In Valencia as an outsider: Caves and Hot Springs- another awesome day trip from Valencia

So, summer is here and what to do on a 32C day? Anything that involves water is a good idea. With Tristan and Erica we went north of Valencia ~ 1 1/2 hours to bask in the summer day and eat ridiculous amounts of fruit.

Our trip route

Before I get into touristy stuff, some weird/new to me fruits I have discovered since living here. Valencia and the surrounding areas do no just grow oranges (and lots of delicious cherries, different plum varieties and so much more). I am amazed that everything grows here and is delicious and fresh and incredibly cheap.

1) Loquats: These fruits need to be peeled and have three very smooth, slippery pits. Not too sweet but delicious and a bit different.

2) Spanish melon = Green Tendral melon = Elche honeydew which the internet tells me are difficult to know when they are ripe. Luckily it is melon season here and any one you pick from a market/fruit stall/supermarket will be because the locals know. Super delicious and sweet!

3) Saturn peach or paraguayo peach: firmer and sweeter (but still super juicy) than a regular peach. And now is the season!

Now I'll leave food blogging as there are enough of those blogs so I leave it to the experts- I just get excited about delicious ripe fruit that is reasonably priced and readily available (I do love Canadian apples in the fall and the short berry/peach season but it's nice to have more variety than in Eastern Ontario too...)

Our first stop was the underground river in Vall d'Uixo, the Grutas de San José. For 10 euros you get a 40 minute ~1.5 km roundtrip boat tour with a short walk (no spelunking required) of the caves and if you don't understand Spanish, and extra euro will get you an audio guide in your language of choice. A relaxed experience, and neat due to the extent of the caves. For those who hate bats don't fear- these caves have been bat-free for the past 30 years.

The main event of the day was, of course, Montenejos, with its hot spring fed river. We didn't know where exactly along the river was "the best" and since we arrived at 2:30, the tourist office was closed (like most tourist offices in Spain it is closed 2-5pm every day for lunch). We swam in many beautiful spots in the river until we got to the north? end and saw what folks rave about. A "super chulo" super chill day that I would definitely recommend to anyone!

The north end of the river where you can swim up and encounter waterfalls and pools of different temperatures. This internet photo doesn't really do it justice.