We left our Peniscola campsite just before “check-out” time of noon- by the time we’d roused ourselves from our comfy bed, filled our water tank to the brim etc etc, showered – well, Karen did, Roy was still too traumatised to venture back in there! We thought we’d head for the free Aire just a few kms down the coast in Benicassim – aided and abetted by the fact that there was, allegedly, a Lidl there! Uuuuuh……no there isn’t!!! It’s still being built!!! Or rebuilt! Whatever, it sure ain’t open!!! Never mind, we found a Mercadona just down the road which more than satisfied our culinary requirements! Locally grown oranges for 66c/kg! Absolutely to die for!!

We did our shop then drove further into the town, finding a free car park which could, we thought, prove to be a suitable overnight spot if required, since we didn’t see any signs dictating otherwise. We had a mooch around the town – a  bit uninspiring, to be honest- then headed down to the beach and the ‘Ruta de Villas” – a bunch of villas , sometimes quite quirky, built along the seafront, mainly by wealthy Valencians, between the late 19th up until the mid 20th centuries. Sadly, we’re pretty sure that a whole bunch of these have been sold to developers, the villas demolished and uninspiring highrises built on the land on which they used to stand! Pity really because we’re pretty sure those villas would have had a story to tell!

 

Having walked our little legs off – and Harley is now a couple of cms shorter than he was – we returned to Sebo and drove to the Aire – then carried on going as it was no more than a layby alongside a busy main road and was already pretty much full! Instead, we opted to head up into the nearby hills – La Desert De Les Palmes to be precise. Famous for it’s ancient Carmelite Monastery , winding mountain roads and spectacular views. Here, we found THE most perfect sleepy spot!

 

We walked down to the original monastery ruins, looked up at the newer building and marvelled at how they managed to build such awesome buildings some 500m up a mountain!!!

Our next planned stop in a Westerly direction is Castellon De La Plana, a pretty sizeable town, with a free Aire some 6km away from the town centre- our walking shoes are being prepped in readiness!