Marbella to Jerez

10 April

Drove up to the village of Mijas – in the hills behind Fuengirola.  Lovely village with many twisting streets and many donkeys on which to take a ride if you so wish.  We embarked on a lovely walk that took us up the hillside behind the village, along the contour of the hill and then back down by the road.  It did involve some stiff climbing but was well worth it for the views, but mainly for the wildflowers and herbs covering the slopes.  They included rosemary which Sarah pinched a little of for future recipes.

11 April

Had a ride into Fuengirola to see what it was like.   Lovely stretch of beach but very commercial. If you want a full English Breakfast or a Devon cream tea with full strength sun then this is the place to come.

12 April

Decided to tackle  another walk, this time from the village of Istan, high up in the hills behind Marbella.  Typical Moorish village, very narrow streets, many quite steep.  So narrow that the refuse lorry was tiny with a miniature skip on the back.   It was Friday and the fish van arrived in the main square where we were having coffee, and quickly a queue formed to buy that evening’s tea.

The scenery on the walk was stunning.   There were terraces cut into the hillside irrigated by water channels not unlike the levadas in Madeira.  These terraces were growing orchards of oranges and avocados.  Once again the wildflowers were in abundance and this alongside the mountain scenery made for a great day.

13 April

We had to do it as we were so near – we went to Gibraltar for the day.  Thick fog when we arrived (English weather) but hot and sunny in the afternoon (Spanish weather).  Strange place, you didn’t know whether to say gracias or thank you.   We took a tour up to the top of the rock, seeing St Michael’s cave, the tunnels dug in the mountain to defend against the Spanish and, of course, monkeys.  The monkeys were quite cute and were no bother unless you tried to feed them, though we did see one pinching a swimming costume from a shop!!!  

 

We stopped at Morrison’s on the way out to fill up with petrol at the heady price of £104.9 per litre – even cheaper than Morrison’s in Hull.

14 April

Tried to do a walk named “Stream of the Beehive” but gave up after getting wet feet crossing the river and getting scratched as the path was very overgrown.   Had a lazy rest of the day.

15 April

Moved to Conil de la Frontera which is about 30 miles south of Cadiz on the Atlantic coast.  Campsite practically empty but very well kept.

16 April

Ventured into Conil for a wander around.  Very pleasant small Spanish town with a good market.  It’s main feature is the miles of golden beach in front of the town.  Later in the day we ventured out to Cabo Roche which is not far from us and had a walk along the cliff top.  There are some beautiful small bays along this stretch of coast.

17 April

Today we went to Cadiz.  Wandered the narrow streets.  This area feels much more like real Spain and is less commercialised than the Costa del Sol.  Cadiz is reputedly the home of take way fried fish (not Britain) so had some fried prawns for lunch.  Nice town well worth a visit.

18 April

On the advice of another couple on the campsite we went south a few miles to town on top of a hill called Vejer de Frontera.   The Moorish influence is very evident here.  Brilliant white houses with brightly tiled entrances offering glimpse into the inner courtyards.  A far more pleasant experience than trying to enjoy Moorish architecture than in Tangier.

19 April

Had a lazyish day.  Went into Conil again to visit the market, caught up on the washing.  Late in the afternoon we did do a 5 mile walk out through the pine woods and along the cliff.  More lovely beaches.

20 April

Visited Jerez – where the Sherry comes from.   In fact the Spanish word for Sherry is Jerez – fancy that.  Had a tour of the Gonzalez Byas Bodega ending with a tasting of Tio Pepe and Croft original.   We didn’t realise the Sherry is still such big business.   Though we were not tempted to buy any after the tasting!!   

 

There was a parade of “The 14 Virgins” due to take place we were told at 3pm.  But at 3pm we were told it was at 7pm so decided we couldn’t sit about for another 3 hours to see the Virgins as presumably there would be fewer virgins around after 7pm.

Drove back stopping off at La Barrossa, another stretch of golden sand with many Spanish families enjoying the sun, despite the very stiff breeze which has been blowing off the land since the early hours of the morning.   If you want a beach holiday this coast would be hard to beat with mile after mile of soft golden sand. This area is however notoriously windy – with many windmills dotted along the landscape.

Almeria to Marbella

2 April

We had a free day so decided to venture to nearby Almeria.   The guidebook mentioned The Alcazabar which it said would once have been a rival to the Alhambra but all that reminded were the walls.  We thought we would take a look and were very pleasantly surprised.   Inside many of the original buildings were ruins but you could see what they were and the rest had been very nicely landscaped into gardens of Moorish style.    

We also went to the Cathedral which was not so interesting!!

In the afternoon Denise and Bob, one of the couples on the tour, invited us to a paella party.  Barbara had made a lovely Asian salad that we had for starters, followed by an excellent paella, then Mary had made a fruit salad and we contributed some cake to have with coffee.   The sun shone, the wine flowed and an excellent afternoon was had by all.

3 April

Moved to site about 12 km from Marbella.   There was quite a scramble to leave the site which we had not experienced as we missed the other moves.  Quite an interesting drive along the coast road with nowhere suitable to stop with a caravan for a coffee – disaster!!    Arrived at the same time as most of the rest of the group in the pouring rain, so pitching was chaotic and wet .  However we met later for a drink and felt better about things.

4 April

Rained most of the day.  Only ventured to supermarket and had a walk down to the beach in a brief dry spell.

5 April

We had a coach tour to Granada today.   We visited The Alhambra late morning.  We had some rain, but not enough to spoil our enjoyment of the place.  The gardens were beautiful and the views from the gardens around Granada were lovely.  Nothing prepared us for the splendour of the inside of the palace.   The ceramic tiling and stucco work was impressive – you can’t begin to imagine what it was like when all the original colour was intact.  A place not to be missed.

In the afternoon we were due to go on a walking tour of the town but the heavens opened as we set off – Barcelona all over again – so we abandoned that and had a coffee.

6 April

Some of the group opted to drive up to Ronda in the mountains.   It was just over 40 miles but took a while as it was mostly along a winding road.  The sky was blue and it was crystal clear, but cold.  It was 2 degrees when we arrived in Ronda.   The town is built on either side of a very deep river gorge spanned by a magnificent bridge.   

We spent a number of happy hours wandering the narrow streets admiring the buildings, pretty squares with orange trees and the views of the plateau all around the town.  We sat in a café in one square for lunch in the sun.    

A marathon appeared to be taking place in the area and we watched many runners and cyclists, all covered in mud, reach the finish line.

7 April

Today we had a trip to Tangier.  We took the ferry from Tarifa and the crossing was about an hour.  It was experience but not one Sarah wishes to repeat.   We had a guide who took us to a bit of waste ground with some camels on it for riding, then to see a snake charmer – no charming involved.  He just got them out of a box so you could have your photo taken with them.  

He then walked us through the streets of the medina where were chased and hassled constantly to buy tat.  At times we were just surrounded.  After lunch we were taken to a rug shop and a spice shop!!!!   Sarah was not impressed and was heard to remark when the guide left us for 15 mins to browse the shops “if you leave me here for 15 mins I will have a panic attack”.  We all retreated to the relative safety of a café.

8 April

Today was the last day of the tour and was warm and sunny so most people just made the most of it.  In the evening we had a farewell meal in the site restaurant which was good.  The food was excellent and once again the wine flowed as people reminisced.    It seemed strange saying goodbye.

9 April

Got up to wave everyone off this morning.  People were going in many different directions to find their way home.   Only us and one other couple still here.   Very quiet now!!!    We then had a ride into Marbella.  We had a walk along the sea front and then up into the old town which was very pretty.  Lunched on tapas in a narrow street, wandered a bit further and are now back at the site, hoping for  a BBQ this evening.

Barcelona to Cabo de Gata

Back on the Road.

Arrived back in Barcelona on Wednesday 27 March.  Reunited with car and caravan and all was well.  After a good night’s sleep at Vilanova Park we headed South.   

Thursday 28^th March.

We drove around 240 miles staying overnight in a town called Oliva, south of Valencia.  We drove mile after mile through orange groves. 

Friday 29^th March.

We drove another 240 miles to arrive at Camping Cabo de Gata at around 3pm.   During this drive the orange groves were gradually replaced by mile after mile of plastic greenhouses.  If you ever wondered where your tomatoes came from – it was probably here.  They appear to grow enough to feed the world!!!  

Cabo de Gata is a Natural Park, but not like the National Parks we have.   It is largely desert like with scattered villages.   I remarked that it looked like the setting for a spaghetti western, only to discover many have been shot here plus famous films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones and the last crusade.  

The area around the camp site is not pretty but there are a large number beautiful  flowers and in the salt lagoon there are many flamingos. The most notable factor is the wind.  The weather is bright and sunny but wind seems to blow strongly most of the time.  Trying to keep the barbecue lit is not easy and the crisps blew straight off the plates at lunchtime.  

Saturday 30^th March.

The town of Cabo de Gata had a good market on Saturday morning so we stocked up on fresh fruit and veg, though finding a butchers or general store was more difficult.  We stopped at a bar and had a large glass of fresh orange juice which was delicious.  Oranges are so cheap but I don’t fancy trying the squeezing of enough oranges to obtain a glass full of juice in the confines of a caravan.

On our return from the market we met up with our fellow tour members who had started to arrive.  We were very warmly welcomed and toasted at a drinks gathering on one of the empty pitches later in the afternoon.  

Sunday 31^st March

We had a free day and did a little exploring – as I say the immediate area does not have much to recommend it. We got as far as San Jose (yes – we now know the way!!) which seemed like a typical Spanish seaside town until we discovered a shop selling The Sunday Times.  It also had a good ice cream shop which we had to try.  

Monday 1^st April.

We have been on a coach tour further along the coast to Isleta del Moro which was a lovely spot, sheltered from the wind and to Los Escuilos where we were shown the unusual rock erosion along the beach.

 

 Tomorrow we have another free day before moving on to a site South of Malaga which is the last stop on the Caravan Club Tour.