We had a great Christmas Day!

After hot drinks and breakfast we got out fairly early for a hike before things warmed up too much. In fact, we needed our sweaters for the first part because it was only 12C (54F) and there was a cool breeze. But there was a lot of blue sky and sunshine.

And, we were headed uphill so it didn't take long for us to warm up.

We could see a statue of some kind overlooking the village of Ulea, so decided to head up there.

Palm trees and blue sky.

Statue... up this way!

Stopped at the mirador (lookout) to enjoy the view.

Headed up to the statue of Jesus on his birthday.

This statue was installed overlooking Ulea in 1947.

Max is right in the center of this photo.

There he is!

The town of Ulea.

We walked back down and through the town of Ulea to the Segura River. There are pathways on both sides of the river.

The Segura River looking back at Ulea.

Zoomed in on the church in Villanueva.

Tree loaded with lemons.

Scenery along the way.

Back at Max around noon, and things had warmed up considerably. We had done just under 8 kms (5 miles), so it was a good morning hike. Then we spent forty minutes on a video call with our daughter and her family watching them open Christmas presents. 

Then we did some driving, just for a change of scenery. We headed about 43 kms west to the village of Casas Nuevas. I had read of a really nice new aire that was getting good reviews. 

Yesterday's drive 43 kms (27 miles).

Castle in Mula, Spain.

We didn't go into Mula because we had actually visited that castle when we were here in January 2017. At that time, we passed through south to north, and this time we are headed east to west. 

Arrived at the village of Casas Nuevas and parked at the entrance to the village. I had read that the drive through town to get to the motorhome parking area is a little tight and that you are wise to walk it first to make sure you can actually do it. 

So I set off on a walk and left Ruth with Max. Sure enough, it was tight but the way the cars were parked would allow enough room for Max. I walked all the way to the aire, and there were four or five other vans there, but there were enough spots for probably 20. So it wasn't busy at all. 

Back at Max, we did the drive through the village. When I had walked it, there had been no traffic at all. Of course this wasn't the case when I drove Max! Ruth took a video for you... turn up your volume...

Got Max parked up. This aire has nice wide marked off sites, almost like a campground. It's brand new, and well thought out. There is supposed to be a 48 hour maximum, but when it's not busy I doubt it's enforced. We'll take some pictures of it today for you.

We had a late lunch and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

Then Ruth made us a delicious roast pork Christmas dinner.

Ready for the oven.

And ready to eat!

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