Spanish Trip 7 - Delta de l'Ebre to Stratford upon Avon

25 – 31 October

The long and winding road

The next destination after Delta de l'Ebre was Collioure just beyond the Spanish - French border. We chose a site close to the town so that we could walk in, despite the steep incline out of the site and equally steep descent into the town. Never mind, it was worth the exertion! First priority was to find a cafe or bar showing the England - New Zealand world cup rugby semi-final, to please rugby fans John, Clive and Barbara. We found one straight away and enjoyed the match over coffee and croissants, especially as England won.

 

Tense moment during the game

John and I then went for a walk to the church, which has also been used as a lighthouse, the breakwater around the harbour

Church at Collioure

and the old town, with its profusion of craft and artisan shops, before choosing one of the many restaurants for menu du jour in the sunshine. A second walk led us around the foot of the castle after which we called Louise, to wish her happy birthday (yes, we still know what the day and date is!) and boarded the tourist train, which took us high above the town. The commentary covered local history and told us how the olives were almost ready to be harvested and would be turned into oil at the 14th century mill. It also explained that the vineyards were built on terraces dating back hundreds of years. We had a brief stop at the viewpoint

Viewpoint over Collioure

before descending and passing through Port Vendres, which is the first port north of the Spanish border and all bananas consumed in France arrive via this port. As well as the commercial side, there is a marina and fishing industry based here. The boats go out at night and use lights to dazzle and catch the fish.  Collioure was a delightful place to end the main part of the trip. We now have three long days of driving to get back to Calais.

We were tempted to go back into Collioure next day to watch the Wales - South Africa rugby semi-final but that would have put us under time pressure so we hoped a service station might be showing the match. This was not to be, but we did get reception on the tv in the van so were able to follow the final stages of the match.

Motorcaravan becomes TV lounge

We had another stop for lunch at the Millau Viaduct, which we have seen before but impressed us once again.

Millau Viaduct

There was fantastic scenery along the way through the Massif Central, with lots of ascents and descents. Our overnight stop was at a site in Orcet, where we have stayed before.

The following day it was a 300 mile slog on motorways towards Troyes, in wet or dull weather. In the absence of anything else of interest to report, I'll share the following about Thiers, a town we passed, which is "a major historical centre of knife manufacturing; seventy percent of French pocket knives, kitchen and table knives are produced in Thiers. The knowledge and craft of the Thiernois cutlers are over seven centuries old".  You never know, you may need to know that one day!

There are not too many sites open now so the one we targeted at Geraudot was a bit out in the sticks but gave us a home for the night. It was raining when we got up, so plans to have a look around were abandoned. However, before leaving we did do a bit of birdwatching from Barbara and Clive's van (motorhomes make excellent bird hides!) and we saw a buzzard perched in a tree, redstart, willow tit and flocks of giant crane flying overhead - Clive reckoned there were over 300. As we left Geraudot we saw a sign for a Velovoie (cycle route) and for future reference, this seemed to be the 42 km route between St Julien les Villas near Troyes and Dienville on the edge of the lakes in the Parc Naturel Regional de la Foret d'Orient.

Although dry as the journey progressed on the A26 (aptly called the Autoroute des Anglais) it was quite chilly and the trees were all changing colour so we must face reality, it's autumn! 

An evening meal in Le Touquet was a great way to celebrate a very successful and enjoyable trip. Even at 7 pm most of the shops were open and the town was very lively. The ornate church and town hall and the covered market all looked very interesting.

Le Shuttle carried us efficiently back to Kent, where we had a final night at Bearsted so we could visit Mum before the last leg home.

A few figures to finish with:

Number of days away – 39

Number of sites - 20

Total miles - 4,066

And the only time we got held up in traffic was on our way back into Stratford. Welcome home!

Spanish Trip 6 - Cabo de Gata to Delta de l'Ebre

21 - 25 October

Take the long way home

On arrival in the Cabo de Gata area we dutifully followed the helpful signs to our chosen campsite. We had just taken the last turning when a lady in a car flagged us down and told us the campsite was closed. We found out later that this was due to the horrendous weather they had in south east Spain in September. So we diverted to an alternative site, which was just a bit further from where we had planned to be.

John and I had a short walk to the "beach" in the late afternoon. This is a former volcanic area and the landscape looked rather lunar. In fact, this location has been used for numerous film sets.

Next day we drove back to the Cabo de Gata lighthouse, which is supposed to be good to photograph but we didn't think it was especially wonderful.

However, we did stop at a bird hide near the salt pans and saw a large number of flamingos in the distance wading at a great pace through the water as they fed.  You will need to zoom in!!!

Next morning we woke to heavy rain, as forecast, and set off towards Valencia. The landscape in the Cabo de Gata area is at times obliterated by huge plastic tunnels and greenhouses, making it look really unattractive, but we aren't sure exactly what is grown in them.

Approaching Valencia the regional crop became oranges, or probably clementines. This led me to do a bit of googling and I quote

“Blessed with fertile soil and a sunny Mediterranean climate, the plains around the city, stretching up to the aptly named Costa de Azahar or orange blossom coast in Castellon, produce tons of citrus fruits every year.  From November, when the first clementines appear, to the late navel harvests in May, Valencia is a true orange feast!”

The site we had chosen was actually on the edge of the Albufera Natural Park where infrastructure has been removed to reclaim the land for a nature reserve. Good weather had resumed and we had a pleasant walk to the beach next morning 

and later did a short bike ride on an excellent cycle track through the pine forest, which actually goes right into Valencia 12 miles away. Valencia would definitely warrant a return visit, as it has some amazing modern architecture as well as an old town and in the Albufera Natural Park you can take a trip on old fishing boats on the lagoon from El Palmar.

Then north through the edge of a rather busy Valencia (was that really the best route, satnav?) along the coast (Costa del Azahar) past some areas of densely packed high-rise hotels to the aire at Delta de Lebre.  After a quick lunch in the van we went off on our bikes, using the cycle lanes between the now-flooded rice fields.

This is not the best time to see lots of different birds but with guidance from the experts, Barbara and Clive, we spotted grey heron, great white egret, cattle egret, little egret, glossy black ibis, marsh harrier, swamp hen, sandpiper, as well as assorted ducks and gulls and the turquoise flash of two kingfishers. The mosquitoes came out in force from early evening so we stayed holed up in the 'van out of their reach. This was our last night in Spain and next morning we set off north towards the French border. It was a beautiful clear morning and the mountains stood out against the sky like cardboard cut outs.

Spanish Trip Maps

Better late than never!
These were prepared at home and should have been posted at the beginning of the blog.  There have been minor changes but give the general sense of direction.

Calais to Salamanca

Salamanca to Valencia

Valencia to Calais

Spanish Trip 5 - Cordoba to Cabo de Gata

13 - 20 October

Walls and bridges

There was a bus service, albeit infrequent, from the site at Villafranca to Cordoba, which we used on both the days we were there. On the first day our priority was to visit the cathedral/ mosque (mezquita) - just as well, as most other sights were closed on Mondays!

A bit of history …. A Christian church was originally founded on the site in AD600 but was converted into a mosque in 785. Since then it was enlarged four times giving it a capacity of 40,000. In 1236 the mosque was reconverted to a Christian church after Ferdinand III of Castile recaptured Cordoba.  Instead of destroying the mosque, the overawed Christians elected to modify it and various changes have been made in the intervening 700+ years.  In 2004 Spanish Muslins petitioned to be able to worship in the Mezquita again, but the Vatican withheld its consent.

We spent a good two hours following our audio guides and were enthralled by the Mezquita arches, the Capilla Mayor (the Gothic church commissioned by Charles V in the 16^th century and planted in the middle of the mosque), the cathedral choir, the mihrab (a scallop shaped prayer niche facing Mecca added in the 10^th century)…..  The visit ends where it began, in the Patio de los Naranjos, a shady courtyard of orange trees.

Mezquita Arches

Ceiling of Capilla Mayor

Mihrab

A walk across the Roman bridge, a quick look at the Moorish water wheel, and a wander through the Jewish quarter filled the rest of day one.

Roman Bridge

Moorish Water Wheel

Cordoba is well- known for its pretty patios of container plants and we planned to visit a selection on Tuesday - except that they choose Tuesday as their day of closure. I think we had a misunderstanding at the tourist office! However, a couple of them had rebelled and were in fact open.

Patio

We also trekked across the other side of town to Palacio de Viana, where the garden comprises 12 individually themed patios. 

We were underwhelmed by the Alcazar (fortress) although the gardens were attractive.

Gardens at Alcazaar

The flamenco centre gave us an insight into the history of flamenco, which set the scene for the performance we attended in the evening. The guitarist, singer and five dancers were first class, exuding considerable passion as you would expect.

From Cordoba we moved to a site on the edge of the Sierra Nevada in the vicinity of Granada for three days. After a short walk in the hills on day one we had an afternoon of much needed rest and relaxation.

Village of Guejar Sierra, in the Sierra Nevada

On day two we used the local bus to travel into Granada. The city is quite spread out so we used the hop on hop off train, which arrived promptly at each stop every 20 minutes. The only problem was that it only had a capacity of about 40 passengers so you could never be sure of a place. However, we looked at the Alhambra from the Albaicin side, visited the very ornate Carthusian monastery, and walked through part of the Albaicin, where there are many Arab-style tea rooms.

Carthusian Monastery

On the third day we visited the Alhambra, comprising the Palacio Nazaries, two other palaces, the fortress (Alcazaba), the gardens and the summer palace. The interior designs of the Palacio Nazaries are so intricate and beautiful. Needless to say, it was very busy with tour parties galore.

View from the fortress (Alcazaba)

Inside the Palacio Nazaries

Gardens at the Alhambra

After a night of heavy rain, we left Granada bound for Cabo de Gata, on the south east tip of Spain, driving along the edge of the cloud-capped and occasionally snow-capped Sierra Navada. At one point a sign indicated a height of 1380 m at Puerto de la Mora and the thermometer read 8 deg C. The scenery varied with the altitude, areas of forest giving way to scrubland, then bare rock, which looked like a lunar landscape.

Spanish Trip 4 - Puerta de Santa Maria to Cordoba

9 to 12 October 2019

Help Me R(h)onda

On the way to Ronda, John and I stopped off at another white town (pueblo blanco), Arcos de la Frontera. It was a steep climb from where we parked to the town, 130 steps, followed by a more gradual incline. Then we were among the old buildings and narrow streets, through which the cars thread their way with only inches to spare. The viewpoints down the gorge over the river were impressive. 

Arcos de la Frontera

Barbara and Clive chose to break their journey a bit further on at Zahara de la Sierra, then we met up again at the campsite in Ronda. It was a good twenty minute walk (downhill) to the town of Ronda. Our first port of call was the bullring, which we toured with the aid of audio guides and found very interesting.

Bullring at Ronda

We passed through bustling streets and squares on our way to the Arab baths and finally walked down the trail leading to the viewpoint of the new bridge (puente nuevo) which was built around 1759 and links the old and new towns.

Puente Nuevo, Ronda

The walk back to the site (uphill) took considerably longer than twenty minutes!

We made an early start next morning to Olvera, and the start of the Via Verde cycle path, along the track of an unfinished railway - the company went bust before the railway started operating. Thankfully it was cloudy and much cooler.  It was a pleasant if undramatic 22 mile ride, the highspot being the sighting of about 40 griffon vultures circling on the thermals.

Cycling along the Via Verde

The ranger at the interpretation centre close by enthusiastically shared his knowledge, telling us that there are 200 breeding pairs in the area. From the centre you can see images from a camera sited high on the cliffs, but being the middle of the day there was little to see; early morning or evening are the best times. At the end of the trail we were able to phone for a taxi with a four-bike carrier to transport us back to the vans, and we then drove the short distance to the overnight campsite.

This particular site had a slight air of neglect, as if the money had run out, although the facilities were fine. In its favour were the stunning views of the mountains on all sides. We had a well-deserved slow start next morning and as we enjoyed coffee outside the vans, the vultures circled high above. We were delighted when a few of them came much closer, hovering some forty feet above the vans and also swooping towards us from the hills. Clive, who has a passion for bird photography, was able to take some excellent pictures with his massive lens.

Griffon Vulture (courtesy of Clive Harward)

We dragged ourselves away around midday to head for the next site at Humilladero, just a short drive away.  En route (or should I say ir camino a?) the land was obliterated by the regimental rows of olive trees, including huge numbers of young trees. In contrast, we then passed a wind farm, the rows of turbines echoing those of the olive trees. Once we reached the site we celebrated day 20 of our trip by relaxing in the sunshine. Next day we drove to El Torcal, an extensive area of amazing limestone rock formations.

El Torcal

This involved ascending a minor road with many hairpin bends, which then deteriorated into single track with few passing places. As we were early going up wasn't a problem. After completing the two hour trail in three hours - it was obviously very rocky underfoot and there were photo stops galore - we headed back down the hill, tucking in behind a shuttle coach returning to a lower car park. There was only one hairy moment when a coach approached in the opposite direction but we huddled against the low wall at the edge of the road, folded in the offside wing mirror and the coach inched past. Phew! Then on to the site at Villafranca, about 13 miles from Cordoba.

Spanish Trip 3 - El Rocio to Puerto de Santa Maria

4 to 8 October 2019

Ride a white horse

From El Rocio it was a short journey of 120 miles to El Puerto de Santa Maria. Barbara and Clive stayed an extra night at El Rocio but we wanted to move on to give us an extra day in the sherry triangle, made up of Puerta de Santa Maria, Cadiz and Jerez. We had hoped to go across to Cadiz by catamaran but a replacement bus service was running - eventually - it was 45 minutes late. So the day did not get off to a good start. We had a pleasant stroll along the promenade which runs all the way round the edge of the peninsula, but due to a series of hiccups throughout the day, including a delay in finding somewhere for lunch, we didn't see much else.

Plaza San Juan, Cadiz

Causeway and Castillo de San Sebastian

We spent the following morning in El Puerto de Santa Maria but as it was a Sunday and now low season, several attractions (eg the castle and bullring) were not open. We found a small bodega (sherry producer) tucked away in the back streets, where locals were having a drink, having their own containers filled with sherry, or both.

Bodega owners putting world to rights

Barbara and Clive testing the product

We started to learn about the different types of sherry and selected three to try and felt it would have been rude not to purchase a bottle, for the princely sum of €4. We took a look inside the church, then made our way back to the site via the bullring, so we could at least see it from the outside.

Plaza de Toros, Puerto Santa Maria

It may have had something to do with the sherry, but we stayed on site relaxing in the sunshine for the rest of the afternoon.

Monday 7 October - we suddenly realised it's already two weeks since we left the UK. We opted to join a guided tour in English of a larger bodega (Gutierez) and spent a very interesting hour learning more about sherries, from the very dry Fino to the exceptionally sweet Pedro Ximenez, inevitably finishing with a tasting. Six generous measures awaited each of us, beautifully set out on tables, with some savoury nibbles to soak up the alcohol.

Explaining sherry production

Ready for tasting

We all agreed it had been a great experience. Once we had eaten lunch back on site and recovered from the excesses, we managed a short cycle ride along the coast in continuing, glorious sunshine.

Next day we took the train to Jerez, where we had tickets for the show at the Royal Andalucian School of Equestrian Art. After a short presentation we watched some of the horses being ridden in the training ground, noting that most of the trainers were young ladies.

Royal Andalucian School of Equestrian Art

Training Ground

The skills displayed by both riders and horses during the show itself were impressive, although we felt a little uncomfortable with some of the more "circus-like" tricks. In contrast to the training, the show was dominated by male riders, just one female representative. We had hoped to visit the Alcazar (fortress) in the afternoon, but our guide book and the internet gave erroneous opening times and it was closed long before we got there.

Time to move on .... to Ronda.

Spanish Trip 2 - Salamanca to El Rocio

26 September to 3 October

Let the sun shine in

We had an enjoyable second visit to Salamanca, travelling in by bus, which can make life interesting. The convent we wanted to visit didn't open until 4pm so we were "forced" to shelter from the sun under the canopy of a bar, which happened to have churros (long thin doughnuts). Imagine my disappointment when the waiter only brought out sugar, not the customary melted chocolate, to accompany them. 

The church attached to the convent, especially the altar, was one of the most ornate we have ever seen, apart from the plain glass windows.

After the convent we climbed the university bell tower, for more great views over the fabulous buildings, and then had a very disappointing dinner before the Plaza Mayor lights came on. We all took loads of photos in the illuminated Plaza and of the cathedral, university and convent,

Plaza Mayor, Salamanca

then caught the bus back to the site, finding it rather difficult to recognise where we were in the dark. However, the bus driver had, in fact, understood our request to tell us when to get off, so no problem.

Next day (Sunday 29th, I think!) we had a long journey to Seville, noting the rich orange-red soil and olive trees on the way. It was not a particularly interesting journey, but was efficient travel on a quiet motorway, with no tolls!

The next two days were spent exploring Seville. The cathedral is said to be the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and was certainly impressive, particularly the ceilings, altar, choir and sacristy. The display of clerical vestments, some dating back hundreds of years, and the tomb of Christopher Colombus were interesting too. 

Seville Cathedral

We meandered through the narrow, winding streets of the Jewish quarter, coming across small, peaceful plazas and then the Jewish interpretation centre, which described the persecution of the Jews in Seville throughout the ages. In an attempt to reduce the queuing time, we opted for a guided tour of the Alcazar (Royal Palace) and our enthusiastic leader imparted a great deal of information as we admired the wonderful feast of paintings, mosaics, and stonework. The gardens, comprising mostly formal pathways through trees, did not have the same wow factor but provided some respite from the heat. We also walked to the Plaza De Espana in the Maria Luisa Park, which was designed by Anibal Gonzales for the 1929 exhibition to promote trade between Spain and South America.

Plaza de Espana, Seville

Sadly Gonzales died before its completion. The Plaza and building are impressive and there was the added bonus of a group of five Spaniards playing guitar, singing and performing flamenco on the steps. There was plenty more we could have seen but we all agreed that two days in a city, especially in the heat, was enough.

El Rocio was the next port of call, where the campsite is situated on the edge of the Donana National Park, renowned for its wildlife, especially birds. We knew that there would not be a large number of birds at this time of year but the lagoon close to the campsite had actually dried up due to the very dry spring and recent hot weather. Barbara and Clive had booked a guided tour in a minibus which took them further into the park where there was more activity. 

El Rocio itself is a very strange place, looking like a deserted wild west town with its whitewashed buildings and sandy roads.

Sanctuary of Our Lady of El Rocio

Apparently the place comes to life on Saturday evenings, with horses, horse and carts, flamenco .....  The highlight of the year occurs fifty days after Easter when the annual pilgrimage of various brotherhoods to the shrine of La Blanca Paloma occurs, a celebration combining religion and fiesta.

Next stop, El Puerto de Santa Maria .....