Xabia, Spain
May 5-13See photos below
While planning this journey from the comfort of home, one focus we aimed to achieve was trying to visit lesser-known or smaller cities, compared to major cities. Xabia fit the bill perfectly. It is a hilly, coastal town situated about two hours south of Valencia, and on a clear day you can see Ibiza from the shores. I hadn’t even heard of it until I was told that a family friend lived there. It was an opportunity to discover a new place while also having the opportunity to connect with Harold, Liza, and their daughter Ramona, my family friends who live right outside of the city. After the bus dropped us in town, we walked to a nearby market to fill our fridge for the week we would be up in the hills. With our hands full, we asked a worker to call us a cab. Driving through the old town and up the ridge to the property was one of the most beautiful drives either of us had ever seen. The small road hugged the side of the mountain and we took in the fresh views as we climbed to the top to settle into our home for the next week. The majority of our stay would be up on their property in a “castle” that Liza’s dad built back in the 70’s from the ground up. There are three properties, including the castle, that are located on the land where they live. It is a magical place where time seems to move just a little slower. Outside on the deck was where we spent much of our time eating dinner, drinking wine, and enjoying the views of the nearby mountain framing the picturesque scene in front of us.
After some home cooked shrimp tacos, it was time to watch the sunset and get some rest. While it was enticing to sleep all day, we knew we wanted to get up early to hike down to the water and see the small town that lay below. The hike was beautiful, the weather was perfect and we even took a dip in the water at the rocky beach. A cold beer was much needed when we got back. We enjoyed the rest of the day on the property reading and playing cribbage.
That night, however, was much less relaxing for me. At one point we accidentally left the window open, so the room was full of mosquitoes. Trying to fall asleep was a nightmare with constant buzzing in my ears. I ended up staying awake all night and into the morning, starting, and finishing, a book. It was definitely a long night, but being awake to watch the night turn into morning with a beautiful sunrise made it worth it.
The next few days were on par with the first. We enjoyed the views, hiked, cooked, watched the sunsets, and hung out with our family friends on the property. The last night there, we were treated to a lovely dinner with some fresh bread that Liza baked, as well as other snacks that their friends who were visiting brought to the house. After some food and red wine we walked outside to watch the sunset, which turned out to be one of the most magical sights of the trip.
Living (nearly) off the grid was a very unique experience in Xabia, especially coming from such the big city in San Francisco. Having to conserve electricity, use less water, and overall be conscious is nothing new to me. Having it be a necessity, however, puts into perspective the amount of resources we use on a daily basis, and how fortunate of a situation I am in to be able to have most resources available at my fingertips.
Our original plan was to take a bus to Murcia from Xabia, but life presented us with a different opportunity that was impossible to pass up. When we went out for coffee one morning with Harold, we ran into one of his and Liza’s friends who is also an expat from the US living in town. After sitting down and chatting for about a half hour about our plans to leave, she told us that she was leaving for a few days and would love if we stayed at her house. We gratefully accepted.
As we packed up our stuff and headed down to where our new accommodation was, we didn’t know what to expect. Making our way through town, we started to notice the houses getting nicer. As we pulled up to the front gate of the house, our jaws were on the floor. The house was beautiful with a classic Spanish style about it. There was a pool in the front with a huge covered patio and a beautiful living space inside. We enjoyed our time there doing some cooking, reading outside and enjoying the tranquility of the house. After three days there, it was time to say our farewells. Our time spent in Xabia was incredible seeing friendly faces, meeting new people, and exploring the beauty of the region. We now had a hefty eight hour bus ride ahead of us to reflect and look forward to our next destination, Granada, for a mix of city and mountain living where we would be climbing, hiking, and exploring a new city yet again.
