Unexpected news and an old road

 Spain has so many roads like this. Once the trucks of commerce competed for road space with the considerably fewer cars of casual motoring and petrol stations, wayside inns and convenient petrol stations. No more.  The A-92N came and took away their lifeblood.  Some parts get reinvented, some dwindle.  We are going to pass a few remnants on our way into Chirivel. 




The restaurant San Luis is permanently closed.  It has three reviews. Two were from 7 years ago, one from five.  Altogether they gave an average of 3.7 stars and said two words ‘Unknown zone…’




Chirivel lived on the road and now has spread a little either side.  About 1500 live in the wider municipality.   We haven’t done this for a while but demographically it rose from 2350 in 1860, rose gently tp 3650 in 1950 and then went into a slightly sharper decline.  The place has been a PSOE strong-hold, having fallen to the PP only between 1995-1999. The present mayor is Jose Torregosa Mota, who has held the post since 2019.   If you watch you can see him on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GBRMV4gKl8  He also appears in the Daily Mirror on 10th December 2025 talking about a 73 Brit, Geraldine Ann, who went missing in September. She has recently been found dead by the side of the motorway.  This is not what I expected when I started an internet trawl.





There is still a place to eat in town, El Chiringuito - a bar and grill. It gets 4.5 stars and yesterday Francisco said ‘Quality, quantity, friendliness, a tremendous place to eat in a quiet atmosphere. A 10 out of 10.’  Its virtues means it has lost a star as, three months ago, Estefania wrote ‘Good food, large plates. We loved the Caesar salad and cheesecake. We had to wait a bit to be served, but it was packed.



We are going past an organic shop. Let’s pop in. Vegavilanos gets 4.9 stars from 38 reviews. Natalia reckoned ‘The best pistachio butter I've ever tasted. Perfect texture and even better flavor. Looking forward to trying the rest of their nut butters.’   Cristpp felt ‘The products are delicious, including the vegetable sobrasada, the aioli sauce, and the tapenades… delicious, organic, and natural. Highly recommended’



So we head out of town and to the junction with the motorway. Our path runs alongside it, on a track left to keep the fields accessible.  The roundabout is dedicated to struggle against domestic violence.











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