June 15 - Denia, Spain to Ashcraft's Camp North of Malaga, Spain

Sunday
Having finished our extra day's stay at Ogisaka Gardens in Denia, we packed up and walked wearing our backpacks for the mile back to the bus station in downtown Denia to catch the 9:45 a.m. bus to Malaga.



After our late morning arising for so many days, we had to uncharacteristically set our alarm clock! Luckily, Verle woke up on time on his own, because I had set the alarm for 7 p.m. instead of a.m. Perhaps the European practice of using military time (17:00, etc.) is better, because it would avoid such errors.
We were very happy with our decision to go to Malaga by bus instead of train, because we didn't have to worry about any connections or train reservations. We could see the countryside very well from our bus windows. The bus followed the coast to Alicanti and then went inland through Elx, Murcia, Lorea, and Granada. As we went farther west and south, the mountains became rougher as we drove higher. One mountain still has snow on top of it. We went through some areas that looked like we had imagined Spain would be -- rocky, hilly, and dry. Some areas that were terraced long ago no longer have crops growing on them. But we were surprised that so much of the area we traveled through was green and very productive.



Trees have been planted everywhere, including to the top of many mountains. Some are nut trees; closer to Granada most are olive trees. We wonder how all of this is harvested and marketed.



We drove into many towns to stop at bus stations all along the way. Sometimes we stopped for 15 - 30 minutes. There seems to be much construction going on in the cities of Spain. Many big cranes dot the landscape.
We see MacDonalds stores all over Spain. I have no desire to eat American food while we are in Europe -- BUT some of David's pancakes and eggs on Saturday morning with Dave's family around would be SUCH a treat! We enjoy the hard rolls and salad for breakfast, but we do miss home so much!
Glenn Ashcraft picked us up at the train station. He had "Stahr" written on a piece of paper, so we connected easily. He had brought two campers into town; we were glad he hadn't had to make a special trip, because it's 40 minutes north of Malaga to the camp. The Malaga team had just won a soccer match, and there was a lot of slow traffic. We got to the camp and met Sue and visited awhile. Then Glenn got us some food and showed us to the cabin where we will be staying. It is very comfortable -- and lovely here. We will enjoy these days!