Albacete has lots of little gems in the surrounding area. The past two weekends we have explored small local villages perched on the edge of cliffs, swum in cool rivers, and harched steep hills to old castles. My sister Bethany arrived to visit, too!
During our first weekend, we took a road trip south to see the area around the Rio Mundo – a river flowing through some pretty dramatic nearly-desert.
The next weekend found us traveling north, instead, to the canyons formed by the Rio Jucar. We drove along the river canyon to ogle the greenery, then visited the cliff-perched village of La Recueja. Our final stop was the town of Alcala Del Jucar where we swam in the river to cool off during siesta, visiting a cave house, and climbed up to the castle. It was an awesome day that I’m sure we will do again!
So, with Bethany in the passenger seat, we also headed southeast to explore the village of Chinchilla where we found yet another cool mountain! Plus, a cute village around it and even more cave homes. To continue our day trip, we ventured further east to the Laguna Salada de Petrola; the salt lagoon of Petrola. There was one goal! To see MINGOS…..Avi Loves Flamingoes, and when we found out they exist in the wild a half hour away, we had to go spotting.
Avi loves the mingos! We had a blast spotting them
Back in town we have continued to explore local stores, gone the the Tuesday market, and I put in my vegetable garden beds. Not a lot of veggie plants available this hot time of year; I will need our shipment for my seed bank. We’ve also tried a few cafes and found one that is perfect for us, dining al fresco beside a playground. Great!! So, aside from being super hot midday – a la siesta, and a dip in the pool – Spain is certainly no hardship tour.
