The Ruins at Almenara

A planned bike ride turned into more of a day of climbing in the town of Almenara in the Valencia Community. It’s about a 40 minutes train ride from Valencia’s Estación del Norte on the cercanía which plies between Valencia and Castellon to the north. It was 5.80€ for a round trip ticket. I bought the round trip simply because I don’t know how to get from Almenara to Sagunto and didn’t feel like spending my day getting lost like I did on Saturday.  I did enough riding on Saturday for the entire weekend so I didn’t feel guilty at all sitting on the train up and back while I read my book.

The weather has been spectacular although it was hazy.*  When I reached the top of the little precipice in Almenara I couldn’t see the Mediterranean, not that I have anything to complain about. I’m already lathering up my face and arms with SFP50 for my bike rides. There aren’t any signs pointing to the way to the two towers and the fort about the village so I just started riding up. At the top of the village I found a scenic path that goes up a bit further and across the little mountain. I was lucky to run across a young girl walking her dog who directed me to the path leading up to the old Moorish defensive structures. Once again, the path wasn’t marked at all and I would have ridden straight past it without her guidance.

The wasn’t any bike riding to do at this point so I pushed  my wheels a bit up the trail and ditched it. There really wasn’t much of a path at all but the ascent was fairly logical: you just choose the easiest way up meaning the one with the best hand-holds and the fewest thorns.

I need to get out as much as possible during the next two months or so before it gets really HOT.

*Hazy = Calinoso in Spanish, at least according to the Real Academia Española.
 Calinoso - Cargado de calina. Calina (del latín calīgo, -igĭnis, oscuridad) - f. Accidente atmosférico que enturbia el aire y suele producirse por vapores de agua.
It's hazy = Hay calina.