Farewell to the Sea

Day 10: Farewells are never pleasant. Today we set off from Sagunto. We probably won't see the Mediterranean again on this vacation. I have a strange relationship with the sea. We don't lie on the beach in the sun from morning to night. It's also not that I gaze out at the water for hours. But it's important to me that it exists. I need to hear it, the roar and crashing of the waves on the shore. And I love the play of sunlight on the dark blue, the sparkle and glimmer mixed with a warm breeze of sea air and its salty scent. Yes, I admit it, I will miss that. Just like Renate, who fit in well with our group with her uncomplicated and sincere nature. We will see her again – at the latest on our joint adventure in Morocco ...

So we set off around 10 am for Valdepeñas, a city of 30,000 inhabitants that offers a place for an overnight stay halfway to Carmona – our first stop on the Silver Route. The drive went smoothly so far. The landscape with its bright red earth and countless almond trees in delicate pink and white captivated our attention. I nearly forgot that I actually needed to fuel up. We wanted to stop at the next gas station, but none appeared. Should we leave the A7 highway and look for a gas station off the beaten path? Ickes Google on my phone presented a gas station 286 kilometers away and offered to direct us there. I politely declined ...

When I finally decided to leave the highway, I saw a sign in the distance with the inscription Repsol. There we go! Of course, we filled up completely. You won't believe it, from then on we passed a gas station every five kilometers. Gas station after gas station. Every brand. It was just missing a gas attendant waving at us from the roadside with a fuel nozzle ...

Tomorrow we set off. Carmona. Day one on the Silver Route.