Shiny science gleams
From towers of glass and tile
Learning straight to you.
We awoke with sand in every crevice and fold of our skin. The Saturday morning beach patrol were wandering the surf, picking up discarded party leftovers from the night before, and they were closely tailed by a sand-combing machine. I never knew that beaches were regularly groomed like this to make them flat and such.
The sleeping bag, also sand-laden, was packed up, and we noted happily that no one had messed with our bicycles overnight. We brushed excess sand off the chains, hopped on, and headed north.
Pretty immediately north of Cullera is the beginning of the park. It's hard to see why it's called a park when nothing else is, considering the fact that it was still host to things like go-kart tracks and the like, but I do suppose it was generally more green and peaceful than many roads we've been along. It was also jammed with cyclists, and a sign along the road warned motorists to be extra careful of cyclist traffic on weekends.
After some 40 kilometres of park, we hit the south end of Valencia, most particularly the City of Arts and Sciences. This is apparently one of Valencia's crown jewels: an opera house, a science museum, a dinosaur park, and Europe's largest aquarium housed in four neighbouring buildings designed by four famous architects. It's a really astonishing sight. North of these complices is a park several blocks long that branches off towards the old city. We hoped to stop in the old city for some fresh orange juice, but the café we chose actually didn't serve it. :(
We headed northwest out of Valencia towards Casinos and Pedralba, two small towns between which is the WWOOF farm where we're going to spend the next week or so. We got somewhat lost due to construction along the route we planned to take, but eventually we found ourselves in Casinos, where we called Cathy. She came to get us in an SUV that comfortably fit us, our bikes, her, and her two-year-old, Kali.
The farm was not anything like what we had expected. It wasn't a farm, really, it was a house with a bit of land, a couple gardens, and some chickens. A few carob trees and olive trees dotted the property, and there was a swimming pool with a cracked wall that lay dry. Construction trash lay scattered about. Inside the house, there is no electricity; their refrigerator runs on gas. But for all that, I think we will very much enjoy our stay here with Cathy, Bill (her partner), Joshua (her son), Ishma-al (Bill's son), Kali (Cathy and Bill's daughter), Catapila (the cat), Minnie (dog 0), Brookfield (dog 1), and Muttley (dog 2). Unfortunately all their carpentry tools were recently stolen, so we'll be sticking to gardening, from what I understand. Well, that is just fine.