As yesterdays walk was a longish one we decided to do a shorter one today, Just under 4km, a pleasant enough route – the beach was beautiful and empty. The only people that I saw were fishing off the Jetty.
One of the things that I find really good about Valencia so far, is that none of the parking required has needed to be paid for. In the UK if you want to go on a nature walk then to park the car safely you normally have to pay for a space in a pay and display.
The weather for this walk was nice and warm, about 22 deg C, and the dogs are getting better acclimatised to being here.
For me the challenge has been driving on the other side of the road. Having been here a few days now, I feel as though this is something that I am less worried about. Initially I was very scared that instinctively I would start to drive on the wrong side when juggling navigation, driving, looking for parking, fatigue etc, I have obviously been concentrating hard whilst driving and have noticed the following whilst here.
1. The local drivers do not like being overtaken by an English car and driver, they also won’t let you out or help you in any way which is a touch frustrating – be aware of this and make sure that you factor it in at junctions.
2. The traffic light system is quite creative here. I believe that there are a number of more complicated traffic light combinations that we do not have in the UK. I have noticed the following:-
Green is go as in the UK
Flashing Amber means proceed if there is nothing in the way ie. car, pedestrian, cyclist etc.
So now for the red traffic lights….
I have named them the following way for ease of my understanding
Red/Green – just after the pedestrian crossing man has turned red, the traffic light is still red but you should go in a way reminiscent of the start of a drag race.
Green/Red – So as soon as the traffic light has turned red for your lane of traffic you should put your foot down as though the devil is chasing you and get through that junction
Then there is just Red, which means Stop.
I hope this clarifies the various differences in the traffic light junctions. It has taken me sometime to fully understand and appreciate these traffic laws.
I will update you further tomorrow….
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