Albufera de Anna

Sagrario has returned and the weather is absolutely gorgeous so it is time to hit the road! People would normally be hitting the malls on Boxing Day and many of them seemed to be doing so here, pandemic notwithstanding. We piled into the car, however, and headed off south towards Xàtiva, except not quite. Our destination was a town in that general neighbourhood called Anna where a pretty castle is located, but we detoured a bit to the Albufera de Anna instead.

The Albufera de Anna is a natural freshwater lake (or, rather, a lagoon) fed by springs from the nearby mountains. It is a popular destination for Valencian families to come and enjoy weekends swimming and dining at the ever-present restaurants and tapa bars, or just walking around the lake itself (it isn’t very big so the walk takes no time at all). There are also boats available for hire to explore the lake and its resident water fowl. Even on this December day there were quite a few families enjoying the lagoon though nobody was swimming or boating … though I’m told it gets very busy in the summer. I can see why people would want to come here: it really is a lovely spot, the water is very clear, and the surrounding trees very green and luscious, providing much shade when it is needed.

We did walk around it fairly quickly though I needed to stop and take many pictures of the trees and the patterns their branches make against the ridiculously blue sky. It is a habit I will not break any time soon.

After the Albufera we headed towards Anna the town, but first we made another quick stop at the first of the three Gorgos (waterfalls) the area is known for. Gorgo Gaspar is not very large but it sits in a little valley just below Anna and offers the locals a lovely spot to picnic and possibly stick a foot in the water.