We spent some time in the small and quaint town of Alcalá del Júcar with a population of only 1, 321. It is located in a narrow valley in the province of Albacete.
The view from the top of the valley
The view from the top of the valley is beautiful. The drive into the town follows a road that winds along the rocky walls of the steep valley.
The view of the town of Alcalá del Júcar
Bellow is a short video of the drive down the valley.
We went for a walk and explored the town of Alcalá del Júcar. The town is quiet and slow paced. We enjoyed walking slowly along the quiet streets admiring the architecture and scenery. We came across some interesting and beautiful spots along our walk.
The view from one of the streets in townRay near the arched bridge in the townA man sitting on a chair on the middle of the street
Along our walk we came across a gentlemen sitting in a chair in the middle of the street. He was enjoying the sun and seemed surprise to see us.
There were caves carved out of the side of the valley walls where people lived. We could see the caves in many different areas.
Caves made into houses
Shelley explored a cave house which was converted to a museum. The inside of the cave was spectacular with features that would rival any home.
View of one of the main rooms in the cave houseOne of the rooms in the cave house in the town of Alcalá del Júcar
The town even had a castle which was perched above the town.
The castle in Alcalá del Júcar
The castle provided a great view of the town and surrounding area.
The view from the castle of the town of Alcalá del Júcar
Alcalá del Júcar is very quaint and special town. It has great has great character and we enjoyed exploring the town.
We went for a tour at a winery called “Bodega La Cepa De Pelayo” which is a new Bodega located in Alcafá Del Jucar, Spain.
The tour was very detailed and took us through the entire Bodega.
Ray at the start of the Bodega tour
Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained the entire process in detail.
Tour guide explaining the processes of the wine making in the Bodega
We began with a tour with the extraction process, known as “debourbage”and how the grape is separated from the juice.
The vats used to ferment the wine
The juice is then transferred to different vats where the alcoholic fermentation starts.
Shelley and Ray in front of the fermentation vats
We then went to the barrel storage area where the wine is aged.
Wine aged in oak barrels at the Bodega.
Finally we went to a large hall set up for the wine tasting. We found our seats and learned about the etiquette of wine tasting. Our tour guide was very good and explained everything very clearly.
Tour guide explaining the wine tasting etiquette
We learned about the colour of the wine, the smell, look, texture and taste. We were taught how to swirl the glass to release the aromas of the wine.
Shelley at the wine tasting
We tried several different wines including a white, rose and red.
Ray tasting a white wine at the Bodega
The wine tasting was very entertaining and a lot of fun.
When we were in the town of Alcalá del Jucar, Shelley and some friends decided to go carting for the first time.
Shelley and Monica at the go-cart race track
Each of them selected their go-cart and drove to the starting line.
Shelley, getting ready for the race in her go-cart.
Shelley drove up to the starting position along with two other racers.
Rafa, Monica and Shelley lined up to start the race.
The race track has many curves and was very challenging track.
The go-cart race track layout
The race began and during the first lap Shelley was in second place. As the race continued Shelley gained on the lead driver. In the last lap Shelley was able to pass the lead driver on the inside curve to win the race.
Shelley crossing the finish line in first place.
After the race Rafa, Shelley and Monica gathered in the winners area and took a photo on the podium.
Rafa, Shelley and Monica on the winning podium
Everyone had a great time and really enjoyed the go-carting.
We went caving outside of the town of Alcafá del Jucar, which is located in the province of Albacete Spain. We drove to the entrance of the cave which is actually just a small hole in the ground.
Entrance hole to the cave system
Our guide took us to the entrance and began setting up the rappelling gear required to enter the cave.
Rappelling gear set up at the entrance of the cave.
We took the opportunity to take a picture of the group while he was preparing the gear.
Our guide setting up the rappelling ropes for the entrance of the cave.
We each took a turn and rappelled down approximately 15 meters to the base of the cave.
Ray rappelling down to the cave floorRay at the base of the cave floor
Once we rappelled down to the floor of the cave, we began exploring the different caverns. The cave system was interesting with a lot of different features.
Some of the features in the cave
We even meet a few of the locals in the cave system.
Bat hanging in the cave
We came to one area of the cave which was spectacular. When we shined our lights on the ceiling of the cave it looked like stars. The photo below does not do it justice.
Reflection of light on the drops of water on the ceiling of the cave
There were water drops clinging to the ceiling of the cave and our lights reflected off of them. It made it look like stars in space, truly an amazing sight.
We managed to get a group photo while exploring the cave caves.
Ray, Issac, Sonja, Susy and the guide
We explored the cave system for an hour or so before heading back to the entrance of the cave. We then used a rope ladder and climbed up the 15 meters to the surface.
Las Fallas festival in Valencia is a celebration to welcome the coming of spring and an opportunity to say goodbye to winter. As part of the Fallas festival there are giant “ninots” which means dolls. They are built using paper machè, cardboard, wood and other combustible materials. The ninots have different themes and are sometimes political in nature.
We took a bus tour to Valencia and arrived early to explore the different ninots throughout the city.
Our Costablanca tour bus
We walked the crowded streets looking at the different fallas along the way.
The crowded streets of Valencia during the Fallas 2019
We came to some fallas, which were quite interesting and had specific messages.
Falla with naked Franco, Mussolini, Hitler and Trump with condom promoting no reproduction of these politicians.Falla depicting the United Kingdom cutting ties from European unionA satire of a politician as a frog
Other fallas focused on the environment and in particular the issue of plastic in the oceans.
Falla depicting the dangers of plastics in the oceans.Falla of a Turtle with plastics in its mouth.
We walked towards the “Plaza de Ayuntamiento” to see the “mascletàs” which is a pyrotechnic event that happens at 2 P.M. The mascletàs are focused on noise and rhythm rather than visual effects. As we got closer to the Plaza de Ayuntamiento the crowd became bigger and thicker.
View of the crowd in the streets at the Plaza de Ayuntamiento in Valencia waiting for the Mascletàs
The crowd was so large and big that we decided to go and find a place to have lunch instead of being in the centre of the crowd. We found a nice restaurant not too far away from the plaza. We enjoyed a nice meal and watched the mascletàs which were streamed live on the internet.
Watching the mascletàs live at the restaurant
After lunch we continued exploring and viewing the different fallas. We came to a parade and walked along with them for a while.
Ray walking along with the parade in Valencia
The parade had different traditional costumes, music and flowers. There were people of all ages participating in the parade.
After watching some of the parade we continued to explore the different fallas.
Shelley and Ray in front of a Falla in Valencia,
There are so many unique and different fallas that we created a small gallery of some of them.
During the evening the fallas and streets were lit up with decorated lighting. This made the fallas look completely different and they were quite beautiful.
We stopped at a bar for some tapas and a rest before heading back home after a full day of exploring the fallas. It was a very unique and enjoyable experience.
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