#9: [01-Mar-24]

#8: [28-Jun-19]

#7: [20-Mar-18]

#6: [09-Jul-15]

#5: [24-Feb-14]

#4: [10-May-13]

#3: [27-Oct-06]

#2: [01-Apr-01]

#1: [31-Mar-01]

02-Apr-2025 -- I had already visited this confluence point 11 years earlier on a bicycle trip in the València region. But by chance I came into the area again on my long walk from Portugal to Singapore.

On confluence day I started hiking in the morning in the holiday winter ghost town of Playa de Nules. When I stepped out this morning, I was surprised by an unexpected downpour. Since it hadn’t rained in a long time, I had to dig my rain gear out from the bottom of my backpack. By the time I was finally ready to set off, the rain had stopped—and not a single drop fell for the rest of the day. At noon, hungry and walking along a quiet, nondescript road through orange groves, I was just looking for a place to sit and eat my packed lunch when—out of nowhere—a lone chair appeared in front of me. I sat down and leisurely enjoyed my meal. But before I could finish, a car suddenly pulled up, and a heavily made-up woman was dropped off right where I was sitting. She marched over and informed me I was sitting on *her* chair! It was bizarre—there wasn’t a soul in sight, yet here I was, being evicted from my spot. Only then did I realize I’d taken her workplace! I promptly vacated the seat, and we struck up a conversation. Turns out, she used to work on Zurich’s infamous Langstrasse.

Less than an hour later, I crossed from the Western Hemisphere to the Eastern Hemisphere—I’d passed the Greenwich Meridian! The rest of my journey will now unfold entirely in the east. Today also marked my crossing of the 40th parallel north. And, of course, I visited the spot where the Prime Meridian and the 40th parallel intersect, getting within 13 meters of the exact point. The exact location can only be visited if the private owners are at home. This was not the case at the time of my visit. I call such locations—where coordinates are divisible by ten—"hyperconfluence points." There are only about 200 of these on land worldwide. Just 120 meters from this spot, there’s even a "Meridian Park" with a monument and informational plaques. The slight offset likely dates back to 1988, when the park was built—before GPS standardized coordinates under the WGS84 system, and local surveying systems have typically around 100 to 200 metres offset.

After that, I continued my long walk and spent the night in a magic games hotel in the coastal town Orpesa.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to the road: 15 m
• Time to reach the CP from the road: 0 min
• Time at the CP: 1:18 PM
• Measured height: 6 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 13 m
• Position accuracy: 5 m
• Topography: flat
• Vegetation: garden land, flower pots
• Weather: cloudy, 16° C (felt temperature)
• Given Name: The Meridian Park Confluence

You are very welcome to visit my blog of the long hike. If you want to see where I am currently hiking, you can find my daily update on Polarsteps.