Day 20 - Devesa Gardens to Moraira

 Windy night , the mega van next door was up at 4am winding in their awning to prevent damage. All good with ours though and we woke in good time to get showered, sorted and ready to hit the road again. Was all a bit stressful last night trying to decide where to head next. We’ve almost forgotten how to wander after being static for a while!  With all of our preconceptions of the Costa Blanca it feels like we should race past but we’ve decided to give it a try at least!

It feels a bit odd packing up, we been here five nights and today is the first time that the bed has been folded up! 

 Heading south we first pass the small town we inadvertently walked to yesterday … it’s not alone in being a bit ‘utility’ , its a string of market garden ‘allotments’ covered in poly tunnels for a while… not really what you’d expect from the Aiguamolls but not unpleasant. 

Slowly the view becomes greener as we approach Denia with terraces and orange trees in increasing numbers. On the outskirts of the town we stop in a carpark  lose to a restaurant where ‘white box’ vans appear to gather, and make a sandwich. It’s right on the beach but it cold and windy so lunch is in the front seat watching the sea.

Denia itself is certainly smart, lots of pricey looking housing and large yachts but largely closed-up for the winter and seems quiet. 

Just after Denia, the increase in number of road cyclists is a clue to the dramatic climb ahead. The road up is slow as we are behind bikes and the bends are tight for overtaking but on the drive down they were travelling faster than us and overtaking whenever they could … scary stuff!

We decided to stop at Xabia (Javea) as it’s time for a leg stretch. Parking near the town was pretty impossible so we used a supermarket car park on the outskirts. One parked we headed straight to the stunning Parroquia Nuestra Senora de Loreto, a fine example Spanish architecture not feeling the need to fit alongside adjacent buildings. It’s tucked in a side street with traditional Spanish building all around and stands alone as a 1960s concrete beauty. Designed to reflect the towns fishing heritage it nods to boat building in its design but nothing prepares you for the simplicity of the interior , a great space which must sound awesome when filled with music. 




Back all the sea front , lovely promenade where we stopped for a coffee and walked along for a while past closed restaurants and bars until we realised we were getting further from the van so turned inland and cut back across. Quick visit to the supermarket, as we were using their car park, and off again.

Although we planned to travel a little further we’d not found anywhere we particularly wanted to stay so when at we noticed a beach front carpark at Moraira with a row of vans in it, we decided to give it a look. Right on the beach and with no signs saying otherwise we parked up to look around, noticing the little fenced area in front of the van was populated with nesting little egrets. Beautiful little town, quite ‘upmarket’ with a heavy Northern European population judging by the shops and bars and a range of interesting sculptures dotted around. 

The town was mostly very quiet but following our ears we went into a bar with a Coldplay ‘tribute’ band … pretty ropey but entertaining and the wine was pleasant enough. Feels like somewhere that would be heaving in the summer. Our first taste of some Costa Blanca entertainment!


Then back to the van for toast and night listening to the sea.



Mileage so far: 952

Steps today: 14,260

Overnight: beach car park at Moraira, free 

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