Excursions from Valencia

We took two excursions from Valencia. First up was to a subterranean river in the Grottoes of San Jose. The river is visited on a boat, accompanied by a Guide-Barquero, that takes you through part of the underground river (about 800 meters), and there is a short walk around the low part of the caves. In parts of the cave the water is a beautiful blue because of the minerals in the water and the depth. The origin of the river and the end of the cave is still unknown. It was very interesting to see.

Our second excursion was for Calvin’s birthday, a private wine tastings tour and tapas lunch in a wine region about an hour from Valencia (Uriel-Requena). It’s one of the areas that produces Cava and they have a Spanish red varietal called Bobal that was really nice. We had a lovely guide (French woman married to a Spaniard) who educated us on the wines of the region. We tasted wines at two places, which were a nice contrast. The first was a larger winery that had a tasting room in the small town of Requena. Under the town are a series of caves that historically were used as storage for the homes/businesses above them, during the Moorish period they were used for grains and after that they were used to age and store wine. Many are interconnected and a good amount expand under the current plaza (which used to be covered in houses). The second stop was a small family winery where we were able to taste their wines and have a tasty tapas lunch on their terrace overlooking the vines. It was a relaxing and informative day and a great way to spend Cal’s birthday.Les mer