We’ve just been lucky enough to return from a whole month in Spain, rock climbing and cycling based out of an apartment in Calpe…
We made an event out of the drive south through France and northern Spain. Visiting a number of new locations along the way, including a beautiful quiet lakeside location for New Year’s Eve, allowing Zac to have a firework free celebration too. 😉
Eventually we arrived in Montanejos for our first longer stopover where we enjoyed a fantastic cycle ride, some rock climbing, and Laetitia made full use of the natural hot-springs swimming.
Montanejos
A very peaceful location for our New Year’s Eve camp 
King Abu-Ceit knew how to look after his women! 
The hot springs at Montanejos
Col de Rates
Our first cycle ride after arriving at our longterm base in Calpe was with Rachel and Andy over the famous Col de Rates.
Pete, Laetitia, Andy, and Rachel getting ready to leave Xalo on our way to Col de Rates 
Laetitia at the summit of the Col de Rates 
A blind tasting of cheap gins! Is there a better way to end a day on the bikes? Probably! 😉
Costa Blanca Climbing
Of course the main purpose of any trip to Spain in the winter is to get out and climb on sunny rock! Thanks to our friends Andy and Alison we were really lucky and managed to visit a whole load of new venues. It’s amazing that after decades of visiting the Costa Blanca there are still so many new crags to be enjoyed!
Pete climbing at the wonderfully located Busot crag 
Climbing at Guadalest 
Hilary climbing a classic F6b at Bovedin 
Hilary and Pete climbing at the remote and beautiful Tarbena Cerezas 
The climbs at Tallat Roig were great, but perhaps a little over graded? 
Zac doing his job as our “crag guard dog”
Xalo & the Bernia Pass
The final cycle ride of the trip was a real stunner! Making full use of our friends Fruit and Lorna’s years of experience visiting the Costa Blanca we were able to cycle from Calpe to Xalo, over the Bernia Pass, and back. A 90-ish-km loop that included a stop at the awesome cafe Velosol.
On the way back to Calpe from Xalo and the Bernia pass 
Cafe Velosol at Xalo with Lorna and Fruit 
A rest-day walk around Olta
Calpe
The Costa Blanca is blessed with great weather while typically the rest of Europe is in the grips of winter, add in the availability of cheap accommodation (we needed an apartment, despite travelling in the van, to allow us to safely leave Zac when we were cycling), and you have possibly one of the best locations for winter-time outdoor pursuits.
However, for one brutal weekend Calpe was hit by the incredible storm Gloria. It made a total mess of the beach front – concrete benches and boats were relocated inside some of the beachfront cafes!
Luckily we and Zac got to enjoy the beach and nearby walks on our storm-free rest days though…
The walk back from the bar to our apartment! 
Zac loved the beach! 
Zac and Laetitia at the summit of the Penon d’Ifach 
The aftermath of storm Gloria on the Calpe beach
Friends
The Costa Blanca, and Calpe in particular, seems to be entirely populated with climbing friends at this time of year. Without them I’m sure it wouldn’t be nearly so much fun – thanks guys!
Pete ad Keith walking back from the Echo Valley crags 
We bumped in to Steve at the Musette cafe after climbing at Alcalali 
Andy climbing at the upper sector of Sella
Journey Home
Of course all things come to an end. 🙁 Well until the next adventure! 🙂
We made the long journey another part of the overall adventure like the way down, stopping off in some more interesting locations en-route. Perhaps the most touristic was the Roman aqueduct at Tarragona. However, the most pleasant part of the journey was the stopover with Keith and Fiona at their place in the Languedoc region of France. 🙂
The roman aqueduct at Tarragona gave us a lovely spot to stretch our legs on the long journey home 
An overnight stop on the way home with a view! 
Coffee in the van – nice!