Spain Road trip | Altea, Mojacar, and Guadix

Our last week in Spain we rented a car and spent a week driving from Valencia to Seville. Our plan was to not have a plan. Or at least a very loose one. We left on Tuesday and had to get to Seville by the next Tuesday, and that was about it. After being carless for the greater part of two years we were really looking forward to the freedom that a car would allow us. We could go anywhere we wanted, whenever we wanted, all without buying tickets! We didn’t even have to pack our suitcases so meticulously because, hey, just throw it in the trunk! The joy.

The first place we stopped was Altea. It’s a small town less than two hours south of Valencia on the coast. We stayed just long enough to down a pitcher of sangria, sweat profusely walking up a never ending incline to our hostel, enjoy mojitos and a sunset on the beach, and skid both of my knees on the street (they should really have signs warning against carrying overweight backpacks while walking down steep streets). All of which took less than 24 hours, in case you’re wondering.

The next morning we drove to Mojacar, another small coastal town. It’s really a neat town with great views, but we got there right during siesta time which meant there wasn’t a lot going on. So we ate another great meal (plus more sangria) and then wandered around a bit before hitting the road again.

When I said we didn’t have a plan, I meant that nothing was set in stone, but I would be lying (and not fooling anyone) if I said that I didn’t research places along our route and have an idea of places we wanted to see. One of the places that did not make the list, because of time constraints, was Guadix. It was going to be a little out of the way and we just thought it would be rushing too much to try and make it there. But when we decided to leave Mojacar early we figured that we could make time for an overnight stop in Guadix, and I was stoked. Ever since I had read about the people in Guadix that lived in caves, I wanted to visit one. Well we ended up booking this great cave at the last minute so we could experience life as cave-dwellers for a night. It was such a fun and unique experience. What started out as a place to skip over, turned out to be one of the most memorable stops on our trip. Life with a car, I’m telling you.

Next up: Granada, Jaén, and Seville