Culla-Ares del Maestre

 We bought some tremendous pizza like breads from the local bread shop before setting off from Culla.

 

Pizza?

 

One of many crosses one the entrance to/exit from villages. This one in Culla.

A sign of unknown meaning at the entrance to the small town of Benassal

 

 A Shelter or Sheep Pen

 

Looking towards Ares del Maestre in the distance

The walk to Benassal was uneventful, passing a large hotel and buildings round the source of the famous Benassal spring water. It seems you can take a health break here, although it seemed completely deserted when we passed through. After Benassal it was a long climb from about 850 metres to 1260 metres above sea level. On the way I got a call from the hotel in Ares to say that they couldn't offer supper as the hotel was having some work done. There didn't seem to be any option for supper anywhere else, so we reconciled ourselves to a small fast.

In the event, they provided us with a perfectly good meal, of 'secreto iberico' which turned out to be an enormous lump of pork, chips and pudding. They were having the source of some water leakage inside the hotel investigated  so it was all a bit dusty, but interesting. It looked like they had uncovered an enormous fireplace behind the wall of the bar.