Andilla-Bejís

 Andilla - Bejís

Nestor has kindly given us a lift from  Valencia to Andilla. We stopped on the way to buy sandwiches in Lliria, before climbing up to Andilla. The day was overcast because of a massive cloud of dust from the Sahara which is covering the whole of the east of Spain. 

We said goodbye and set off from Andilla at about 10:30. Of course we started off in the wrong direction.

But quickly recovered and started climbing up a river course through almond trees to la fuente del señor, where a waterfall appears from the side of a rock face. A brief stop for airing our feet and then up again following the red and white flashes. At this point I thought we were going the wrong so we backtracked and went past a rock which accessible  via a rope bridge. In following the route past this we lost our way again and ended up scrabbling over overgrown terraces before we found the right path again. Uneventful after that until our lunch stop. The scenery all around us during the morning was pretty bleak because of the grey pall over everything but mainly because this area is very badly affected by the forest fires of 2022 which burnt vast swathes of trees. Everywhere there are burnt tree trunks, upright or leaning crazily over, along with piles of logs where works to clear the land are taking place. 

We went wrong again after lunch because I wasn’t paying attention and did another unexpected kilometre. But it was a better route than the one we should have taken, which went down a rocky and boulder strewn river bed for half a mile. 

We decided not to go up to Arteas de Arriba but instead take the road via Arteas de Abajo to Bejís. This was a good decision as it gave us a tremendous view of the extraordinary terracing on the steep slopes round the villages. An amazing amount of work over centuries to make a living from the land. 

We arrived in Bejís through the Roman aqueduct and made our way to the casa Fontana where we are staying for the night. Plain and simple accommodation but clean and comfortable. Some beers at the bar followed by a walk up to the castle and illegal entry to the top for a fantastic view to all the surrounding mountains and valleys. All still very grey and overcast.

We had a light supper in one of the bars which was great and then to bed.