We cycled to Dolores for bread in the morning. This was no quick trip as we had decided to detour via the local nature reserve, Parc Natural El Fondo. This is very close to Sheppards rest and offers many km of off-road cycling.

The route back took us through San Felipe Neri which looks like a one horse town with restaurant Casa Harry in the centre. I think we might be back to Casa Harry for lunch one day.

Torreveija beckoned in the afternoon. A friend of mine has a place in Torreveija and we wanted to swing by and take a look. Again the satnav delivered us bang on without fuss.

Later in the day, we were assigned a mission by Moe’s sister to check out a restaurant in Torreveija where one of her daughters is working for the summer.

This time Moe hadn’t done her homework properly and whilst the instructions “head past the harbour and you’ll arrive at the bar” were technically accurate, the bar was 4km past the harbour AND we had parked up in the northern side of Torreveija. Eventually we abandoned, headed back to the car and drove there.

All was in order and a couple of cold beers just the job.

The same couple who had recommended the restaurant in Guardamar also had a wine recommendation at Villena.

Bodega Nuestra Senora de las Virtudes Coop. V.

We would visit the castle and town of Villena whilst there but the primary reason for the visit was some cheap wine. The proprietor was helpful with the wine selections and allowed me to taste several different wines.

Whilst we were there, a constant stream of locals with their 5 litre plastic containers appeared through the doors and the wine was dispensed via machine. A bit like a sophisticated petrol pump! The wine of choice seemed to the Arcabucero Joven at around 1Euro20 per bottle or 5 Euros for a full 5 litres.

We opted for a dozen bottles of the Arcabucero Joven Tinto and another dozen bottles of Vinalopo Reserva. This was a bit more expensive at 4 odd Euros a pop but the entire supply of 24 bottles had cost a mere 72 Euros.

The castle consisted of guided tours but the last one of the morning prior to siesta had already departed and whilst not wanting to stick around all afternoon, the chap at the ticket office arranged for us to enter the castle un-accompanied and to explore on our own terms. This was a really nice touch.

 

 

 

 

Finally, this was the last day of antibiotics for Moe and the abscess has gone. The question now is whether to have the tooth extracted in the UK. Moe says she doesn’t want a general anaesthetic because once asleep she fears the dentist will hand over to the Hygienist to give her a little extra practice!

One of the couples staying at Sheppards Rest had recommended the “Pensioners” bar at Guardamar so this was an opportunity for our second cycle ride to the town with a nice lunch. We were sceptical about the “Pensioners” bar as we are some way from being pensioners but I guess we are heading in that direction and we were assured that the place was worth visiting.

The cycle route took us along the service road that we had discovered earlier in the trip and all we had to do was find somewhere to cross the dried-up river and our lunchtime reward would be waiting for us.

As it turns out, about 20m from turning back the prior day, was a cycle path across the river. We found Guardamar and the restaurant which was actually called Café Jaen (the reference to pensioners was the hotel above which was called “Pension”. So not a pensioners bar after all. Lunch was great with the 3 course set menu costing a total of 20 Euros for the two of us and a few extra Euros for a couple of beers.

 

 

A day at Sheppards Rest, chilling, swimming and nice BBQ in the evening.

Guadalest is listed as one of the “must visit” towns in the region. A fine example of a medieval town in the mountains close to Benidorm. In fact the contrast between Guadalest and Benidorm could not be more striking as we drove past Benidorm on the way there along the AP-7.

Benidorm – not for us…

Cycled to the market in the morning and stocked up with local produce. Everything seems so inexpensive in Spain – at least in these parts. Can’t understand why all the ex-pats are returning home – they are in for one big shock.

In the afternoon we drove to Laguna de la Mata which is a salt lake between Dolores and Torreveija. The bikes were loaded on top and we cycled 20km or so around the Laguna.

An historic city some 1 hour drive from Sheppards rest.

 

 

We explored the town with is Roman ruins, amphitheatre and castle on the hill.

 

 

 

 

 

The castle is initially accessed via a “glass” lift enclosed in a see-through metal structure. Never did like heights…

Spent the day at the campsite, with a brief trip to the local supermarket to stock up on supplies. Weather was hot and the swimming pool nice and cool.

This turned out to be a 25km ride from our base in Dolores to the beach at Guardamar where we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Mostly off-road we followed a service road most of the way which was running alongside one of the many concrete water runs.

We tried to cycle into Guardamar but we hit trouble crossing the river from our side and at this point we didn’t want to add another 5km onto the trip so headed back with a determination to cycle the route again and this time have lunch in Guardamar.

The journey back along the service road was uneventful until close to Sheppards Rest, when we were held up briefly by a goat farmer taking his herd for a walk to pastures new.

A hot and sunny start to the day and a realisation that’s Moe’s wisdom tooth abscess wasn’t going to go away by itself. It had started hurting the day before and now needed some assistance. The campsite owner directed us to a Dentist in Dolores who spoke good English. Problem was we came across the wrong one because no-one at the practice spoke any English.

However, Moe was seen within 30 minutes of us arriving at reception, X-Rayed and diagnosed as a tooth abscess indeed. We paid 18 Euros for the consultation, X-Rays and a course of antibiotics was prescribed.

An offer was made to extract the tooth on the Friday which would need to be preceded with a consultation with a surgeon and further X-Rays taken but this was politely declined. Personally, I’m not so sure – the outfit inspired more confidence than my dentist in blighty who now refers fillings to the Dental Hygienist!!

In the afternoon, I fitted 4 new tyres to our bikes. When we bought the bikes they had Specialized Borough XC Sport tyres on them and they have been absolute rubbish. We’ve had dozens of punctures over the years and after 3 in one day whilst cycling on the Isle of Wight, I decided to replace them and bought 4 Continental Travel Contacts. I’ll provide an update on their performance later on.