoyed a nice evening at a parking spot a couple of kilometers away from Valencia, located at the beach. It was an astonishing sunset at this place.

The next day I moved to Valencia. I went to the beach to meet the people from couchsurfing. It was a bit difficult to find the right volleyball field because there were many, and all were full of people. I just got the maps coordinates, but that was a bit imprecise at the beach. Luckily, some guy saw me with my phone and asked me if I’m here for the couchsurfing event. Nice. He brought me to the right field. We introduced each other and then started to play volleyball. During the day, more and more people came over, and we were a big group at the end. It was amazing to see how big this network is. The people were all really friendly, open-minded, and we had a lot of fun together. In the evening, I went with a small group to the city. We had some dinner, drinks, and great conversations. Overall, it was a lovely day, and I met some amazing people from all over the world. I spent another day in Valencia, just relaxing at the beach. Then I moved on.

Over Workaway (a volunteering platform), I knew some traveler in Alicante. He currently lives there, and I planned to visit him. My plan was to drive along the east coast to the south. So, it was on the way, and I headed to Alicante. There I met Fabian, who moved here a couple of months ago. He quits his job and now he’s currently planning a freelancer career as a designer in Alicante. We did a little city tour, had some nice conversations, and shared our knowledge. Unfortunately, Fabi hadn’t much time during this week, so I went to the national park in the north of Alicante.

In the Nationalpark Sierra del Maigma, I went on another hiking tour. My parking spot was really nice, and I met some fellow travelers over there. I met some guys from Germany, and they are traveling with a VW bus. We shared some dinner, a drink, and had a great evening. I also made new connections with some people from Belgium. It’s always nice to meet some travelers, share, exchange, and have a good time. Even if it’s for a short period, it’s interesting to hear the stories of each of them. I spent two days in Sierra del Maigma then moved on.

I loved the visit in the national park and the hiking trip. So I wanted to follow my passion more and decided to go to the next national park, which was the national park Sierras de Cazorla. I took on the ride to spend the next couple of days just hiking and exploring the beautiful sides in the south of Spain.