Valencia. 39 27.694N 000 19.035W
Persephone... Cruiser/Racer
Nigel & Karen Goodhew...
Sat 4 Aug 2018 09:16
The sailing was about as good as we have had in the Med; 10 to 12 knots of wind from the north east so we started with a beat and that slowly opened up to a fast reach as we passed Denia. All good. Flat water, sunshine and very hot indeed so it was a pleasure to have the wind and some shade from the sails. But the “anchorages” described in our pilot book as possible stopping places, were anything but! No shelter whatsoever. Even the delightfully described bays on the south side of Cullera turned out to be a huge development of high rise hotels and office blocks, and really quite unappealing. So as the breeze held, and the evening went on, we sailed on and eventually made it up to Valencia, arriving at 1 am.
We are moored in the marina the city developed for the 32nd Americas Cup, held here in 2007. It is vast, cheap, (25 euros a night) and a tad desolate. Perhaps surprisingly, the facilities at the marina are rather rudimentary and basic, in contrast to the architectural flamboyance of the rest of the development. The ancient city of Valencia is almost 4 miles away, though the outskirts stretch along the dock road and are interesting enough to pass as we walked the hour or so to find the main attractions!
But the reward, once you get to the city, is worth the effort. Beautiful buildings, ooze history. There are a plethora of blue glazed tiled roofs. The city fathers have managed to develop a tasteful blend of ultra modern and ancient architecture which piques ones interest and has you asking questions. And the dominant theme is outdoor leisure...which we experienced on a day when the temperature almost topped 40 degrees!
The ancient river Turia has been diverted around the west and south of the city, and since the late 70’s, theyhave made the river bed a delightful series of parks and gardens, fountains and lakes, childrens play areas etc. with walking trails and about 18Km of cycle paths. It’s a delight, and walking back to the marina through the trees, gave us more much needed shade.
We met Brian and Marjorie Collyer in the marina, sailing their yacht, Darcey. In keeping with the vanishingly small sailing world, they keep Darcey at Sant Carles de la Rapita and know a number of the people we have encountered on this trip, notably Liz and Alastair.....They were fun and we enjoyed a very pleasant evening in the Panorama restaurant together, before they slipped away south to Denier yesterday.
We, of course, are headed up to their home port and expect to arrive in a day or two.
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