Good news!

We left the university parking lot in Tarragona at about 8am. Paid the €5.95 ($8.50 CAD, $6.25 USD) at the automatic pay machine, and that was that. Nice peaceful night. Certainly a reasonable cost for 24 hours of secure parking in the city.

And, Tuesday was the Constitution Day public holiday in Spain. Oddly, Thursday will also be a public holiday. So we need to make sure we stop at a grocery store today because they will be closed tomorrow.

Anyhow, because it was a holiday yesterday morning, there was very little traffic on the roads at 8am. We drove about 30 kms (18 miles) south on the main highway to a big truck stop fuel station that had all the services, including propane refill at a good price.

I filled one of Max's tanks at €0.88 a liter. Not quite as cheap as it was in Andorra, but still good.

Then, I took advantage of the high powered pressure washer to give Max a quick bath. He was still covered in muck from when we did that wet snowy drive to Andorra. 

Giving Max a bath.

The pressure washer was pretty cheap. €1 ($1.43 CAD, $1.05 USD) for 4 minutes. 

4 minutes doesn't sound like much, but it was enough to get him soaped up with hot water for the first euro, and rinsed off with cold for the second. He looks much better!

Then, we headed inland. But not very far. Just up to the tiny village of Castello where there was access to a lot of hiking trails, and good overnight spot for Max.

The main highway is in good shape.

But then we had to turn off onto a narrow (but thankfully paved) road to get up to the village. Ruth took a video for you...

But, we ended up at a really nice spot.

Max, at GPS 41.011525, 0.849175

We had some lunch and went for a hike. 

This hike looked like we could do a circular route up to a viewpoint, with a stop at a cave along the way. We like there to be a destination for our hikes... either a view, or a cave, or a waterfall, or something. And circular hikes are better than the ones the are in and out on the same path.

The village of Castello.

Starting to get a view.

Ruth, on the trail.

She made a comment that it was kind of like a jungle in there!

Lots of trail signs though.

Me, at the cave.

Not much of a cave really, just a big rock overhang. 

The entrance.

Looking out from inside the overhang.

We continued on up to the viewpoint...

That's where we're headed!

Scenery along the way.

Our path eventually hooked on to this narrow concrete road. 

But it was very steep, probably a 45 degree angle.

Great overnight spot with a view.

Pretty sure you would need a 4x4 to get up here though.

Looking down on the town of Vandellos.

Scenery from the viewpoint.

Us, enjoying the view.

Bit of smog in the air looking towards Barcelona.

Can you see Max?

Here, I'll zoom in for you.

And a bit more.

Zoomed in on the Mediterranean Sea.

An odd little shelter up by the antennas.

Me, and the view.

Really good hike. We did about 7 kms (4.5 miles). Felt great to get out and get some exercise and fresh air. Temperature was about 17C (63F), so perfect hiking weather.

Slept great... so peaceful and quiet.

Oh, I almost forgot... I mentioned that we had some good news. We have re-activated our Trusted Housesitters account. Although we have done some house sitting recently, it was through friends rather than through the website. But we thought it might be fun to do some short sits throughout the year if they are along our route. 

And, we've been approved for the first one! We'll be stopping into a home near Valencia this weekend for a three night stay looking after Diezel a 13 year old golden retriever, a couple of rabbits, and a hamster!

So, we're looking forward to getting our doggie fix.

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And in Canada...

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