Boobs, Bond and Gorges!

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It’s official. We’ve now been away for over 3 months. We’ve had over 80 nights in our little van, travelled nearly 5000 miles, and we love it more and more.

But what have we learnt from our time on the road? Well, Lidl is everywhere! You can pretty much guarantee that it’s the first thing you see when driving into any town. And they sell exactly the same things, laid out in exactly the same way, in every store – from Knaresborough to Albufeira! So it’s been Mr Choc, Master Crumble and Opti-dog all the way (one for all you Lidl regulars out there!)

It’s also 2 weeks since we started our journey through Spain. We soon decided to avoid the Costa Del Sol altogether. It’s not really an ideal place for campervans and cocker spaniels, and we’ve seen enough fleshy pink Brits in Portugal (and in the mirror if truth be told!). So we headed away from the coast and into the gentle hills of the Sierra Morena, a mountain range that stretches right across Andalucía. We parked up for the night in Aracena, only to discover the next morning that we were in the A&E car park. They weren’t busy!



The caves in Aracena are the biggest and most spectacular in Spain. The leaflet says of one of the caves; ‘on the right wall a group of stalactites will make us laugh because of their erotic nuances: it is the Hall of Naked!'. The funniest thing in the ‘Hall of Naked’ was David’s voice echoing through the network of caverns and tunnels, ‘it’s like boobs!’. Good job most of our tour party were Spanish!

This area is famous for its pork products so it can perhaps be forgiven for having, as exciting as it sounds, a ham museum! But it was a lovely town and well worth the trip, as was the little town of Zufre, where we camped next to another deserted reservoir and had a good swim.



Now, the less said about our trip to Seville the better. It was very frustrating, very hot (about 32 degrees), and very short (about half an hour!). In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have tried to drive in and we probably gave up a little too early. Anyway, it’s one on our list of places we didn’t see and would like to go back to.

Cadiz on the other hand was wonderful. It’s pretty much an island connected to the mainland by a road and a long beach, and it has a great atmosphere. We spent two days exploring the narrow streets, open squares and historic buildings of its unspoilt old town. It’s a great place to wander – although it seemed to confuse a few of the American tourists who’d just arrived on a cruise ship. One we spoke to asked why the streets weren’t laid out on a simple grid like in the US of A.





We spent a couple of days pottering down the Atlantic coast from Cadiz. This included a stop at the beautiful hilltop town of Vejer de la Fronterra and a brief stop at the cape of Trafalgar, where the famous sea battle took place in 1805. And then we arrived in Tarifa, the most southerly point in Spain. The town itself is nothing special, but the views across the Straits of Gibraltar to Morocco with the Atlas Mountains beyond, were stunning. Africa is only half an hour away by ferry and we were surprised at just how close it seemed, especially seeing the houses lit up at night in Tangier.





The next day we arrived in Gibraltar, which has been in British hands since 1705. And it really is an odd place. Once you’ve passed through the busy border post you come to the runway, which crosses the main road in front of you. A set of lights stops the traffic, a plane lands, the lights turn green, and buses, cars, mopeds, bikes, and pedestrians all tear across the runway like a scene from Wacky Races!



On day two we left Charlie in the van and cycled up the rock. It was murder on the way up but we stopped every 10 minutes or so to see the famous tail-less monkeys, visit the caves and tunnels, and admire the view. We then ploughed down it at high speed, like Timothy Dalton circa 1989! Next week we’ll be sledging down a mountain in a cello case!



The journey north from Algeciras to Ronda was recommended in the guidebooks and we’re pleased we took their advice. The road winds its way up through mountains that are dotted with brilliantly whitewashed villages – the Pueblos Blancos or White Towns – that cling to the hillside. Every turn seems to bring another stunning view.





And then you reach Ronda itself, perched high on a clifftop, and famous for the huge gorge that divides the town and the impressive 18th century bridge that spans it.



On the journey east towards Granada we stopped for a while at the truly spectacular Garganta del Chorro. This is a narrow crack in a huge limestone mountain which has a number of hydro electric plants, dams and reservoirs nearby. The first plant, opened in the 1920s, saw a narrow concrete walkway fixed to one side of the gorge, 100s of feet above the river below. The walkway is now in disrepair; sections are missing and it looks like something from an Indiana Jones film. But some brave people still take their lives into their own hands and try to walk along it, despite the fences and danger signs. We, on the other hand, did not! The whole area is beautiful – with turquoise green waters for swimming and hills that provide some great walks and amazing views.





And that just about brings us up to date. We’re now on our way to Granada, after which we’ll head over Spain’s highest mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, and reach the coast beyond the Costa Del Sol at Almeria, where we plan to spend a few days on a quiet beach somewhere.

Until the next time!