The río Amadorio rises in Relleu, gathers the río de Sella in the reservoir that sits on the boundary between Orxeta and La Vila Joiosa, and runs down through the town to the sea. Up that valley are three small municipalities: Orxeta, with 934 people in 2024, Relleu with 1,373 and Sella with 622. Orxeta has doubled its population in thirty years, and Sella’s crags draw climbers in winter.
They are all covered by the same locksmith service as the town. What is different is the distance, and the dark.
What to expect from the drive
A call-out up the valley takes longer than one across town. Roads climb, villages are spread out, and some houses are well outside the village itself. When you ring, you are told roughly how long the drive looks from where the van is at that moment. It is an estimate, not a promise, and you can decide to wait or to stay elsewhere for the night.
How to be found
Village addresses can be vague, and a house outside the village may have no street name at all.
- Name the village and the part of it: the centre, a named partida, the road you took out of the village.
- Send a WhatsApp location pin from the gate, not from the village square. If it will not send from there, send it from the nearest point where it does, and say how far that is from the house.
- Describe the last turn: a sign, a bend, the house you passed before yours.
- Say whether the van can reach the gate, or should stop on the road.
Where to wait
- Somewhere warm and lit. Evenings inland can be cooler than on the coast. A neighbour’s house, a bar in the village, or your car if you have it.
- Not on the road. If you must wait outside, stay well off the carriageway and keep your phone torch ready to wave the van down.
- Charged phone. If the battery is low, say so on the first call, so the arrangements are made before it dies.
If the lockout happens at the crag
Climbers sometimes lock the car keys inside at the car park below the crags, or lose them on the walk-in. A car opened is a separate job with its own rules, and the same advice on location applies.
If you have come from hospital
People from the valley who are sent home from the Hospital Marina Baixa without keys have the longest journey of all. The guide to getting home from hospital without your keys is worth reading before leaving the ward.
Every village and part of the town covered is on the call-out area page. For the call itself, see the emergency locksmith service.