The last stretch of Atlantic coastline from Cadiz to Tarifa, before reaching Gibraltar and the mouth of the Med, must be one of the windiest places in Spain. It's certainly got a huge number of vast wind farms to drive through and Tarifa is something of a Mecca for wind surfers. Unfortunately no surfing waves to speak of, and with no prospect of a wave on the Med, I can't see the board coming off the roof of the van for quite some time.
Cadiz was an intriguing first stop after Sevilla. It continued the trend of a different style of Spain with more African influences. The entire city covers a huge peninsula with the old town and port right on the tip. It's been a really significant port through the ages and a surprising amount has survived. So despite the late August crowds and oppressive heat it made for a great place to stroll around.
The plan was to then find a nice quiet beach to spend the night at so we followed the coast south. We hadn't accounted for how busy it would still be at the end of August and the summer season. So despite driving to loads of beaches we couldn't find anywhere until we got as far as Zahara de Los Atunes. We'd planned to be in Zahara the following day to meet up with Lucy's parents, on holiday in a hotel in Zahara for the week. So we gave them a bit of a surprise by turning up at their hotel a day early.
We then spent the next 5 nights staying in the beach front carpark of Zahara overnight and trespassing on John and Fiona's hotels facilities during the day. Quite an amicable arrangement for us! During the week we went and explored a couple of places, most notably a cliff top village called Vejer de la Frontera which turned out to be the first of many clifftop whitewashed villages we'd see.
We left John and Fiona in Zahara on their last night planning to meet up with them the following day in Tarifa. So we drove off in howling winds, worrying that the van might be blown over, in search of somewhere to stay near Tarifa. Lucy had read of a free camping spot called the Pig Field which after much searching and driving down dirt tracks we finally managed to find. One of those secret little spots that actually isn't a secret at all - it looked like a lot of the vans had been there all summer.
It would be a bit harsh to say Tarifa was a let down, but it's certainly been over developed and was probably our first exposure to a modern southern Spanish resort. The nice old town was eclipsed by the vast apartment complexes. So after a bit of a wander and a spot of lunch we ploughed on to our next stop of Gibraltar.
It's hard to know what to say about Gibraltar. We parked the van overnight in La Linea right next to the Spain/UK border, grabbed our passports and cycled onto British soil into what is best described as a Marks and Spencer theme park. Here's a list of Gibraltar memories:
Our next major destination was Granada which meant heading in land quite a way. This suited us for a couple of reasons. Firstly we figured we'd probably come back to southern Spain again in search of winter warmth so wanted to leave some areas unexplored, but also there isn't much beyond modern resorts on that stretch of coast. So we hit the road and headed for Ronda following an amazing mountain road through loads of whitewashed clifftop villages.
When we got to Ronda we were surprised at how busy it was and it took us a good long while to find a parking spot. As we walked into the centre we realised we'd arrived during their main annual fiesta, one of the biggest in this part of Spain. That explained the crowds of people dressed in Flamenco gear! It's a lovely place in a spectacular setting and whilst we didn't fancy the bull killing part of the celebrations it was good fun to soak up the atmosphere.
After spending the night just outside Ronda we then headed for Granada and to a terrific little campsite in La Zubia where we stayed for 8 nights. Our longest stop to date. The long stay was partly because I was booked on to attend a 3 day online training course and partly because Granada is such a stunning place.
We had tapas evenings (practically all Granada's bars give free tapas with a drink), explored the old quarter, had a spa day and went to the Alhambra, a big hill where Granada's big wigs have lived over the years. The old moorish palaces have been superbly preserved through the years.
We then headed for the east coast of Spain stopping overnight at Los Alcázares before following the coast north, stopping overnight at Guardamar del Segura before reaching Benidorm. Its reputation had made us both hesitant and intrigued, so after parking centrally and having a little explore we were fairly surprised by the apparent normalcy. Other than a tandem mobility scooter there wasn't much out of the ordinary for a big holiday resort. Feeling a bit more confident we checked into a nearby campsite for the night, settled in a bit and headed for the pool to relax in the sun. Looking back I can see this was the top of the hill of normality descending into a fantastical night of absurdity. Here's a list of the sights seen that night as we free-wheeled our way down:
Continuing north our next stop was Valencia where we stayed for a few nights. The city has been quite radically altered recently as a result of the river being redirected to combat flooding. This has left a massive length of dried up river bed which has been converted into public spaces. A bit of a peak into what we'll do with all the roads when we're all using flying cars or teleporting around. The spectacular Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias is constructed in the old river bed and includes a huge aquarium which occupied us for an entire day.
Valencia is famed for being the home of paella with the rice being grown in the surrounding countryside. We cycled to El Palmar which is famed for having the best paella restaurants in Spain. We weren't disappointed.
Our next major destination was to be Barcelona and so we left Valencia and got on the road. We made a couple of overnight stops along the way in Peñíscola (probably intentionally bad taste childrens t-shirts for sale with "I love Peniscola" printed on them) and Tarragona (my first glimpse of the Catalonians obsession with human pyramids).
We stayed quite centrally in Barcelona in what is effectively the park and ride car park. It was quite expensive but worth it for being near a metro stop and for the 24hr security. This worked out perfectly as it was so simple to get to all the sights. We spent 5 nights in total in Barcelona and saw an awful lot. Probably the stand out moment though was the walking tour Lucy arranged for us to go on. Rather than just being a straightforward walk around Barcelona seeing the typical sights it was themed around the Spanish civil war and quite specifically the revolution in Barcelona. It was fascinating and I couldn't recommend it highly enough: http://iberianature.com/barcelona/history-of-barcelona/spanish-civil-war-tour-in-barcelona/
We'd then organised to meet up with my parents for a week in an apartment in Cadaqués so we headed off from Barcelona to Girona airport where we left the van in long term parking and picked up a hire car for the week. After meeting the olds from their flight we headed over the mountains to the coast and the extremely beautiful Cadaqués which is where we are now. So far we've been to Salvador Dali's house to appreciate his eccentricities, we've been for a tapas night out in Girona, we've lounged on the beach, been for a swim, had a few drinks in the sun and tomorrow we're off to Figueres to see the Dali museum. It's been lovely to see mum and dad. Whilst traveling is wonderful it's definitely friends and family we miss the most.
A few facts:
Cadiz was an intriguing first stop after Sevilla. It continued the trend of a different style of Spain with more African influences. The entire city covers a huge peninsula with the old town and port right on the tip. It's been a really significant port through the ages and a surprising amount has survived. So despite the late August crowds and oppressive heat it made for a great place to stroll around.
The plan was to then find a nice quiet beach to spend the night at so we followed the coast south. We hadn't accounted for how busy it would still be at the end of August and the summer season. So despite driving to loads of beaches we couldn't find anywhere until we got as far as Zahara de Los Atunes. We'd planned to be in Zahara the following day to meet up with Lucy's parents, on holiday in a hotel in Zahara for the week. So we gave them a bit of a surprise by turning up at their hotel a day early.
We then spent the next 5 nights staying in the beach front carpark of Zahara overnight and trespassing on John and Fiona's hotels facilities during the day. Quite an amicable arrangement for us! During the week we went and explored a couple of places, most notably a cliff top village called Vejer de la Frontera which turned out to be the first of many clifftop whitewashed villages we'd see.
We left John and Fiona in Zahara on their last night planning to meet up with them the following day in Tarifa. So we drove off in howling winds, worrying that the van might be blown over, in search of somewhere to stay near Tarifa. Lucy had read of a free camping spot called the Pig Field which after much searching and driving down dirt tracks we finally managed to find. One of those secret little spots that actually isn't a secret at all - it looked like a lot of the vans had been there all summer.
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| The pig field - but where were the pigs? |
It would be a bit harsh to say Tarifa was a let down, but it's certainly been over developed and was probably our first exposure to a modern southern Spanish resort. The nice old town was eclipsed by the vast apartment complexes. So after a bit of a wander and a spot of lunch we ploughed on to our next stop of Gibraltar.
It's hard to know what to say about Gibraltar. We parked the van overnight in La Linea right next to the Spain/UK border, grabbed our passports and cycled onto British soil into what is best described as a Marks and Spencer theme park. Here's a list of Gibraltar memories:
- Aggressive, tattooed, faux gangster, sweary men drinking pints of Carlsberg.
- A right jobsworth git of a border guard who lectured poor Lucy on Gibraltars absurd sovereignty.
- Pointless, antagonistic to the Spanish, British touches such as UK style pelican crossings, UK style road signs, a stupid not quite Stirling currency, etc., etc. In fact I was surprised drivers didn't have to drive on the left.
- Pubs with pies on the menu. You wouldn't believe how good a pie tastes after 5 months without.
-
A huge huge rock, also a nature reserve, which is stunning to explore and gives breathtaking views. - Monkeys!
- The most antiquated colonial politics. Shameful.
- Daddies girls driving posh cars bought with money that probably went through some tax loophole.
Our next major destination was Granada which meant heading in land quite a way. This suited us for a couple of reasons. Firstly we figured we'd probably come back to southern Spain again in search of winter warmth so wanted to leave some areas unexplored, but also there isn't much beyond modern resorts on that stretch of coast. So we hit the road and headed for Ronda following an amazing mountain road through loads of whitewashed clifftop villages.
When we got to Ronda we were surprised at how busy it was and it took us a good long while to find a parking spot. As we walked into the centre we realised we'd arrived during their main annual fiesta, one of the biggest in this part of Spain. That explained the crowds of people dressed in Flamenco gear! It's a lovely place in a spectacular setting and whilst we didn't fancy the bull killing part of the celebrations it was good fun to soak up the atmosphere.
 |
| The bridge that joins the 2 halves of Ronda |
After spending the night just outside Ronda we then headed for Granada and to a terrific little campsite in La Zubia where we stayed for 8 nights. Our longest stop to date. The long stay was partly because I was booked on to attend a 3 day online training course and partly because Granada is such a stunning place.
We had tapas evenings (practically all Granada's bars give free tapas with a drink), explored the old quarter, had a spa day and went to the Alhambra, a big hill where Granada's big wigs have lived over the years. The old moorish palaces have been superbly preserved through the years.
 |
| That's the Alhambra in the background |
We then headed for the east coast of Spain stopping overnight at Los Alcázares before following the coast north, stopping overnight at Guardamar del Segura before reaching Benidorm. Its reputation had made us both hesitant and intrigued, so after parking centrally and having a little explore we were fairly surprised by the apparent normalcy. Other than a tandem mobility scooter there wasn't much out of the ordinary for a big holiday resort. Feeling a bit more confident we checked into a nearby campsite for the night, settled in a bit and headed for the pool to relax in the sun. Looking back I can see this was the top of the hill of normality descending into a fantastical night of absurdity. Here's a list of the sights seen that night as we free-wheeled our way down:
- Half the campsite of 50+ brits having a pool party including buffet and karaoke (strictly shaking Stevens covers)
- Frank Sinatra tribute act
- Bay City Rollers tribute act
- Temptations tribute act
- Flares
- Northen Soul tribute act (oddly ended with Bob Marley covers)
- Black Eyed Peas tribute act
- Boyzone tribute act (our Frank Sinatra made a re-appearance as Ronan Keating)
- Take That tribute act
- Kebab meat and chips
- Hangover
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| The view from the old town of Altea. Those high rises on the horizon are Benidorm |
Continuing north our next stop was Valencia where we stayed for a few nights. The city has been quite radically altered recently as a result of the river being redirected to combat flooding. This has left a massive length of dried up river bed which has been converted into public spaces. A bit of a peak into what we'll do with all the roads when we're all using flying cars or teleporting around. The spectacular Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias is constructed in the old river bed and includes a huge aquarium which occupied us for an entire day.
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| What no river? |
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| City of arts and sciences in Valencia |
Valencia is famed for being the home of paella with the rice being grown in the surrounding countryside. We cycled to El Palmar which is famed for having the best paella restaurants in Spain. We weren't disappointed.
Our next major destination was to be Barcelona and so we left Valencia and got on the road. We made a couple of overnight stops along the way in Peñíscola (probably intentionally bad taste childrens t-shirts for sale with "I love Peniscola" printed on them) and Tarragona (my first glimpse of the Catalonians obsession with human pyramids).
We stayed quite centrally in Barcelona in what is effectively the park and ride car park. It was quite expensive but worth it for being near a metro stop and for the 24hr security. This worked out perfectly as it was so simple to get to all the sights. We spent 5 nights in total in Barcelona and saw an awful lot. Probably the stand out moment though was the walking tour Lucy arranged for us to go on. Rather than just being a straightforward walk around Barcelona seeing the typical sights it was themed around the Spanish civil war and quite specifically the revolution in Barcelona. It was fascinating and I couldn't recommend it highly enough: http://iberianature.com/barcelona/history-of-barcelona/spanish-civil-war-tour-in-barcelona/
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| That's Barcelona that is |
We'd then organised to meet up with my parents for a week in an apartment in Cadaqués so we headed off from Barcelona to Girona airport where we left the van in long term parking and picked up a hire car for the week. After meeting the olds from their flight we headed over the mountains to the coast and the extremely beautiful Cadaqués which is where we are now. So far we've been to Salvador Dali's house to appreciate his eccentricities, we've been for a tapas night out in Girona, we've lounged on the beach, been for a swim, had a few drinks in the sun and tomorrow we're off to Figueres to see the Dali museum. It's been lovely to see mum and dad. Whilst traveling is wonderful it's definitely friends and family we miss the most.
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| Cadaqués |
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| Mum and Dad frolicking in the Med |
A few facts:
- Lucy made a new friend called Franco. So called because he's impossible to get rid of.
- My opinions of Gibraltar and Benidorm are entitled to differ wildy from your own.
- After 6 months on the road I finally got round to looking at the annoying squeak that comes from the drivers door. If only I'd tightened that screw months ago...
