Parc de Capçalera
There are more parks here than just the Jardins del Túria, you know … sometimes they even grow out of Túria itself. On this Sunday we decided to go beyond what we had already seen on the way to Bombas Gens and continue to the end of Túria where the Parc de Capçalera can be found.
On the way there I was rather surprised how few people were out and about; normally I’m used to seeing lots of walkers, runners, bikers, but for some strange reason, in this part of the Túria and on this Sunday afternoon, there was practically nobody in sight. Very strange. Nevertheless, I did get to enjoy some beautiful bougainvillea that was growing on one of the sides of the old river wall … the size and colours were simply incredible and the fact that they were still in full bloom in December really blew my mind. I know, I know, I keep saying that, but that plant really makes me so happy … I’m weird that way.
The Parc de Capçalera is a lovely spot to come with the family and walk around but the funnest part are the duck- and other weird creature-shaped pedal boats which were all sitting lined up against the dock. The water here is part of the old river that used to flow through the Jardins del Túria but it was diverted back in the 1950s to avert occasional but devastating flooding. The new river bed lies east of the city now. There is a nice little restaurant by the dock, as well, so of course we had to stop in and drink some claras while spotting a number of dogs who were also hanging out. For some reason I only have a photo of one of them, but there were definitely at least two more. Sometimes I think I’ve taken a photo of something only to find out that I only thought that and didn’t actually do it (as in this case) or sometimes my phone eats them (as in the case at a couple of museums, so far).
There is one more special park that’s in this part of the city: Bioparc València or the local zoo, but it’s not a place you go on a spur of the moment but rather it’s better to wait for a ticket promotion and book a whole day for the experience. I’m told it’s one of those open-air zoos where animals have lots of space similar to the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Langley. I will visit it one day when the weather is nice and the deal is even better.
Tired from all that walking, we decided to take the bus back into town, only we forgot to wave at our bus to stop so it didn’t … lesson learned. This meant we got to explore one of the many “Chinese” stores that are basically what you know as “Dollar Stores” … since we had a bit of time I actually spent some of it exploring its labyrinthine depths and was amazed at the sheer volume of stuff you can buy there though why I would be surprised at a Dollar Store in Spain I do not know, it’s not like we have an exclusive hold on cheap goods from China.
