Wednesday, October 22, 2025

15 October 2025 Cullera: Tentative Exploring of Cullera

 


Another relaxing day.  We walked to the north along the promenade.  More restaurants and shops are open so Mondays and Tuesdays seem to be the closed days.  We are really decompressing from "Travel Mode"


A big jungle gym to fall off of


Do not walk on


A huge ship way off in the distance


 A cliff hanging house


No lifeguards in the off season


Warning little magic stars will chase you and knock you down


Mountains off in the distance


Arrows are needed in the summer  to control the crowds 


Breaking the rules on the  promenade


The Cullera logo


A lovely outfit


Breaking the chains of love


The Fox Terrier alert system is fully engaged


The view to the north


Large developments in place


Roasted chicken with grapes inside


Another relaxing day


The cloud dragon agrees




  It has been 3 years and 131 days since we began our Migration 

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

14 October 2025 Cullera: Decompression.....Full Stop

 


Tourist mode stops and we just relax.  We sleep in at our new place and there are no construction noises to wake us up.  Nor is there a set timetable for the near future.  Ahhhhhhh, jumping for joy


We can hear the waves on the shore


There is development to the north


Joggers, swimmers, dog walkers and kid keepers


On the google machine we see that tis is marked as Isle Peneta del Moro


Beach upkeep is a big deal


A castle on the hill


A new fangled shopping cart


Maybe not...it is a beach table


Terrier time


Jump for the terriers


A cute dog


Yes much jumping is occurring for the little dog


Last jump shot


The last jump shot like it is a basketball game


And the sun is setting




  It has been 3 years and 130 days since we began our Migration 


Monday, October 20, 2025

13 October 2025 Barcelona to Valencia: A Day of Travel Woes

 


This day started out a 1:00 AM with Omar knocking on my door.  We had received a message from REFE that train we were scheduled to take to Valencia was canceled.  The plan was for the four of us to take a train from Barcelona Sants station to the Valencia Nord station.  We would bid adieu to Carlos and Omar in Valencia and take our scheduled car transfer to Cullera, another 45 minutes south.  This plan was clearly not going to work.  I sent a message to the transfer company that we needed to change the pickup point to Barcelona and went back to sleep. At 1:30 Omar is at the door again telling me that the train is now a go, without any message from the transfer company I send an email to then so we could revert back to the original plan.  In the morning I got a response to the first change telling us it would cost 700 Euro to transfer from Barcelona to Cullera, I respectfully declined.   We had our breakfast, emptied the trash and started moving luggage one person and one bag at a time, it was a very small elevator.  We waited outside for our pre-ordered 9AM Uber van. However there was no driver assigned to the order and the closer we got to 9:00 the more apparent it became that there was not going to be a van coming to get us.  So both Omar and I stared ordering two smaller Ubers and both Leslie and Carlos wert out to look for  taxis. First Leslie got a taxi, then Omar wrangled an Uber.  Soon enough we met at the train station only to find that while we were driving to the train station, REFE sent out an email saying the train was again canceled.  Oooffff!  So the plans are busted wide open.  Omar contacts their next stay in Seville to see if they can start earlier, but that is not an option.  I use a different service to book a van Valencia.  Finally we agree to split the cost of a trip to Valencia by car, 650 Euros minus the amount from the train tickets that we will receive in a refund.  Then we returned to the plan, drop off Omar and Carlos and head to Cullera.  It was a long ride but the new Mercedes van that we rode in made it more bearable.


Time to head out


Only to find that the train is canceled


In the van we go


A big bridge or a quarry works


Industrial chic 


Lots of open space


some small towns


A new coast line to explore


Rugged cliffs


We took a mid trip break


Stables?


On this stretch we could see the debris from where the road had been flooded the previous evening


A church / monastary


More rain up ahead


Passing more small towns


And more rain


In fact the drivers phone alarmed with notifications of heavy rains 


A hard rain


Approaching the outskirts of Valencia


Some grand buildings


We dropped off Carlos and Omar and are seeing flooded feilds


More warnings are coming in about torrential rains


The driver has picked up his speed


More evidence of flooding


More intense rain


We have reached the town


A big castle in the hill


The sea is rough


But our view is fantastic


We headed out to buy some essentials and picked up kebabs for dinner


Both chicken and beef


Dinner on the patio


Watching the people and the dogs


A lone wolf in the darkness




  It has been 3 years and 129 days since we began our Migration