Our original plan after Lisbon was to drive back to Spain and drive the whole way to Siurana, a climbing paradise a couple of hours from Barcelona. After some windy and chilly weeks in Portugal, and minus degrees during the night just outside Madrid, we decided on a little detour back to warmer areas in Costa Blanca. We spent some beautiful days with climbing in Mula and went back to one of our favorites Hidden Valley in Sella.
Family on tour.
Pit stop in Plasencia
Our first stop after Lisboa. We found a campsite to stay a couple of nights to rest before we continued driving. Plasencia is a charming village, not far from Madrid. We had a short walk on the marked and in the old town — a very relaxing place. The campsite, Camping la Chopera was good too. A lot of space, hot water in the shower and cheap. So we’re happy. It was during our nights here that we decided to go back to Benidorm and climb in Hidden Valley in Sella again.
The old town in Plasencia.
Camping in Bullas and climbing in Mula
We had to make a stop before Benidorm and met up again with Chris and Dick to climb in Mula, not far from Murcia. We stayed at camping La Rafa in Bullas, a cozy little town with lots of hiking possibilities just outside the campsite. The campsite had large, leveled pitches, and was nice and clean. Super quiet on weekdays and in the weekends it was full of life with locals coming. We had a few climbing days in Mula, which offers plenty of sectors and also new routes in sectors that aren’t in the Rockfax Costa Blanca guidebook. You can find PDF’s of these sectors online.
View from one of the climbing sectors in Mula.
One of the days we went climbing in Mula, was really warm. Miriam is trying to cool down in the shade.
Another day it was lots of wind and a bit chilly. Suitable for climbing and friction, but not always Smula’s choice of preference.
Salto Del Usero.
Finestrat – Climbing in Sella, Hidden Valley
We almost made a big mistake on this one! We planned to drive back to the campsite we stayed at last time we visited Benidorm. To be sure they had pitches available we emailed them a day in advance. It turned out they were full and had been since Christmas. Luckily we found Camping Puig Campana, just outside of Finestrat, which was closer to Sella and the climbing crags. We didn’t have any problems by driving to the campsite and the owner there is super friendly. We’re so glad that we went to this campsite. The pitches are big, leveled, and the sanitary facilities are excellent.
Climbing in Hidden Valley was cold, but so much fun. We are looking forward to the next visit to this crag already.
A friend of ours, Jon Anders, was in Benidorm at the same time, so we met up with him for lunch in Benidorm. He was there for work and had a day off. Last time we’re in Benidorm we only went to the side where the «old» people hang out, not the “party” side. Even though it’s the low season, the streets were full of life and drunk people in the middle of the day. Fun to watch!
Next up, climbing in Siurana.
Climbing in Hidden Valley in Sella.
Rest day with hiking and exploring in Finestrat.
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