Day 80 Sunday 20 May
Mist on the mountain tops so we wait a while to see what’ll happen. What happens is that a older British man from nearby wanders over to chat. We’ve met several like this and it‘s always the man, not the woman. He wants to talk. When not talking, he’s not listening, just waiting to talk again. I find out that they’ve been to Provence for 10 years, that Chelsea won the cup although Giggsy claims that his free kick etc. etc. etc. I did point out that we had just come from an area where we saw no Brits for three days and how good it was. Heather thought this a bit lacking in tact but it was like water off a duck’s back. I’m as sociable as the next man, as long as the next man is Hannibal Lecter but these people are so tediously boring.
Virtually no let up in rain today. The local village, Potes looks as if it would be very attractive if it wasn’t for all the tourist tat, so we just buy bread. Time to catch up on computer stuff, photos and blog.
Day 81 Monday 21 May
We’re aware of time running short and we still want to visit the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, so having visited the Picos but not seen them and with apparently little chance of the weather changing, we decide to try to find somewhere out of the clouds. We aim to get to lower ground to the east away from the Atlantic coast and spend most of the day covering the ground towards Bilbao, but inland. The Picos will have to be another trip.
We head for another protected area, also in the Wildlife Spain book, which has been absolutely invaluable in providing some sort of structure, if not direction, to our travels. It’s the Parque Natural de Valderejo, a small valley ringed with limestone cliffs/mountains.
It will leave us with only about 40 miles to drive to Bilbao.
Day 82 Tuesday 22 May
A beautiful valley almost ringed by limestone and another impressive info. Centre - with some info. Buy a map and off we go, mist then hot sun today and a very varied walk, through Beech woods, across open limestone, pine woods, along a river swollen by the rain, an abandoned village, meadows, vultures wheeling in and out of the mist and an incredibly narrow gorge past the meadow. All this in about 6 kilometres. The gorge turns at right angles so the approach looks as if there’s no way through, but of course there is even though the river is squeezed at one point to about 3 feet wide. On the return we stop at the church in the village abandoned in 1960 and are surprised to see some impressive wall paintings still surviving. An excellent last walk.
Heather has wanted to see a waterfall and near Valderejo is the highest in the Iberian Peninsular with a 300 metre drop. Having left Valderejo in hot sunshine, in the 10 mile trip we climb into thick cloud but decide to go anyway. This turns out to be the last country walk, about 2 kms to the precipice where we can hear the waterfall but no more. There’s a coach party of oldies making their way down and we exchange glum looks but most continue on, where they will see nothing.
Day 83 Wednesday 23 May
Into Bilbao on the metro to see the city but specifically to visit the Guggenheim Museum. Don’t understand why it’s called a museum though as it’s really an art gallery. The building is just as stunning as we expected. Clad with titanium panels, hardly a straight line in the place, lots of light and a cost of $100 million. What a pity about the contents. It’s a collection of crap, beautifully displayed in a magnificent building.
Bilbao itself has a feel very different from anywhere else we’ve been. It’s very lively and stylish and has an atmosphere of things happening. Difficult to put a finger on, but it’s just different. Heather says “a living city rather than a tourist one”.
Day 84 Thursday 24 May
Did our big pre getting home supermarket shop, wine, various food, wine, stuff for the journey, wine. Heather estimates 5 hours for this with me dithering over the selection but it takes us just over an hour. For the first shop ! Then H gets some clothes, then another Eroski. Back to the campsite for a rest prior to the journey back into Bilbao on the metro for the evening paseo and a special last night dinner. My 3 euro collapsible umbrella is collapsing in ways never intended but has just lasted out the time. It’s a damp paseo but a very good restaurant noted as special in our guide book, and amazingly still in existence. We’ve found that many guide book restaurants have disappeared since publication although you would think custom would increase a bit and keep them going.
Day 85 Friday 25 May
Hot sunny morning mocks us as we leave for the ferry.
Some Stats
Average drive 60 miles a day
4700 miles at 29.5 mpg
A great trip - would we go back to Spain ?
Yes - but when ?
Sunday, 27 May 2007
Wednesday, 23 May 2007
Asturias to the Picos
1Day 75 Into Asturias proper Tuesday 15 May
Sun again so a walk westwards along the coast which is very beautiful and empty. Lowish cliffs, golden sandy beaches and deserted. Except for one pair of walkers, a Japanese couple. Haven’t seen many Japanese but those we have were always in the usual group of 30 or 40. The coast is very like Cornwall or parts of Devon but I can’t get used to the fact that the sea is northwards, it just doesn’t feel right because it should be to the south.
Back again for lunch at the van and the Czech contingent has swelled by several outfits and another team coach. It seems that they’re on their way to Portugal and are resting for a few days. They are remarkably quiet.
Day 76 Somiedo Wednesday 16 May
As we leave this really well kept, excellent site, the family turn out to wave goodbye. So far, Asturias has been very good. We are headed for Somiedo, a protected mountainous area with Brown Bears and Wolves still around, but extremely unlikely to be seen. The approach is stunning, along a narrow gorge with rock overhangs in a number of places. The old mule track is still open in places for walking and you do wonder what these places must have been like when the only way in or out was a twenty mile long mule track. Many people must have lived their whole lives within leaving the valley. The ‘capital’ where we’re stopping is less than a hundred houses, although two blocks of flats are currently under construction.
The park info. centre has the best information we’ve seen in all our three months in Spain and fortunately we arrive at 1.45 because it shuts for the day at 2.00. We get a good cheap map, leaflets outlining a dozen walks of varying length and difficulty and someone speaking English who seems keen to impart some information with enthusiasm. The walk leaflets of course cleverly channel nearly all visitors into a few areas, leaving the really restricted bits unapproachable.
We had a leisurely lunch at about 3.30 at the Hotel to which the campsite is attached, washed down with some local cider for which Asturias is noted. It’s proper dry cider, with sediment ! The local style is that a small amount is poured from the bottle held at arms length into a glass (to get the air in) which you are then supposed to drink in one go and then repeat the process.
Day 77 The Glacial Lake Thursday 17 May
This is a walk day. Valle de Lago to Lago de Valle, a glacial lake in the mountains. Very steep climb, for the van I’m glad to say, to get to the start high up above our campsite. Only about 5 kms by road but 600 metres (about 2000 feet) higher. We’ll climb a further 300 metres in the 6 kms to the lake. Proper parking and excellent waymarking - it’s like being in a different country. One example of the waymarking is at a point where there’s a choice of routes over the last 3 kms. The signs tells you which is the shady route and which is the sunny one, which is really good service. Fantastic views, no raptors but good flowers, especially near the top where we find hundreds of Pyrennean Fritillaries, most beautiful plants.
I’d always being wary of filling water bottles from streams even in the mountains, because, as I say “there could be a dead sheep in the water just around the corner“. When we get to the lake and peek over the retaining wall, you guessed, a very dead chamois or something similar.
We’ re not far below patches of snow, the hills rise very steeply and the lake is an icy blue, covering several acres, I guess. It’s very restful and despite the channelling of visitors we only see about half a dozen other people.
Day 78 Into the real mountains Friday 18 May
Today is much more challenging on higher ground aiming for the highest peak in the area, at 2200m. Our walk starts in a village which is higher than our glacial lake from yesterday. It’s listed as 7 kilometres each way and after about 3 hours walking and my legs giving out we seem to be about two thirds of the way there and a lot lower than the top. Snow fields have been crossed and my hat has been filled with cooling snow. We’re looking at an 8 - 9 hour round trip and I decide that it would not be a good idea to still go for the top. So we give up. Heather would like to go to the top and I graciously offer to wait for her but sense prevails. The path is not as obvious high up and she would be at least 2, possibly 3 hours. I’m certain it’s longer than the claimed 7 k to the top, our trip has taken 5 hours by the time we get back to the van.
Dinner at a bar/restaurant in the village in the evening. Cider cools in the bottle standing with it’s companions in a crate in the river and the barman has to climb in to get our drinks. He has a powerful looking corkscrew fixed to the outside of the bar which pulls and cuts the cork into the proper shape to help with the intricate pouring technique I mentioned before.
The bar has a collection of old photographs and it is a miracle that there are any beard left. One, dated as recently as 1955 shows some hunters with 4 bear corpses. There are about 20 left and I bet they’re bloody nervous most of the time.
Day 79 A long journey to Los Picos Saturday 19 May
Handy low mist for our longish journey to Los Picos de Europa, a smallish mountain range, some of which has been protected since 1919 and along with Coto Donana probably the best known wildlife area in Spain. We hope it’s not been ‘oversold’ and we end up disappointed.
Travelling during mucky weather doesn’t seem such a waste of time as travelling in good weather, although we lose out on all the views as we go. Still, can’t have everything.
In the info. centre at Cangas, they have nothing on walking and we’re directed to a local newsagent to buy a map. It would be funny if it wasn’t so aggravating. It also turns out that Los Picos is partly in three different regions and in Cangas (Asturias) they only know about the Asturian section, so it‘s like three different parks. Roads are round the edge with dead ends leading in to the centre a bit and we head southwards along the western side down an amazing narrow gorge for 20 miles or so. You have to marvel at the road engineering that put it in. As we leave the gorge and the land opens out before us we’re out of the mist and cloud and in brilliant sunshine for a cuppa overlooking another huge reservoir. Plunging into the mist again as we now head eastwards towards our campsite, we find that the weather is as we expected, very patchy and different in very short distances.
The mention of a cuppa reminds me that before we came I estimated how much tea we’d need for 3 months. Bearing in mind that tea is mixed stronger in Britain for the British taste than it is in continental Europe or the USA, I didn‘t want to buy it in Spain. So we brought 340 tea bags with us and I’m pleased to report that at the present rate of usage, when we board the ferry next Friday we’ll have two left.
Day 80 Sunday 20 May
Mist on the mountain tops so we wait a while to see what’ll happen. What happens is that a older British man from nearby wanders over to chat. We’ve met several like this and it‘s always the man, not the woman. He wants to talk. When not talking, he’s not listening, just waiting to talk again. I find out that they’ve been to Provence for 10 years, that Chelsea won the cup although Giggsy claims that his free kick etc. etc. etc. I did point out that we had just come from an area where we saw no Brits for three days and how good it was. Heather thought this a bit lacking in tact but it was like water off a duck’s back. I’m as sociable as the next man, as long as the next man is Hannibal Lecter but these people are so tediously boring.
Virtually no let up in rain today. The local village, Potes looks as if it would be very attractive if it wasn’t for all the tourist tat, so we just buy bread. Time to catch up on computer stuff, photos and blog.
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Escape from Galicia
Day 69 Wednesday 9 May
I mentioned chocolate y churros in yesterday’s blog and for those who don’t know I should say that churros are like 10 inch long, thick as a finger doughnuts and the chocolate is more eaten than drunk, being the consistency of melting tar. Churros are dipped, chocolate is slurped or eaten with a spoon and you need a drink afterwards. Very decadent.
We didn’t really leave until about midday after posting the blog and shopping in Carrefour. Heading northwards a fair way today with a lagoon next to an abandoned village to check out for birdlife on the way. There are lots of abandoned villages dotted across Spain as the drift to the cities continues and they always seem such sad places. I can never stand in one without thinking of all the people who lived their lives there, cared for it and died there, for it to end up a pile of rubble and desolate. Still, it was stuffed full of Lesser Kestrels.
One of the first times we’ve turned up to find our destination site closed but we’re directed to another only six miles away on the bank of a river. Looks very busy but again it’s all static caravans and there are only two of us on site.
Day 70 Thursday 10 May
Our ‘plan’ for this trip has just happened as we went along but this morning with two weeks left we have to decide what we must see and what we think is optional. It seems like ‘only’ two weeks although we’re fully aware that that’s what most people have in total and we’ve been away for 70 days so far. We decide that we must see Galicia, especially the Costa da Morte, the Picos de Europa and a limestone plateau to the east of the Picos for it’s Orchid flora. About three places in the mountains missed out on the way to the coast but we decide on a long drive to get to the Atlantic.
Lovely terraced, lightly wooded campsite above a pale gold sandy beach with views across to the coast running northwards. This is the less than romantically named Coast of Death but when you see the Atlantic breakers crashing in over rocks clearly just under the surface, you understand how it got the name.
Day 71 Friday 11 May
Rain, but we wanted to get out to do something and drove to various local towns on the coast and the famous Finisterre, which isn’t westward facing and the westerly point but south facing. It’s the end of another pilgrim walk and it seems to be the thing that after getting here you either heave your boots over the side or make a bonfire of them. On the way back we stopped at a place called Muxia, which for some reason the Virgin Mary decided to sail to from Palestine in a stone boat. No, I kid you not, and there are pieces of the stone boat in the church to prove it and which are venerated by pilgrims to this day.
I know I get very critical but it is very difficult not to see the silly side of so much, even though we are having a really good time (most of the time).
Here’s another example from the tourist office (a manned and beautifully restored stone building) in Muxia, a small seaside place. Briefly and translated into English. “Ola, do you have any leaflets or information on local walks”. “Are you pilgrims”. “No, we are tourists”. “No, I have no information”. “O, well thank you anyway but tell me does the footpath from the Church (the stone boat one) go to Finisterre “. “Yes, here is a leaflet showing the route”. My case comes up next week ! Now, apart from the case next week bit, that isn’t exaggerated in the slightest from the actual conversation.
Day 72 Saturday 12 May
We decided to drive down to a promontory with lighthouse that’s a good bird site but visibility wasn’t good. This coast was stunning and reminiscent of rugged Cornish coast. There was an area of a couple of hundred circular water tanks covered in black plastic onshore with sea water pumped through. It was a fish farm. Just away from it we decided on the stop for a cup of tea where the map shows a coast path. Amazingly a dirt track road had been built right along this cliff for about 15 miles. Just like deciding to build a road from Swanage to Lulworth right along the cliff edge.
We decided that we had to get away from this wet coast and drove up to La Coruna, a city worth seeing according to our guidebook.
Day 73 Sunday 13 May
Now, we‘ve decided to give La Coruna a miss, it being raining again, and headed out of Galicia eastwards towards Asturias ASAP. The weather hasn’t helped but we were very disappointed with what we saw of Galicia. It has lots of buildings apparently abandoned halfway through being built. It also has lots of buildings whose architects appear to have been unable to get work in Soviet Russia because their work was too ugly. To cap that lots of what we saw was just built on in a sprawling suburb kind of way. Just inland from the Costa da Morte there was hardly a 100 yards without a house (or half finished house) on it.
I’d said earlier how bad signposting directions was in Spain but that was before we‘d been to Galicia, which makes the rest of Spain seem positively reasonable. Compass, map, guide and emergency supplies recommended.
We got out of Galicia at Ribadeo and found a lovely site right on the beach where we enjoyed some late afternoon Asturian sunshine.
Day 74 Monday 14 May
Time for a walk. The coast here is rugged with cliffs that are not too high but being battered by the Atlantic. Very blue, light and dark shades with white horses everywhere and rocks being pounded. It looks great in the sun as we set out. It looks great in the rain 10 minutes later. It looks great in the sun 10 minutes after that. Very good walking and pretty level with for some reason, lots of birdlife. I finally see one of the two birds Heather has that I haven‘t, a Corn Bunting. A very pretty unmistakeable one too.
We get back around lunchtime to find the site half full of the Czech National car hill climbing team. There’s a team coach (with seats, not a person), trailers with cars, motor homes and a small marquee. God knows where they think they are if they’ve been following Galician road signs on the way here.
I mentioned chocolate y churros in yesterday’s blog and for those who don’t know I should say that churros are like 10 inch long, thick as a finger doughnuts and the chocolate is more eaten than drunk, being the consistency of melting tar. Churros are dipped, chocolate is slurped or eaten with a spoon and you need a drink afterwards. Very decadent.
We didn’t really leave until about midday after posting the blog and shopping in Carrefour. Heading northwards a fair way today with a lagoon next to an abandoned village to check out for birdlife on the way. There are lots of abandoned villages dotted across Spain as the drift to the cities continues and they always seem such sad places. I can never stand in one without thinking of all the people who lived their lives there, cared for it and died there, for it to end up a pile of rubble and desolate. Still, it was stuffed full of Lesser Kestrels.
One of the first times we’ve turned up to find our destination site closed but we’re directed to another only six miles away on the bank of a river. Looks very busy but again it’s all static caravans and there are only two of us on site.
Day 70 Thursday 10 May
Our ‘plan’ for this trip has just happened as we went along but this morning with two weeks left we have to decide what we must see and what we think is optional. It seems like ‘only’ two weeks although we’re fully aware that that’s what most people have in total and we’ve been away for 70 days so far. We decide that we must see Galicia, especially the Costa da Morte, the Picos de Europa and a limestone plateau to the east of the Picos for it’s Orchid flora. About three places in the mountains missed out on the way to the coast but we decide on a long drive to get to the Atlantic.
Lovely terraced, lightly wooded campsite above a pale gold sandy beach with views across to the coast running northwards. This is the less than romantically named Coast of Death but when you see the Atlantic breakers crashing in over rocks clearly just under the surface, you understand how it got the name.
Day 71 Friday 11 May
Rain, but we wanted to get out to do something and drove to various local towns on the coast and the famous Finisterre, which isn’t westward facing and the westerly point but south facing. It’s the end of another pilgrim walk and it seems to be the thing that after getting here you either heave your boots over the side or make a bonfire of them. On the way back we stopped at a place called Muxia, which for some reason the Virgin Mary decided to sail to from Palestine in a stone boat. No, I kid you not, and there are pieces of the stone boat in the church to prove it and which are venerated by pilgrims to this day.
I know I get very critical but it is very difficult not to see the silly side of so much, even though we are having a really good time (most of the time).
Here’s another example from the tourist office (a manned and beautifully restored stone building) in Muxia, a small seaside place. Briefly and translated into English. “Ola, do you have any leaflets or information on local walks”. “Are you pilgrims”. “No, we are tourists”. “No, I have no information”. “O, well thank you anyway but tell me does the footpath from the Church (the stone boat one) go to Finisterre “. “Yes, here is a leaflet showing the route”. My case comes up next week ! Now, apart from the case next week bit, that isn’t exaggerated in the slightest from the actual conversation.
Day 72 Saturday 12 May
We decided to drive down to a promontory with lighthouse that’s a good bird site but visibility wasn’t good. This coast was stunning and reminiscent of rugged Cornish coast. There was an area of a couple of hundred circular water tanks covered in black plastic onshore with sea water pumped through. It was a fish farm. Just away from it we decided on the stop for a cup of tea where the map shows a coast path. Amazingly a dirt track road had been built right along this cliff for about 15 miles. Just like deciding to build a road from Swanage to Lulworth right along the cliff edge.
We decided that we had to get away from this wet coast and drove up to La Coruna, a city worth seeing according to our guidebook.
Day 73 Sunday 13 May
Now, we‘ve decided to give La Coruna a miss, it being raining again, and headed out of Galicia eastwards towards Asturias ASAP. The weather hasn’t helped but we were very disappointed with what we saw of Galicia. It has lots of buildings apparently abandoned halfway through being built. It also has lots of buildings whose architects appear to have been unable to get work in Soviet Russia because their work was too ugly. To cap that lots of what we saw was just built on in a sprawling suburb kind of way. Just inland from the Costa da Morte there was hardly a 100 yards without a house (or half finished house) on it.
I’d said earlier how bad signposting directions was in Spain but that was before we‘d been to Galicia, which makes the rest of Spain seem positively reasonable. Compass, map, guide and emergency supplies recommended.
We got out of Galicia at Ribadeo and found a lovely site right on the beach where we enjoyed some late afternoon Asturian sunshine.
Day 74 Monday 14 May
Time for a walk. The coast here is rugged with cliffs that are not too high but being battered by the Atlantic. Very blue, light and dark shades with white horses everywhere and rocks being pounded. It looks great in the sun as we set out. It looks great in the rain 10 minutes later. It looks great in the sun 10 minutes after that. Very good walking and pretty level with for some reason, lots of birdlife. I finally see one of the two birds Heather has that I haven‘t, a Corn Bunting. A very pretty unmistakeable one too.
We get back around lunchtime to find the site half full of the Czech National car hill climbing team. There’s a team coach (with seats, not a person), trailers with cars, motor homes and a small marquee. God knows where they think they are if they’ve been following Galician road signs on the way here.
Wednesday, 9 May 2007
Day 64 Friday 4 May
We plan to end today in the Sierra de Gredos so that we can get a good walk in tomorrow. There are three valleys running NE from Plascencia, one of which, Valle de la Vera is considered particularly lovely, so that’s our first direction. The Spanish King Carlos V retired here when he’d had enough of kinging in the 16th century. We walked for a couple of hours, passing the monastery where the king ended his days, and Heather saw Golden Orioles 3 or 4 times, I didn‘t. As we were driving off and with my head in a map, H saw another one fly across the road in front of us. I gather they’re spectacular birds.
Having driven along one of the valleys we had to cross the spine of hills between us and the next or drive all the way back to Plascencia. The climb is a big one and gets almost as high as we expect to tomorrow. Even here, where the traffic can only ever be local (or a few like us) there is extensive road improvements.
Our campsite is the closest to the walk we want to do. It’s shaded by trees which is probably great in th eheat of summer but gives the whole place a greenish cast and feels a bit like being underwater.
Day 65 Saturday 5 May
Alarm clock set today ! We want to make sure that we get a reasonably early start to our walk high in the Sierra de Gredos. Above the tree line, snow on the tops and a wind from the north. The route is listed on all the boards and two leaflets we have and we get to the start at the top of the pass between Extramadura and Castilla y Leon, there isn’t the slightest hint of any waymarking at all. Somehow, we’re not really surprised. We set off up a track heading in the right direction and after about 45 mins come to a dead end with a ‘no entry’ gate. Two more rather determined walkers are behind us. As we’re scratching our heads a farmer drives down a track to a locked gate 200 yards back and directs the other walkers across a field while pointing upwards. We hot foot it back and are directed the same way. On the other side of the field a wide track leads upwards so we follow. Still no way marks of any kind.
A lot of the tracks we’ve seen look very much like footpaths or mule tracks which have just been gouged out to take a vehicle. They’re particularly ugly gashes across the landscape, especially a bare one like this but they are easy to follow. As we climb we get spectacular views of the land around with snow clearly visible higher up. The track splits and leads to dead ends but we continue to find a path up. There are just lots of tracks and although we are heading in the right direction by compass, we can’t believe we’re on the route we wanted. Just as well we hadn’t arranged a pickup at the other end 20 kms across the mountains. Eventually, mostly because there is little variety in plant or birdlife, we turn back and find the only waymark of the whole walk. It’s about 2 miles from the road.
The most interest for birds and flowers was over the first mile or so and apart from some lovely narcissus we don’t see much on higher ground.
We hoped to see some Ibex which number over 10,000 in these mountains and decide our best bet would be a herd with an albino to stand out against the mountainside. Even better a group of albinos randomly spelling out ‘Hello we’re Ibex‘, but no such luck.
Day 66 Sunday 6 May
Yesterday, after our 5 hour mountain walk we left Extramadura, which we are very impressed with and headed into Castilla y Leon
Very easy lazy day. Amble round the comatose village of Alba until we got to the church, where there were people. Bought cakes. Drove about 5 miles. Ate cakes. Drove about 15 miles to our site at the definite planned stop at Salamanca, capital of Castilla y Leon, university town for many foreign students learning Spanish and described in our guide book as ‘arguably the most attractive city in Spain’.
Day 67 Monday 7 May
Bus into Salamanca for one euro although the journey in takes a while travelling all round a local housing area to get there.
A most attractive centre ringed by a main road to take the traffic. Quite big centre with loads of warm coloured stone buildings and many pedestrian only areas. The obligatory Playa Mayor is stunning, very harmonious and looking all in the same style, consisting of a complete ring of buildings with archways to get in and out. The only drawback is that like many places we’ve been there is a market set up just selling books. That sounds great but every stall is a white metal flat roofed shed facing inwards, so walking round the outer part of the square or from the cloistered edge, all you can see to a height of about 9 feet is a line of white metal sheeting. Definitely not harmonious. We’ve arrived in the week of the Salamanca book festival so presume that these bookstalls are only temporary.
The old university buildings are open to visitors. The library was very impressive but one old lecture hall had benches made of roughly hewn logs which didn’t look as if they would aid concentration very much. Salamanca also has an ‘old’ and a ‘new’ cathedral. Relative terms of course. The old is 12th century and the new is 15th.
Today we went back to the van for the afternoon to return for the evening pasao (or stroll around). Hundreds and hundreds of people out and a jazz band set up in the Plaza Mayor to entertain the crowd. Lovely warm evening.
Day 68 Tuesday 8 May
It’s such a lovely city that we’re spending another day there. A two day city is very rare for us, we usually want to get back into the country after one.
Head in a bit later with a plan to stay until the last bus at 10.30. Yes, we do know how to live it up.
Just wandered, seeing different areas and the ones we saw yesterday, all glowing in the sun. Wonderful place.
One place we wanted to see was the Art Deco/Nouveau museum which is in the most fantastic Art Nouveau building from 1905. It has a stunning coloured glass roof, what these days they call an atrium in a smart hotel. Some very good pieces inside and beautifully displayed, lit and mirrored so you could see back and front but the best in the main gallery. The collection as a whole was let down for me somewhat by a collection of fans and dolls from the period. They were in the style but not what I like. Well worth a visit though.
Next door and not mentioned in any of the tourist information was the National Archive of the Spanish Civil War. Considering how recent and how important this was to Spain, the display was a small collection mostly of documents. Except that is for a set up of a Masonic Temple, which we gather Franco was very much against. No information in any language other than Spanish, which considering the number of foreign combatants in groups like the International Brigade, was a surprise.
We did stay, pasaoing, chocolate y churros, a drink or two, finishing off in the Plaza Mayor with the music from a Spanish band.
We plan to end today in the Sierra de Gredos so that we can get a good walk in tomorrow. There are three valleys running NE from Plascencia, one of which, Valle de la Vera is considered particularly lovely, so that’s our first direction. The Spanish King Carlos V retired here when he’d had enough of kinging in the 16th century. We walked for a couple of hours, passing the monastery where the king ended his days, and Heather saw Golden Orioles 3 or 4 times, I didn‘t. As we were driving off and with my head in a map, H saw another one fly across the road in front of us. I gather they’re spectacular birds.
Having driven along one of the valleys we had to cross the spine of hills between us and the next or drive all the way back to Plascencia. The climb is a big one and gets almost as high as we expect to tomorrow. Even here, where the traffic can only ever be local (or a few like us) there is extensive road improvements.
Our campsite is the closest to the walk we want to do. It’s shaded by trees which is probably great in th eheat of summer but gives the whole place a greenish cast and feels a bit like being underwater.
Day 65 Saturday 5 May
Alarm clock set today ! We want to make sure that we get a reasonably early start to our walk high in the Sierra de Gredos. Above the tree line, snow on the tops and a wind from the north. The route is listed on all the boards and two leaflets we have and we get to the start at the top of the pass between Extramadura and Castilla y Leon, there isn’t the slightest hint of any waymarking at all. Somehow, we’re not really surprised. We set off up a track heading in the right direction and after about 45 mins come to a dead end with a ‘no entry’ gate. Two more rather determined walkers are behind us. As we’re scratching our heads a farmer drives down a track to a locked gate 200 yards back and directs the other walkers across a field while pointing upwards. We hot foot it back and are directed the same way. On the other side of the field a wide track leads upwards so we follow. Still no way marks of any kind.
A lot of the tracks we’ve seen look very much like footpaths or mule tracks which have just been gouged out to take a vehicle. They’re particularly ugly gashes across the landscape, especially a bare one like this but they are easy to follow. As we climb we get spectacular views of the land around with snow clearly visible higher up. The track splits and leads to dead ends but we continue to find a path up. There are just lots of tracks and although we are heading in the right direction by compass, we can’t believe we’re on the route we wanted. Just as well we hadn’t arranged a pickup at the other end 20 kms across the mountains. Eventually, mostly because there is little variety in plant or birdlife, we turn back and find the only waymark of the whole walk. It’s about 2 miles from the road.
The most interest for birds and flowers was over the first mile or so and apart from some lovely narcissus we don’t see much on higher ground.
We hoped to see some Ibex which number over 10,000 in these mountains and decide our best bet would be a herd with an albino to stand out against the mountainside. Even better a group of albinos randomly spelling out ‘Hello we’re Ibex‘, but no such luck.
Day 66 Sunday 6 May
Yesterday, after our 5 hour mountain walk we left Extramadura, which we are very impressed with and headed into Castilla y Leon
Very easy lazy day. Amble round the comatose village of Alba until we got to the church, where there were people. Bought cakes. Drove about 5 miles. Ate cakes. Drove about 15 miles to our site at the definite planned stop at Salamanca, capital of Castilla y Leon, university town for many foreign students learning Spanish and described in our guide book as ‘arguably the most attractive city in Spain’.
Day 67 Monday 7 May
Bus into Salamanca for one euro although the journey in takes a while travelling all round a local housing area to get there.
A most attractive centre ringed by a main road to take the traffic. Quite big centre with loads of warm coloured stone buildings and many pedestrian only areas. The obligatory Playa Mayor is stunning, very harmonious and looking all in the same style, consisting of a complete ring of buildings with archways to get in and out. The only drawback is that like many places we’ve been there is a market set up just selling books. That sounds great but every stall is a white metal flat roofed shed facing inwards, so walking round the outer part of the square or from the cloistered edge, all you can see to a height of about 9 feet is a line of white metal sheeting. Definitely not harmonious. We’ve arrived in the week of the Salamanca book festival so presume that these bookstalls are only temporary.
The old university buildings are open to visitors. The library was very impressive but one old lecture hall had benches made of roughly hewn logs which didn’t look as if they would aid concentration very much. Salamanca also has an ‘old’ and a ‘new’ cathedral. Relative terms of course. The old is 12th century and the new is 15th.
Today we went back to the van for the afternoon to return for the evening pasao (or stroll around). Hundreds and hundreds of people out and a jazz band set up in the Plaza Mayor to entertain the crowd. Lovely warm evening.
Day 68 Tuesday 8 May
It’s such a lovely city that we’re spending another day there. A two day city is very rare for us, we usually want to get back into the country after one.
Head in a bit later with a plan to stay until the last bus at 10.30. Yes, we do know how to live it up.
Just wandered, seeing different areas and the ones we saw yesterday, all glowing in the sun. Wonderful place.
One place we wanted to see was the Art Deco/Nouveau museum which is in the most fantastic Art Nouveau building from 1905. It has a stunning coloured glass roof, what these days they call an atrium in a smart hotel. Some very good pieces inside and beautifully displayed, lit and mirrored so you could see back and front but the best in the main gallery. The collection as a whole was let down for me somewhat by a collection of fans and dolls from the period. They were in the style but not what I like. Well worth a visit though.
Next door and not mentioned in any of the tourist information was the National Archive of the Spanish Civil War. Considering how recent and how important this was to Spain, the display was a small collection mostly of documents. Except that is for a set up of a Masonic Temple, which we gather Franco was very much against. No information in any language other than Spanish, which considering the number of foreign combatants in groups like the International Brigade, was a surprise.
We did stay, pasaoing, chocolate y churros, a drink or two, finishing off in the Plaza Mayor with the music from a Spanish band.
Tuesday, 8 May 2007
Update until the computor ran out of battery!!
Day 58 Saturday 28 April
Most of the day in the truly magnificent old town of Caceres. As far as we could see only one touristy shop in the whole of the old town. Actually only one shop of any kind in the old town. It’s a place that does have some atmosphere and you can imagine it as a medieval place especially as there weren’t many people around, so it was possible to have a whole street (or lane) with nobody else in sight. You can just imagine the wide-boy Conquistadores flashing their money around when they got back from South America.
We continue to notice how traditional Spain is, from the rather old fashioned looking clothes that young children are dressed in to the way old ladies wear black and old men black trousers, a grey buttoned up cardigan and often a beret. Late afternoon we went to an area of lakes and countryside that was a bit like a country park and there were family groups of several generations turning up well into the evening, many walking 3 - 4 kilometres from the nearest town. Spain is also traditional for shopping with a few big names but the vast majority of shops still small, family run places. It’s good not to see the big multi-national chains everywhere.
Day 59 Sunday 29 April
This is a holiday weekend and we need bread, so on our way out west to the country we drove into a small town/large village for a panaderia. Everything looked shut and we were given directions through town to one. All the streets look similar and we finally turned a corner and came face to face with a camel. Yes, the circus was in town. The camel gave us the same unconcerned but curious stare we get regularly in small places and we had to turn around and make another attempt. Finally taken to one by the woman I asked for directions. She explained that she was going there herself and that it was the only panaderia in town open on a Sunday. All in Spanish and somehow that’s what I got from the words I recognised.
Great wide open spaces with distant views of mountains in the distance. There are generally big distances between towns without villages or hamlets between. It’s quite usual to drive 20 miles or more through empty countryside with not even a cottage along the road.
Day 60 Monday 30 April
A definite dose of serendipity today ! Before we left England I’d seen that one of the towns near where we’d be at some time in our 3 months hosted the Spanish National Cheese Festival and then couldn’t find a mention of it in the guide book. Today we’d decided to drive to Trujillo - a pearl of a town, home of Pizarro and therefore like Caceres full of Conquisador spending. Checking in the book it turns out that Trujillo is where the Cheese Festival is held, and when ? At the end of April - it’s today !
It is a lovely town, not quite so perfect as Caceres and seemingly more naturally old and charming. The cheese festival was smaller that I thought and different from expected. Free to get in a nd look but tickets had to be purchased for tastings, one ticket per sample at 50 cents a piece. Two wine stalls too, so a lot of small samples of wine with small samples of cheese.
Day 61 Tuesday 1 May
We thought that yesterday was the public holiday of Labour Day, but no. Spain had the weekend, Monday was a normal workday and then 1 May, a Tuesday, was the public holiday. We drive northwards to Plascencia without a panaderia in sight. We’re on our way to the Monfrague Parque Nacional, somewhere that has had a lot of money spent on it and is a prime wildlife area.
Just as our geographical boundaries have expanded, our psychological ones have reduced. Focus is much more on today, rather than next week or month or what’s happening in the garden or with property. That’s probably why I said so much about the weather. The important items on a daily basis tend to be things like have we got fresh bread, water, is the washing dry. It’s very relaxing to have such short horizons because all problems are easily solved and a permanent travelling state could be quite seductive.
Day 62 Wednesday 2 May
Half the morning taken up with shopping and (narrow horizons indeed) we were really pleased to find a large Carrefour to go to.
Venture into Monfrague, which has a mountainous spine with lots of wooded areas and the River Tajo flowing through it. Huge interpretation centre. Info. Centre with four staff and no leaflets, water interpretation centre with large audio visual area and a Park interpretation centre. All custom built. Various trails from here with a leaflet. Like all the other places we’ve been, something about the mammals, reptiles and birds but nothing about the flora.
Went for a walk in the pouring rain rather than do nothing and the landscape looked very good even then. It stopped just as we finished and we disappeared off to a huge rock face for the vultures and various birds. Long conversation with a French birder who knew no English at all bugt who told us where to find a Spanish Imperial Eagle nest.
In the evening we had a huge thunderstorm with torrential rain and hail. We had to turn The Rolling Stones up to hear them sing ‘And the Rains Came Down‘ which really is on the latest album.
Day 63 Thursday 3 May
We’ve heard that Accionia have cancelled our return ferry and we have to try to book with P and O. We do but it’s about £200 more than Acciona. Considering that they cancelled the outward leg and our rebook with P and O was about £200 more, we are distinctly unimpressed with Acciona Ferries.
The Spanish Imperial Eagle (v v rare) was exactly where we were told and amazingly nesting only about 20 feet up a tree.
The landscape around here is really stunning especially with clear air and the distant views. The Sierra de Gredos to the north has snow on the tops and there are mountains in the distance all around. From the Castle of Monfrague on the top of one of the highest points, you can see that’s it’s empty with hardly a town to be seen.
Most of the day in the truly magnificent old town of Caceres. As far as we could see only one touristy shop in the whole of the old town. Actually only one shop of any kind in the old town. It’s a place that does have some atmosphere and you can imagine it as a medieval place especially as there weren’t many people around, so it was possible to have a whole street (or lane) with nobody else in sight. You can just imagine the wide-boy Conquistadores flashing their money around when they got back from South America.
We continue to notice how traditional Spain is, from the rather old fashioned looking clothes that young children are dressed in to the way old ladies wear black and old men black trousers, a grey buttoned up cardigan and often a beret. Late afternoon we went to an area of lakes and countryside that was a bit like a country park and there were family groups of several generations turning up well into the evening, many walking 3 - 4 kilometres from the nearest town. Spain is also traditional for shopping with a few big names but the vast majority of shops still small, family run places. It’s good not to see the big multi-national chains everywhere.
Day 59 Sunday 29 April
This is a holiday weekend and we need bread, so on our way out west to the country we drove into a small town/large village for a panaderia. Everything looked shut and we were given directions through town to one. All the streets look similar and we finally turned a corner and came face to face with a camel. Yes, the circus was in town. The camel gave us the same unconcerned but curious stare we get regularly in small places and we had to turn around and make another attempt. Finally taken to one by the woman I asked for directions. She explained that she was going there herself and that it was the only panaderia in town open on a Sunday. All in Spanish and somehow that’s what I got from the words I recognised.
Great wide open spaces with distant views of mountains in the distance. There are generally big distances between towns without villages or hamlets between. It’s quite usual to drive 20 miles or more through empty countryside with not even a cottage along the road.
Day 60 Monday 30 April
A definite dose of serendipity today ! Before we left England I’d seen that one of the towns near where we’d be at some time in our 3 months hosted the Spanish National Cheese Festival and then couldn’t find a mention of it in the guide book. Today we’d decided to drive to Trujillo - a pearl of a town, home of Pizarro and therefore like Caceres full of Conquisador spending. Checking in the book it turns out that Trujillo is where the Cheese Festival is held, and when ? At the end of April - it’s today !
It is a lovely town, not quite so perfect as Caceres and seemingly more naturally old and charming. The cheese festival was smaller that I thought and different from expected. Free to get in a nd look but tickets had to be purchased for tastings, one ticket per sample at 50 cents a piece. Two wine stalls too, so a lot of small samples of wine with small samples of cheese.
Day 61 Tuesday 1 May
We thought that yesterday was the public holiday of Labour Day, but no. Spain had the weekend, Monday was a normal workday and then 1 May, a Tuesday, was the public holiday. We drive northwards to Plascencia without a panaderia in sight. We’re on our way to the Monfrague Parque Nacional, somewhere that has had a lot of money spent on it and is a prime wildlife area.
Just as our geographical boundaries have expanded, our psychological ones have reduced. Focus is much more on today, rather than next week or month or what’s happening in the garden or with property. That’s probably why I said so much about the weather. The important items on a daily basis tend to be things like have we got fresh bread, water, is the washing dry. It’s very relaxing to have such short horizons because all problems are easily solved and a permanent travelling state could be quite seductive.
Day 62 Wednesday 2 May
Half the morning taken up with shopping and (narrow horizons indeed) we were really pleased to find a large Carrefour to go to.
Venture into Monfrague, which has a mountainous spine with lots of wooded areas and the River Tajo flowing through it. Huge interpretation centre. Info. Centre with four staff and no leaflets, water interpretation centre with large audio visual area and a Park interpretation centre. All custom built. Various trails from here with a leaflet. Like all the other places we’ve been, something about the mammals, reptiles and birds but nothing about the flora.
Went for a walk in the pouring rain rather than do nothing and the landscape looked very good even then. It stopped just as we finished and we disappeared off to a huge rock face for the vultures and various birds. Long conversation with a French birder who knew no English at all bugt who told us where to find a Spanish Imperial Eagle nest.
In the evening we had a huge thunderstorm with torrential rain and hail. We had to turn The Rolling Stones up to hear them sing ‘And the Rains Came Down‘ which really is on the latest album.
Day 63 Thursday 3 May
We’ve heard that Accionia have cancelled our return ferry and we have to try to book with P and O. We do but it’s about £200 more than Acciona. Considering that they cancelled the outward leg and our rebook with P and O was about £200 more, we are distinctly unimpressed with Acciona Ferries.
The Spanish Imperial Eagle (v v rare) was exactly where we were told and amazingly nesting only about 20 feet up a tree.
The landscape around here is really stunning especially with clear air and the distant views. The Sierra de Gredos to the north has snow on the tops and there are mountains in the distance all around. From the Castle of Monfrague on the top of one of the highest points, you can see that’s it’s empty with hardly a town to be seen.
Saturday, 28 April 2007
very latest news from Caceres
Day 56 Thursday 26 April
Drizzly with low cloud so our planned trip up the mountains was abandoned and we had a wander around town again. The unbelievable lavishness of the Catholic Churches and the almost Disneyesque treatment of the shrines never ceases to amaze me. The miraculous statue of the virgin here has a cape with 200,000 pearls sewn into it
Weather cleared in the afternoon and we had a walk from the Tourist Info. Office to follow. Top of the map turned out to be west although it wasn’t marked as such and the walk partly circled the town with great views of the monastery dominating the town. We’ve realised that very specific questions have to be asked to get information from the Tourist offices. If you ask for leaflets on walks, you’re given a map covering the whole region with routes as far as 30 miles away. You have to actually ask for walks around or near the town for relly local stuff. Extramadura also has some really expensive looking but free booklets but they seem to be either absent or tucked away in Andalucia.
Dinner out this evening and I have to say surprised to see bullfighting on the TV but it must have been Match of the Day highlights because bullfights are afternoon events. I mentioned that everywhere seems to have a bullring but whether they’re all used or not I don’t know.
Day 57 Friday 26 April
Heading west past Trujillo to the old city of Caceres, both full of lavish palaces and houses built with the wealth brought back by the conquistadors and then left to moulder when the money dried up. Only really still here because there wasn’t the money to replace them and both due to be visited by us. Caceres is now a World Heritage Site (or something like that) and still has the entire defensive city wall standing.
On the way we detoured to look at more very flat treeless country for Steppe birds and came across a birder with telescope who called us over to look at Little Bustard and Stone Curlew, both in view from his scope at the same time. He seemed surprised that we were living in the van but then him and his wife seemed to just be staying in Paradors (the Spanish state owned hotel chain - and not all ancient buildings as Tv and magazines would lead you to belive). They were getting the over 60’s price reduction and the odd free night through Parador loyalty points. We however, booked into our campsite.
It is unlike anything we’ve ever seen because every one of the 130 pitches has it’s own facilities. We have our own shower, hand basin, lavatory and water filling point plus electrical hookup for 17 Euros (about £13) a night, less than a number of single courses in a Parador Restaurant.
Drizzly with low cloud so our planned trip up the mountains was abandoned and we had a wander around town again. The unbelievable lavishness of the Catholic Churches and the almost Disneyesque treatment of the shrines never ceases to amaze me. The miraculous statue of the virgin here has a cape with 200,000 pearls sewn into it
Weather cleared in the afternoon and we had a walk from the Tourist Info. Office to follow. Top of the map turned out to be west although it wasn’t marked as such and the walk partly circled the town with great views of the monastery dominating the town. We’ve realised that very specific questions have to be asked to get information from the Tourist offices. If you ask for leaflets on walks, you’re given a map covering the whole region with routes as far as 30 miles away. You have to actually ask for walks around or near the town for relly local stuff. Extramadura also has some really expensive looking but free booklets but they seem to be either absent or tucked away in Andalucia.
Dinner out this evening and I have to say surprised to see bullfighting on the TV but it must have been Match of the Day highlights because bullfights are afternoon events. I mentioned that everywhere seems to have a bullring but whether they’re all used or not I don’t know.
Day 57 Friday 26 April
Heading west past Trujillo to the old city of Caceres, both full of lavish palaces and houses built with the wealth brought back by the conquistadors and then left to moulder when the money dried up. Only really still here because there wasn’t the money to replace them and both due to be visited by us. Caceres is now a World Heritage Site (or something like that) and still has the entire defensive city wall standing.
On the way we detoured to look at more very flat treeless country for Steppe birds and came across a birder with telescope who called us over to look at Little Bustard and Stone Curlew, both in view from his scope at the same time. He seemed surprised that we were living in the van but then him and his wife seemed to just be staying in Paradors (the Spanish state owned hotel chain - and not all ancient buildings as Tv and magazines would lead you to belive). They were getting the over 60’s price reduction and the odd free night through Parador loyalty points. We however, booked into our campsite.
It is unlike anything we’ve ever seen because every one of the 130 pitches has it’s own facilities. We have our own shower, hand basin, lavatory and water filling point plus electrical hookup for 17 Euros (about £13) a night, less than a number of single courses in a Parador Restaurant.
late news from Caceres
As I write this blog, partly as my own diary of our trip and partly as information for anyone who wants to know what we’re up to, I don’t know if one or twenty one people are looking at it. Would anyone who is reading just leave a comment to say they are, I’d appreciate it.
Day 48 Wednesday 18 April
Very hot day today as we explored Arecena, the local big town and centre of the oak fed Jamon business. There’s ham everywhere you look hanging in shops. Overlooking the town from the south is a ruined castle and unruined church, as usual for these parts built over a Moorish Mosque and incorporating any useful towers or pieces of wall. Good views over an attractive town with the usual backdrop of cranes on all the building sites.
Drove out of town for lunch which is increasingly Spanish time of about 2.30 to 3.00 for us. Went to yet another reservoir, this one full up but no birds except for one lone Grebe. There are notices at many of the pools and lagoons we’ve visited asking people not to release Terrapins and they are obviously a problem. At today‘s reservoir we saw quite a few as we have done in other places. Clearly a predator free environment for the Terrapins, they’re causing serious ecological damage to the natural wildlife. They will certainly be a serious threat to ground nesting birds and chicks on the water.
Day 49 Thursday 19 April
I don’t think I mentioned that the reason we went into Gibralter some weeks back was to see if I could get a new pair of binoculars. Well I did but fell for the optics and bought a much more expensive pair than I had planned to, so I can now mis-identify birds with a great deal more clarity.
After some night-time rain we decided on a local walk from the nearest village into Arecena and back on a circular route, a distance of about 7 miles. Turned out to be a really good walk, some of which was along what looked like old mule track. Quite a lot of it was paved with stones hammered into the surface. Stopped for a proper lunch in Arecena instead of just a drink. Three courses, a beer, olives and bread for 7.50 Euros (about £5) each. Part way back we had a thunderstorm and just ended up walking 3 miles through the pouring rain to the van without our waterproofs. It was wet but it wasn’t cold so it was fine. As we got back it stopped.
Day 50 Friday 20 April
Andalucia is the heartland of bull fighting and almost every place that could be described as a big village/small town has it’s own Plaza de Toros. We drove to a couple of local towns today to see what they were like and they both had bullrings. Overcast or drizzly so neither looked wonderful.
Back at the campsite, which has turned out to be wonderful for birds we had a flock of Beeaters flying around us and positively identified a Nightingale.
Day 51 Saturday 21 April
Today we’re visiting yet another place mentioned in the Traveller’ Nature Guide - Spain book which has proved to be invaluable. Our plan for this trip was virtually non-existent, relying on a lot of serendipity rather than heavy planning. A bit of spontaneity as a change from my usual style of thinking long and hard before I do anything spontaneous.
So we set off into the Cork Oak and Sweet Chestnut woods which clothe the hills to the west, turn off the main road at Cortegana, where despite the signs implying an outer route, we are directed through the middle of town yet again. No exit signs to anywhere but a compass bearing doubled up with a back reading to the town castle shows that we’re on the right road. Off we set but can’t find the described walk. We’re seen to be on the wrong road but if so, can’t work out which. Perhaps our million mile to the inch map isn’t good enough ? We find a walk anyway and when finished decide to carry on down the road we’re on “to see where it goes”. Well it definitely is a road not on our map as we cross a railway line next to a tunnel and arrive at a hamlet that clearly has a junction because we’re at it, but not on the map. It turns out that we were on the right road but never did find the walk.
This is the day we leave Andalucia and we’ve seen a lot more than many visitors. We’ve spent seven weeks of our twelve here and could easily have made it the whole three months but we do want to see some of the (hopefully) almost tourist free western Extramadura and Castilla y Leon.
We stop a little way across the Extramadura border at Monasterio with views to the under construction motorway linking Madrid and Seville.
Day 52 Sunday 22April
Our route today is roughly north east and we start well by turning onto a road to take us under the new motorway only to be chased by a car with lights flashing and horn blaring because he thought we were planning to drive along the motorway. There were of course no road closed signs as we could see when we drove back along the way we’d come.
Very empty roads and varied scenery on the route from flat apparently empty country then a sudden change to dehesa, rolling hills, mountain and then flat again. Dehesa, which looks like what we would call parkland is wood-pasture, made of partially cleared forest, which is a very good wildlife friendly system (apparently).
We head for La Serena, a flat treeless and virtually bushless area which is particularly good for Steppe birds while hoping that we don’t find eighteen inch grass, which will make it difficult to see nine inch high birds. We’re on a 25 km minor road across it and it really does look like a blank emptiness, so we stop and scan the ground. On our second stop we see a group of 18 male Great Bustards making their stately way across the ground, some making half hearted display attempts. These are birds that weigh 8 - 16 kg. so although a long way off and easily seen with binoculars. Better viewing than we could have hoped for but some Little Bustards would have been good too. Later we saw two Great Bustards landing and ended up seeing 21 altogether, a pretty amazing sighting.
We find our campsite which is 12 miles outside the town it’s listed under by sheer chance, having driven out of town on a different road to the one we thought we were on. It’s the first official campsite since our one last night nearly 150 miles away. It’s in a position near a huge rock face next to a river in a really peaceful location. That’s if you don’t count the royal blue twol lane bridge spanning the river about two hundred feet high above the end of the site. It’s a relatively little used road but the noise of lorries crossing the expansion joints each end of the approx. 400 - 500 yard span can be heard very clearly. So there‘s a wonderful mountainside with a blue slash across it.
Day 53 Monday 23 April
Amused to find that the area we’re in is called La Siberia but the difference is that the pronunciation stresses the penultimate syllable, so it’s SiberIa. Yes, I’m easily amused. It’s odd though that with Iberia, it’s not pronounced IberIa.
Just to the north of the campsite is a dam with to it’s east a huge outcrop of jumbled but sheer rock face looking south west. Soaking up the heat produces lots of thermals and ideal ground for the dozens of vultures who live here. In the morning they can be picked out sitting on the skyline waiting for the thermals to get going and the afternoon is when they really get going. Like some people I could name. There is a route from the north to the top and we decide to climb up in the afternoon when the heat will get the vultures out. It’s a bit of a scramble through the undergrowth and hot and sticky but eventually we get views over south and south west and settle down to watch the birds soaring about. We stayed a good couple of hours because the vultures are just fantastic to watch. These are birds with huge tearing claws and beaks and they are big. The biggest here, Griffon Vultures have a wingspan of up to eight and a half feet, so you don’t feel like staying too still for too long.
The view southwards is over low plain towards distant mountains with La Serena, where we were yesterday in the same direction.
Day 54 Tuesday 24 April
Drove into Tallarubias to the market to get some fruit and veg supplies. Got some strange looks as we were presumably the only non-locals at the market. Perhaps I shouldn’t have worn my red nose and shoes with the bells on.
In the afternoon we decided to re-climb the peak by the campsite and watch vultures again. They are such elegant birds in the sky but they really are big ugly buggers up close. Excellent views from above of lots of Griffon and some Egyptian Vultures and we also saw three Black Storks, which are quite rare except in this area. First sighting of a Rock Bunting, not really the territory as we were only above the tree line because we were right on the top so there could be no trees above us. I understand they’re usually higher than we were at 2,500ft. but I have photographs of it so can check with someone who knows. More strenuous than yesterday but 100 feet or so higher over pretty rough ground, earlier so hotter and no shade.
Day 55 Wednesday 25 April
Planning to drive to Guadalupe today for more walks in mountains so not too upset to wake to cloud and drizzle. Guadalupe is about 80 miles east of Caceres. About a 50 mile drive along a huge reservoir which is only about the third biggest in the area. Stopped on a small country road for a cup of tea and watched a close (30 yards or so) Marsh Harrier circling and calling over a deer fawn. This attracted the adult deer and got rid of the Harrier. It must have been a very optimistic young bird to even seem interested in something as big as a fawn when they only usually eat small mammals, birds and insects. On the other side of the van about the same distance away we watched two Hoopoes digging about for worms. A good tea stop.
Guadalupe has a huge monastery in the middle of town with another miraculous virgin and is clearly a touristy town for Spaniards. We had a wander around and only heard one group who weren’t Spanish, they were French. It does feel like we’re seeing Spain rather than a sort of ersatz Spain for tourists., which was one of the main reasons we kept away from the Mediterranean coast and went for the west inland part of the country. We haven’t seen an English car or heard any other English voices since we left Aracena and we’re sure that they were expats living there.
We checked into the campsite and had to be directed to a bit that we wouldn’t sink into because it’s low lying and very soggy.
Day 48 Wednesday 18 April
Very hot day today as we explored Arecena, the local big town and centre of the oak fed Jamon business. There’s ham everywhere you look hanging in shops. Overlooking the town from the south is a ruined castle and unruined church, as usual for these parts built over a Moorish Mosque and incorporating any useful towers or pieces of wall. Good views over an attractive town with the usual backdrop of cranes on all the building sites.
Drove out of town for lunch which is increasingly Spanish time of about 2.30 to 3.00 for us. Went to yet another reservoir, this one full up but no birds except for one lone Grebe. There are notices at many of the pools and lagoons we’ve visited asking people not to release Terrapins and they are obviously a problem. At today‘s reservoir we saw quite a few as we have done in other places. Clearly a predator free environment for the Terrapins, they’re causing serious ecological damage to the natural wildlife. They will certainly be a serious threat to ground nesting birds and chicks on the water.
Day 49 Thursday 19 April
I don’t think I mentioned that the reason we went into Gibralter some weeks back was to see if I could get a new pair of binoculars. Well I did but fell for the optics and bought a much more expensive pair than I had planned to, so I can now mis-identify birds with a great deal more clarity.
After some night-time rain we decided on a local walk from the nearest village into Arecena and back on a circular route, a distance of about 7 miles. Turned out to be a really good walk, some of which was along what looked like old mule track. Quite a lot of it was paved with stones hammered into the surface. Stopped for a proper lunch in Arecena instead of just a drink. Three courses, a beer, olives and bread for 7.50 Euros (about £5) each. Part way back we had a thunderstorm and just ended up walking 3 miles through the pouring rain to the van without our waterproofs. It was wet but it wasn’t cold so it was fine. As we got back it stopped.
Day 50 Friday 20 April
Andalucia is the heartland of bull fighting and almost every place that could be described as a big village/small town has it’s own Plaza de Toros. We drove to a couple of local towns today to see what they were like and they both had bullrings. Overcast or drizzly so neither looked wonderful.
Back at the campsite, which has turned out to be wonderful for birds we had a flock of Beeaters flying around us and positively identified a Nightingale.
Day 51 Saturday 21 April
Today we’re visiting yet another place mentioned in the Traveller’ Nature Guide - Spain book which has proved to be invaluable. Our plan for this trip was virtually non-existent, relying on a lot of serendipity rather than heavy planning. A bit of spontaneity as a change from my usual style of thinking long and hard before I do anything spontaneous.
So we set off into the Cork Oak and Sweet Chestnut woods which clothe the hills to the west, turn off the main road at Cortegana, where despite the signs implying an outer route, we are directed through the middle of town yet again. No exit signs to anywhere but a compass bearing doubled up with a back reading to the town castle shows that we’re on the right road. Off we set but can’t find the described walk. We’re seen to be on the wrong road but if so, can’t work out which. Perhaps our million mile to the inch map isn’t good enough ? We find a walk anyway and when finished decide to carry on down the road we’re on “to see where it goes”. Well it definitely is a road not on our map as we cross a railway line next to a tunnel and arrive at a hamlet that clearly has a junction because we’re at it, but not on the map. It turns out that we were on the right road but never did find the walk.
This is the day we leave Andalucia and we’ve seen a lot more than many visitors. We’ve spent seven weeks of our twelve here and could easily have made it the whole three months but we do want to see some of the (hopefully) almost tourist free western Extramadura and Castilla y Leon.
We stop a little way across the Extramadura border at Monasterio with views to the under construction motorway linking Madrid and Seville.
Day 52 Sunday 22April
Our route today is roughly north east and we start well by turning onto a road to take us under the new motorway only to be chased by a car with lights flashing and horn blaring because he thought we were planning to drive along the motorway. There were of course no road closed signs as we could see when we drove back along the way we’d come.
Very empty roads and varied scenery on the route from flat apparently empty country then a sudden change to dehesa, rolling hills, mountain and then flat again. Dehesa, which looks like what we would call parkland is wood-pasture, made of partially cleared forest, which is a very good wildlife friendly system (apparently).
We head for La Serena, a flat treeless and virtually bushless area which is particularly good for Steppe birds while hoping that we don’t find eighteen inch grass, which will make it difficult to see nine inch high birds. We’re on a 25 km minor road across it and it really does look like a blank emptiness, so we stop and scan the ground. On our second stop we see a group of 18 male Great Bustards making their stately way across the ground, some making half hearted display attempts. These are birds that weigh 8 - 16 kg. so although a long way off and easily seen with binoculars. Better viewing than we could have hoped for but some Little Bustards would have been good too. Later we saw two Great Bustards landing and ended up seeing 21 altogether, a pretty amazing sighting.
We find our campsite which is 12 miles outside the town it’s listed under by sheer chance, having driven out of town on a different road to the one we thought we were on. It’s the first official campsite since our one last night nearly 150 miles away. It’s in a position near a huge rock face next to a river in a really peaceful location. That’s if you don’t count the royal blue twol lane bridge spanning the river about two hundred feet high above the end of the site. It’s a relatively little used road but the noise of lorries crossing the expansion joints each end of the approx. 400 - 500 yard span can be heard very clearly. So there‘s a wonderful mountainside with a blue slash across it.
Day 53 Monday 23 April
Amused to find that the area we’re in is called La Siberia but the difference is that the pronunciation stresses the penultimate syllable, so it’s SiberIa. Yes, I’m easily amused. It’s odd though that with Iberia, it’s not pronounced IberIa.
Just to the north of the campsite is a dam with to it’s east a huge outcrop of jumbled but sheer rock face looking south west. Soaking up the heat produces lots of thermals and ideal ground for the dozens of vultures who live here. In the morning they can be picked out sitting on the skyline waiting for the thermals to get going and the afternoon is when they really get going. Like some people I could name. There is a route from the north to the top and we decide to climb up in the afternoon when the heat will get the vultures out. It’s a bit of a scramble through the undergrowth and hot and sticky but eventually we get views over south and south west and settle down to watch the birds soaring about. We stayed a good couple of hours because the vultures are just fantastic to watch. These are birds with huge tearing claws and beaks and they are big. The biggest here, Griffon Vultures have a wingspan of up to eight and a half feet, so you don’t feel like staying too still for too long.
The view southwards is over low plain towards distant mountains with La Serena, where we were yesterday in the same direction.
Day 54 Tuesday 24 April
Drove into Tallarubias to the market to get some fruit and veg supplies. Got some strange looks as we were presumably the only non-locals at the market. Perhaps I shouldn’t have worn my red nose and shoes with the bells on.
In the afternoon we decided to re-climb the peak by the campsite and watch vultures again. They are such elegant birds in the sky but they really are big ugly buggers up close. Excellent views from above of lots of Griffon and some Egyptian Vultures and we also saw three Black Storks, which are quite rare except in this area. First sighting of a Rock Bunting, not really the territory as we were only above the tree line because we were right on the top so there could be no trees above us. I understand they’re usually higher than we were at 2,500ft. but I have photographs of it so can check with someone who knows. More strenuous than yesterday but 100 feet or so higher over pretty rough ground, earlier so hotter and no shade.
Day 55 Wednesday 25 April
Planning to drive to Guadalupe today for more walks in mountains so not too upset to wake to cloud and drizzle. Guadalupe is about 80 miles east of Caceres. About a 50 mile drive along a huge reservoir which is only about the third biggest in the area. Stopped on a small country road for a cup of tea and watched a close (30 yards or so) Marsh Harrier circling and calling over a deer fawn. This attracted the adult deer and got rid of the Harrier. It must have been a very optimistic young bird to even seem interested in something as big as a fawn when they only usually eat small mammals, birds and insects. On the other side of the van about the same distance away we watched two Hoopoes digging about for worms. A good tea stop.
Guadalupe has a huge monastery in the middle of town with another miraculous virgin and is clearly a touristy town for Spaniards. We had a wander around and only heard one group who weren’t Spanish, they were French. It does feel like we’re seeing Spain rather than a sort of ersatz Spain for tourists., which was one of the main reasons we kept away from the Mediterranean coast and went for the west inland part of the country. We haven’t seen an English car or heard any other English voices since we left Aracena and we’re sure that they were expats living there.
We checked into the campsite and had to be directed to a bit that we wouldn’t sink into because it’s low lying and very soggy.
Wednesday, 18 April 2007
update from Aracena, Andalucia
Day 37 Saturday 7 April
Have decided to have rest day and awake to sun. Most people would think all we have are rest days but these are days when we do even less than usual. We’re going to a very nice seafood restaurant for lunch.
After breakfast, thunder and lightning with naturally, pouring rain. It seems set for the day and at about 2.30 we decide to drive into town for lunch rather than walk the half hour and get soaked. Only one of us can now drink and it’s me ! We park up 100 yards from the restaurant, get into our waterproofs and walk. By the time we get there, the sun has come out. It’s difficult to believe how quickly the weather has been changing. Excellent lunch and sun the rest of the day.
I know I’ve gone on about the weather but it is unpredictable. The rain usually doesn’t last too long but it comes down in torrents when it does and then disappears very quickly. Unfortunately it sometimes returns just as quickly.
Day 38 Sunday 8 April
Drive to a place called Sanlucar, which is at the mouth of the Guadilquivir with, on the other bank, the Coto Donana National Park. For those of you who don’t know, this is a huge wetland and sand dune area which is one of the prime wildlife areas in Europe, particularly for birds. Virtually all of the park is closed to the public with just a couple of possible entry areas and most of the viewing opportunities are from the edges. When you think that the National park is 55,000 or so hectares with the buffer zone of the Natural Park a similar size around it, there’s a lot that can’t be seen at all.
One of the only ways to see the National Park is by boat with one stop one each side of the river, one of which is in the park itself. We manage to book the 3.5 hour trip for tomorrow. Manage is the word, the booking office, National Park info office and museum is in a completely unmarked building near the quay.
Day 39 Monday 9 April
Back to Sanlucar, watched the world go by and had our boat trip. Well worth while, lots of birds on the trip and at the lagoon for our first stop. We saw what were probably a pair of mongooses (yes, it is mongooses)
from the boat but the onboard guide didn‘t so we can‘t be certain. She said mongooses from the description. Did see Booted Eagle.
Watched the sun drop into the ocean from Sanlucar, an attractive, nontouristy (non touristy gets automatically changed to notoriety by this machine so if that word appears it only because I’ve missed it.) town with very little in anything other than Spanish.
Day 40 Tuesday 10 April
Long drive today from Santa Maria to the western side of Donana, where ther’s a bit more access and bird hides, but very little.
We have to drive north to Seville and cover 130 miles to get to our campsite, just to get around Donana from east to west.
Day 41 Wednesday 11 April
Visit the various Information centres for Donana, about 4 locally. Lots of money spent on the buildings and the high levels of staff but not on the information. Some info. on the history, very little on the birds and a bit about the trees and nothing on the plant life. Good sets of hides, although a number now look onto areas that were clearly once lagoons but have been dry for some time judging by the vegetation growing in them.
The town we’re in, El Rocio has only streets paved with sand and every weekend it‘s full of horses, like a wild west town according to reports. It seems very empty at the moment but fills up from miles around when horse day arrives - we’ll be gone by then. It’s also the home of a religious statue which is carried round the town on WhitSunday, when, we read, up to a million (yes, million) people turn up - we’ll definitely be gone by then.
Day 42 Thursday 12 April
Awake to rain and decide not to get up early and go birding in the hides nearby. Drive across to Huelva instead, about 30 miles to the west. Vast oil refinery at it’s eastern edge. Went on to the west to a long spit of land running parallel to the main channel from Huelva to another wildlife area called the Marismas del Odiel. The info. Centre here was better than all the Donana ones put together. Only one person, but one who seemed interested in telling us something. At the hide next to it we saw our firset Red Knobbed Coot - no, it’s on it’s head. Also a family of Red Swamp Hens/Purple Gallinule, quite stunning birds. The salt pans and marshes further on along the spit were really good for birds.
Day 43 Friday 13 April
Clear morning so up earlyish and to the hides and lagoon.
I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before in the blog or not but the time seems odd to us here. We’re an hour ahead of British Summer Time but further west so it’s still completely dark at 7.30. It’s light by 8.00 and light much later in the evening. So earlyish means about 7.15 for us.
Not many birds but good ones. New ones for the holiday being Whiskered Tern, Squacco Heron, and a Woodchat Shrike. After that down to the coast to walk the dunes a short way into Donana in one of the very few places you can get in. All on a boardwalk and with the awful town of Matalascanas right on the boundary.
Everywhere there is any information about Donana it’s all about what a treasure it is, unique, important, World Heritage site and the rest. Along the western edge there are miles of strawberry tunnels, and plantations which we understand all pump water from the underground aquifers. The lagoons in Donana now dry out in the summer and rely on rain not ground water to even exist. The town of Matalascenas is a great big development reminiscent of the Costas, including the golf course with fountains. I don’t know where all the water comes from but I can guess. The strawberries and the holiday town are of course big money and it seems that there is no real political will to protect Donana, just a lot of relatively empty slogans. The life of Donana is quite literally being sucked out from underneath it, so come and see it quickly before it really becomes just a wasteland.
Day 44 Saturday 14 April
I seem to be complaining a lot which I don’t mean to because we are having a great time and it’s difficult not to compare with what I’m used to.
The Spanish are very friendly, helpful people. Driving is generally very well mannered and non aggressive, with speed limits stuck to and drivers stopping at crossings and sometimes just in the street when a crossing isn’t there. However, the amount of litter is mind blowing, with fly tipping everywhere. Incidentally, I’ve just seen the rubbish bins emptied on the campsite. The standard rubbish plus the recycle bins (paper, plastic and glass) all tipped into the same black sacks and thrown into the trailer behind the site landrover.
The road signs are clearly designed to drive people completely mad - it can‘t possibly be by accident. A place will be signed and then before you arrive the signs just stop, or only after you leave a roundabout, having guessed which exit, is there a sign, perhaps 50 yards or so along the road you’ve taken. Many’s the roundabout we’ve driven right round twice trying to see a sign. We have navigated quite regularly by checking where the sun is to get a general direction and taking that, occasionally, the compass will come out, even in town. We think that the signs might just be put up by someone who knows the route and thinks that everyone MUST know that you take the second on the right after the last sign. Only a fool wouldn’t know such an obvious route !
We’re still heading westwards and stop at a small monastery near Huelva where Cristobal Colon plotted and planned his explorations, although for some reason we call him Christopher Columbus. He was only 29 or 30 when he left for, as he thought China, carrying a letter to The Great Khan, which of course was never delivered. The story is quite interesting. He appears to have got a lot of info. from his pawnbroker Father-in-law’s pawned articles, maps, logs etc. and he was clearly a bit of a chancer. Little is known about his early life and I guess he was a rogue who got lucky. He’d been to Britain, been turned down by the Portuguese and doesn’t seem to have even tried to get backing in his home town, Genoa. The actual voyage seems to have been handled more by the Huelvan brothers who captained two of the three ships than Columbus himself. These two ships were only 50 feet long and the Santa Maria never returned to Spain. Columbus managed to find someone to back him with 20,000 Crowns so he could appear richly clothed and therefore rich to the Spanish Court. He set out a number of demands, so he wasn’t short of cheek, and was made ‘Admiral of all the Oceans, but not the Seas’. Copies of a number of the documents are on show with a dozen or so different versions of Columbus’ signature with his coded letters and numbers around them. It looks a bit like his 15th century pin number so that it would be known to be his signature to those who needed to know. It was quite fascinating to wander through the rooms that he had his discussions in with the monk who knew Queen Isabella, so that his approach would work. I would have thought that the place would be a magnet to any Americans in Spain but we were the only non-Spaniards we heard in the place.
Now past Huelva and the Odiel Marismas to the sandy beaches a by a place called El Portil. Drove through to a dirt road ending at river/sea edge and parked up for a couple of hours - no-one else came along. More birds, most of which we’d seen before although the new one was a Great Spotted Cuckoo. We seem to have got into birding a lot in the last few days, but then the whole area at this end of the Costa de la Luz has been particularly good.
Day 45 Sunday 15 April
The site we stopped on is about 200 yards from the beach and absolutely full of frame tents and awnings filling almost every spot, all laid out very well with walls separating the plots. Not our sort of site at all. Then we realise that most are empty and it seems to be like a mobile home/beach hut site where plots are rented long term and used at weekends. It’s also ‘Andalucia’s first Ecologico Campsite‘. As far as we can tell, this word is one of two used for ‘organic’ in Spain, so I’m amused (in a way) to see all the weeds on the tracks being sprayed while we’re there.
Absolutely stunning golden sand, about 100 yards wide and 15 miles long, backed by small dunes and Stone Pine woods behind that. Building only extends along only a small part of it and even in the built up bit there‘s a really good lagoon and walk. 11 hectares for the lake plus a 1300 hectare buffer zone.
The campsite is, at the end of the weekend, like a ghost town. We find out that a large wooded, sand dune buffer zone surrounding the campsite, which is fenced off, is actually part of the campsite but not accessible, so it might be the wildlife buffer zone that a w
Day 46 Monday 16 April
Decide to stay a further day on the coast doing nothing slowly. Read a bit go to the beach, read a bit more, actually go for a swim in the Atlantic. That sort of day.
Even so, on a quick visit to the lake mentioned yesterday, we saw another first for the trip, Black Tern.
Day 47 Tuesday 17 April
Leave the south coast and head northwards back through Heulva again towards the north west of Andalucia at the western end of the Spanish Sierra Morena. We’ve been told that Spain has more different mountain ranges than any where else. Looking at the maps I can believe it. This area is where the best Iberian Jamon comes from, free range pigs in Cork Oak forests eating as many acorns as they want. The hams are often air dried and for up to two years. We saw one herd of grey pigs wandering through Cork Oaks on the way here. Just before that we’d come through a sort of moonscape with huge Rio Tinto Mining open cast mines, looking to be a couple of miles across and several hundred feet deep.
We settled down at a campsite near a town called Aracena, parked close to a stream on the edge so we couldn’t see any of the rest of the campsite, although it is virtually empty. Lots of birds flitting about and then not more than 10 feet away onto a wire fence flew a Crested Tit. Never seen one before but unmistakeable and really lovely. Very jerky almost clockwork sort of movements and clearly with a nest with young nearby. We see it a number of times in the next two hours with beakfuls of food. The area looks superficially like a nice piece of open, lightly wooded English countryside, until you notice the Cork Oaks and the rather exotic bird life.
Sunday, 8 April 2007
More bedtime reading - Happy Easter day
-1Day 27 Wednesday 28 March
Off a little south today to see Tony Bates (Dorset Wildlife Trust Chairman) who’s visiting his brother who lives in one of the Andalusian white villages - I confess they all look white so I don’t know yet why they’re called that around here.
The road south from Ronda is spectacular indeed with great views over a wooded landscape. We turn off for Genalgaucin down a switchback of hairpin bends and stop for lunch at a small pull in by the side of the road. Views of Elder Flowered Orchids just next to us. Just about to set off wondering if we’ll get a phone signal - our instructions are to phone Roger at the start of the village for instructions, when a car pulls up “are you friends of Roger ?“ and we have a guide to follow all the way there. Roger’s house, a converted olive mill is on the edge of the village, set among it’s 3 acres or so of Orange, Lemon, Avocado and Olive trees with the most stunning views south westerly down the valley. A truly exceptional location and view. Tony, as usual is on DWT work as we arrive sending some emails. We’re made very welcome and set up on Roger’s terrace looking straight down the valley. Dinner tonight in the huge dining/living room with the olive crushing equipment to one side.
Day 28 Thursday 29 March
Great views across the valley in the morning and a trip planned to the local Art Gallery/Museum. It can have only a few visitors and the key is finally found to let us in. This is a village of about 500 people and it has its own very well laid out Art Gallery housing various exhibits from the exhibition they have around the town every two years. Many other sculptures are dotted around the village. It also has it’s own helicopter pad for the flying ambulance, adult education craft centre, a very well done mirador looking over the valley and a village recycling centre. We amble around the village which is very attractive and it has it’s stunning views. Up into the hills out of town and see one of the butterflies I wanted to, the Spanish Festoon, black and yellow, veined wings with red spots. As good as I hoped for.
The village really is in a stunning location.
After lunch at 3.00ish and an amble around Roger’s land which extends to the other side of town, we end up up finishing at about 8.00, amazingly 10 hours after we set out for the museum. It seems nothing like that although Tony and I were photographing all day and didn‘t notice the time as much as Heather who was pretty tired. Roger has been very hospitable and we plan to leave straight after breakfast in the morning.
Day 29 Friday 30 March
We’ve breakfasted in the van both days and have been supplied with freshly squeezed orange juice but the time has come to head southwards again towards the sea. We leave amply supplied with Oranges, Lemons and Avocados.
Drive quickly through the coastal spread around Estepona and head out of town towards Gibralter. We weren’t planning to go in but will look for a good flower book and possibly a new pair of binoculars. The Spanish town La Linea is pretty grubby and run down but has a wonderful clean sandy beach and we eventually find the campsite which is surprisingly good.
Day 30 Saturday 31 March
We awake to rain and decide to drive into Gib. Diesel is a little cheaper than Spain at 55p a litre (£1 Gib magically = £1 UK). Gibralter is a bit like Portland in the Med but with more shops. An odd place that feels English but somehow other worldly at the same time, somewhat old fashioned I suppose. Both bookshops are closed ! But we did find some Hot Cross Buns in M & S. Food at Safeways is about English prices whereas in Spain it’s considerably cheaper.
Day 31 Sunday 1 April
Heading towards the Atlantic Costa del la Luz but still going south towards Tarifa, the southernmost point on the European mainland. Africa is misty but clearly visible across the eight or so miles of water. Tarifa quite pleasant and we decide not to get the ferry to Algiers. Do the usual amble around including the stop for the obligatory café can leche and realise that it’s Palm Sunday when a parade of a couple of hundred children walk up to the church.
Of course this is where the Med meets the Atlantic and the town is considered one of the world’s best for kite surfing - I resist the temptation.
It is cold though, jumper and waterproof required and not what we expect this far south. As soon as the sun is out it’s hot but it sure is cool in the wind. Now heading north and the Atlantic beaches are fantastic big sandy stretches. First campsite had no servicios until tomorrow so we head further on towards Cape Trafalgar. Expensive, not very pleasant site with small pitches and the most amazingly labour intensive booking in system I’ve ever seen. Part of it was typing out the details of our passports, printing two copies of each, one of which we had to sign while the other copy was given to us. It made no sense at all. After what seems days we park up and walk out to the cape in brilliant sunshine. Lovely sand, a very quick tide and views.
It’s a clear night with a full moon so we are unprepared for the thunderstorm that starts at bedtime, pauses in the middle of the night and carries on in the early hours. It seemed to be right over us, drift off and then come back. Impressive
Day 32 Monday 2 April
What a grey day. Instead of our planned walk through the Natural Parque de la Barbate. Sand dunes, Stone Pines, lots of birds and sea views, we drive to Vejer de la Frontera, a white town on a hill. That’ll make a change. We park outside the centre (no squeezing through old towns now, you’ll remember) and walk in as the skies clear and the sun appears. Very attractive, untouristy place. On our return we find that two of the three roads leading from the car park are no entry and the only one we can take is, you guessed, right through the old town. This time a bit of scouting ahead was done and felt to be OK. As is the way with these things, by the time we got going our scouted route was blocked and we just drove through at the head of a convoy. We had timed it perfectly for the 2.00 home for siesta rush.
Find a site which is wooded with stone pines and resident Hoopoes where we are the only people. Site also has a local plant rarity called Three Leaved Snowflake - at least I‘m pretty sure that‘s what it is. Had a good walk along a track to distant sea views and more wonderful Stone Pines. They’re like cartoon trees, a trunk surmounted by a very regular spheroid top.
A clear night with hopes of sun and our Barbate walk tomorrow.
Day 33 Tuesday 3 April
Awake to heavy rain.
I write this log every few days rather than daily because we don’t always have electricity and I bought a laptop that eats battery power. A full charge only lasts about 80 minutes. So I must forget some of what happens as we go and then it’ll come to me days after the log has been done. Posting it to the blog is even more hit and miss but it does get done eventually. So, this has actually been written on the morning of 3 April under dripping trees as the sun comes out. A Hoopoe is calling from a tree nearby.
Mid morning it clears and we set off for our walk along the coast. We don’t know what to take with the changeable weather and settle on sun cream and waterproofs - both of which turn out to be required. The area we’re in is a 10 mile or so stretch of cliff in what turns out to be mile upon mile of Atlantic pounded, very windy golden sandy beaches. Lots of surfing, kite surfing and other things which are apparently great fun but consist of getting half drowned and battered in cold water. How’s that for fogeyish.
A clear night with hopes of sun tomorrow.
Day 34 Wedenesday 4 April
Awake to medium rain.
By the time we drove into a lovely place called Conil de la Frontera, just a bit north from our campsite, the sun was out. Like so many places we’ve seen with lots of money being spent on civic amenities. Free parking, miles of sandy beach and what seems like it may be a deliberate policy in building terms. All the new stuff is being built a mile or so back from the beach, leaving the older buildings near the front while the front itself is set out as garden, boulevard, cycle ways, paths and on the landward side of that a few cafes. It looks good as gives the illusion that the place is not spoiled or too touristy.
The land here is very sandy and quite clearly sand drift over a wide coastal strip. The dune flora is magnificent and changes over 30 or 40 yards from the first colonisers at the beach edge to established sward. The beach itself is about 50 yards or so wide and difficult to leave just to return to a campsite.
Saw a pair of Marsh Harriers just in from the dune areas and a number of Avocets on the beach.
Easter break appears to start on Maundy Thursday until Sunday and the site is filling up. Very small pitches, lots of tents and a young, rather than our age client profile. The tent behind us talked until the early hours, should we move, will they shut up soon ? Eventually Heather asked them to quieten down and they did 15 minutes or so later at around 3.30.
A clear night with hopes of sun tomorrow.
Day 35 Thursday 5 April
Awake to light rain and took a childish delight in getting ready noisily. If only I’d had a tube of superglue, I’d had been tempted to put a big blob on the closed end of the zips on their tent. Must add tube of superglue to the shopping list.
Sun out by breakfast time.
Have decided to head to Cadiz and park up at a site across the bay. The approach is across miles of salt marsh near the mouth of the Guadilquivir. Cadiz old town is on a narrow isthmus and we plan to get the boat across tomorrow. I was expecting a fare of 20 euros or so as Cadiz is very difficult and a long way by road but the 35 minute journey costs about £1.20 which is less than the 5 minute Sandbanks chain ferry.
This Atlantic side of Andalucia seems to be less favoured by non Spanish campers. The last few sites have been probably 90% Spanish with most of the rest being German with Brits about third (as usual). Most of the tourers are motor homes with very few towed caravans.
Day 36 Friday 6 April
Awake to no rain.
Ferry by fast catamaran to the old city of Cadiz. My Spanish is appalling but I do enjoy some of the translations into English that we see. Nelson had a go at Cadiz and his name has been translated in Tourist Info. to Horace Nelson and I realised that I’d not really thought before about Horatio not sounding very English.
Anyway, we arrive on Good Friday at about 10.00 to a dead town of very narrow streets, many arranged on a grid pattern. The Museum (free to EU residents) is good with some interesting Archaeological stuff from the area and artwork. Much of the statuary and artefacts leave me interested but never feeling involved or with any sort of connection with whoever used them. But coins seem different somehow. Everyone would have used them, sitting having the Roman or Carthaginian equivalent of a Café con leche or a half hour in the internet café in the streets outside.
When we come out, the city has been transformed and is now full of people. There’s a rerun on TV of one of the religious processions with a giant jewel encrusted Madonna being carried though a church with crowds of people watching. I find it very, very odd. Graven images anyone ?
Getting more into Spanish time with lunch at 3.15 outside the Cathedral.
Glad we visited but not a city I’d go back to, unlike Cordoba or Seville.
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