My friends Natalia, Salva, Voro, and Nico have a ranch.
OK, I say “friends”, but honestly Natalia and Salva feel like much more than just friends. They feel like family, like close cousins.
OK, it is not exactly a ranch.
For a number of years they have had a small bit of land up on a hill outside Canals. It was dry, and a bit barren, but it did have a view to the distance of Montesa. This year, Salva proudly announced to me that they had bought a bit of land at the edge of Annauir, their hometown.
“Want to go take a look?”
“Of course!” I answered.

The plot of land was enclosed within a fence and included a couple of sheds/outbuildings. He pointed out what would soon be his chicken coop, and a variety of fruit trees. Variety? There was at least one of just about every fruit tree you can imagine. They had not had the property very long, and he was working to fix things up a bit before the heat of summer arrived. He was placing irrigation tubing within a fabric-protected greenhouse where he would plant a variety of vegetables.

Outside, by the border fence there were roses and even some grape vines, with tiny budding grapes.

About a month later, before I headed home to Colorado, Salva took me back again. The coop had chickens clucking along who decided that perhaps my shoes were food-like substances. Vegetables were slowly growing in the garden area, and crazy snails were working their way up any vertical surface or stick.

I think it is great that their two small children would have this bit of terreno as part of their world as they grow up.

As Salva drove me back to Xàtiva I said to him, “You have a really good life here.”
He said “Yes, we are happy. A person can always want more. But if we are not satisfied with what we have, a person will never be happy.”

The weather is getting much nicer, and I decided it was high time I visited my friends Rafa and Marta who live in Ontinyent.

(click on any photo to go to an enlarged view. In that view, click again to “zoom in”.)

Rafa picked me up in Xàtiva, and they showed me their beautiful flat before we headed out to see the sights.

Very close to town is an oasis called Pou Clar (Clear Spring)

It is a tranquil haven right off a highway, but down below you can’t even hear the cars.

This park is quite extensive with a series of trails that follow the water, but one trail also climbs up the hill on the other side where there are picnic benches protected by signs that warn that picnicking is strictly forbidden. 😂😂

This area is near a spot I have often admired from the train that runs to Alcoy. As the train slips out into the open air between tunnels, there is a quick glimpse of a complex of buildings that includes what looks like a castle gate leading into the hillside. I have always been curious about it, but nobody seemed to know much about it.

Well, today, a couple of kilometers from Pou Clar, we stopped by the entrance to that site. “Al Barranc el Castell i la Noria” (the castle and wheelhouse in the ravine)

After getting that all straightened out, we headed to our next destination!

We continued up the road to the beautiful little town of Bocarient. Rhonda and I had been there a decade or more ago. From the highway, the view of the  church and the town’s jumble of old houses is stunning!

When we visited, we had heard of a hilltop bull-ring  carved out of the native stone, but had been unable to find it. Rafa navigated his car up and down a series of extremely narrow one-way streets and took us to the edge of the bull ring. I am not a fan of bull fights, but this was a very interesting sight!

Time to eat! We headed back to Ontinyent, where our treasured guide Marta led us to an elegant restaurant. The morning travels had sparked our appetites. The Salmorejo I had as my “first dish” was definitely not on my diet plan! But it was delicious!

My “second course” was “Grandma’s paella”. This wasn’t going to help my diet either! (and don’t even ask about how the wine you see in the photo fits in!) To wrap things up we each had yummy flan. OK, this probably set my weight reduction plan back a whole week, but it was so delicious!

Next, Rafa and Marta took me to the Hermita de San Esteve, which is high atop a mountain with a stunning view over the entire area. On the drive up, Rafa recounted a recent strenuous bicycle ride up to the top.

I felt as if I had worked off some of my meal’s calories just by listening to the account!

There are metal plates with all the sights you can see from this panoramic view. Of great interest me was the “compass rose” that identified which directions the view included. At the top it says south. But I was fascinated by the labels for east and west: Llevant (rise) for east, and Ponent (set) for west!

After admiring the view for a bit, we took shelter from the sun and sat for a bit to recover from the meal.

OK, time to stop lollygagging! Back to Oninyent to see the sights of the town! We headed toward the old quarter and walked past the Santa Maria church which boasts the tallest bell tower in the region.

The view across the old part of town was quite pleasant!

One roof sported a strange, intricate clock. It was a mystery. We later walked in front of the building that the clock adorned, but it was nothing special at all. Go figure. Somewhere there is a story…

On a wall, there was a painted image of a cat with wings: “The cat on the roof meowing for love”

Last but not least, two bridges over the Clariano River: One low, one high.

Back to Xàtiva now!