Friday, September 17th, 2004: Valencia, Spain

N 39
W 000

Granada to Valencia: 567 kilometres

The Costa Brava is north of Barcelona on the Mediterranean, and today we begin 2 days of driving, stopping in Valencia for the night which is about the half-way point.

From Granada we climb into the Sierra Nevada, and cross from Andalucia into Murcia. Although the landscape changes from mountains to flat, dry, plains, olive trees continues to stretch to the horizon.

When we cross into Valencia, however, the change is dramatic and fast. We move into lush green valleys, full of orange trees, and coastal cities that are full of high-rise apartment towers for the visitors who flock to the beaches of the Spanish coast. We stop in such a town, Benidorm, for lunch, and are glad that we are not spending any more time here.

We get to Valencia and find our hotel, open only 1 month and stuck far out of the city in a brand-new neighbourhood, where the oldest building appears to be about 1 week older than our hotel.

We opt for pizza in the lobby and an early night.