I wanted to be in a pretty town called Guadalest, for my birthday. It's not very far from all the buzz and crowds of the coast, so it gets a lot of day trippers. The great thing is, almost all of them return to the coast at night and you are left with the beautiful solitude of this small town built around an impressive castle in the mountains.
On our way, we stopped to have a look at Bebeir (Sonny's dad) at work. He's an acupuncturist, but his practice doesn't only involve people, and that day a horse was his patient.
Next stop was the Fuentes Del Algar, where I had been, on my way to Guadalest, two years ago. Cool relief in the hot weather, cold water comes straight out of the mountain, milky in colour, and icy compared to the heat of the day. The rocks in the water, and around, are pale and chalky to touch. (I have tried, in vain, to look for any information on the geology of the area, or more than just tourist info – beating my head against a wall).
There are places to jump into the pools, but my favourite is a section where you can swim through the narrow gorge.
Needless to say, though it's touristy, it's pretty cool.
Evan and Belle swim to the edge after jumping in…
After the Algar falls, we went to Guadalest, and the Casa Noves Hotel, which we had checked out last time we were there.
Casa Noves is a gorgeous B & B, and the owners have really gone out of their way to make sure you feel welcome, comfortable and have everything you need. Toni and Sophia have not missed a trick – a favourite of mine was the glasses cleaning cloths as part of the vanity sets.
The bell tower at Orduna castle…
Flowers and flowers
We didn't swim in the dam this time, but I still love the colour of it.
We had a delicious dinner while listening to occasional cheers drift across the evening air - Spain in the soccer final against Germany.
It is such a lovely ambience in Guadalest at night.
The next morning I awoke to a birthday champagne breakfast of the yummiest proportions. So much food - more than we could finish – a la carte, not buffet, and that's a normal breakfast there (though, not necessarily with the champagne).
Then I went and bought some more jewellery, which sounds very indulgent when I say it like that, but I just love this stuff , and found it in Guadalest before, though this time it was in a different shop.
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