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And so the final episode,
When last we spoke the battle of Trafalgar and the Duke of Medina Sidonia were fully on our radar and on leaving Olvera that’s where we were headed.
It lasted till about 20 miles down the road (the A384 for those that are following us with an atlas!) and deciding we needed supplies we found a Carrefour at Arcos de La Frontier. Lin also discovered the Spanish equilvaent of B and M…. Tedi…..she had to be dragged screaming from there …’so much stuff we need’.
I meanwhile had been using my time wisely studying the weather and studying the atlas.
My findings were
- We were very close to the Sierra de Grazelema an area of outstanding natural beauty .
- The weather forecast for this area was sun and blue sky.
On the previous occasions we had ventured to this area it had rained and when we had thought of venturing to it again, it was threatening rain.
So I thought to grasp this moment…. sun and blue sky forecast…and after retrieving Lin from Tedi’s explained my thoughts.
She, still floating in the euphoria of Tedi’s agreed immediately.
So a screeching U turn and off to El Bosque, a white village in Sierra de Grazelema natural park.
Our Vicarious Aires book….guide of places to stay for camper vans….indicated an area of the village to park….full.
But intrepid Spanish van owners had decided they wouldn’t be defeated and found other areas
and we too soon discovered a parking area tucked away near a small park away from houses.
An afternoon stroll around the town discovered it to be a delightful place.
We also found a sendero following the river Majacite to another village Benamahoma….
A pleasant days walk for all….us and many Spanish walkers….think this a bit off the beaten track , in February, for too many other tourists.
So, now… back to our plan of the Duke, which involved a return to Arcos de La Frontier… passing by ….Tedi’s….
In we went and emerged some time later with a new throw for the van ….8 euros…..fits a treat as do Lin’s lounge lizard trousers …4 euros.
So … the plan…. not wanting to disappoint our readers we come to Medina Sidonia and the Duke of.
The Duke seen above in fancy dress as a headless Roman god.
Medina Sidonia , the castle and the church.
A few years ago Dan Snow did a documentary feature on the Spanish Armada and the attempt to invade England. One of the main mover and shaker’s was the Duke of Medina Sidonia ( being the 7th
duke of Medina Sidonia) despite not wanting the job of commander of the Spanish fleet was landed with it…. Despite more able leaders being available….not much changed there then.
But for the death of the Marquis of Santa Cruz the Duke would have never been handed the poison chalice of commanding the Spanish Armada fleet.
He was the choice of the King… Philip. Why Philip thought he was the best man is anyone’s guess….rumour has it his social rank, modesty, and being a tactful chap, played a part ( well known characteristics of battle leaders)and proving he had God on his side by being a good Catholic.
The poor Duke appealed to the king
‘ I have no experience of fighting on land god forbid at sea…..and I get sea sick!’
All a sorry tale, Spain lost, its armada destroyed or scuttled off round Britain.
It’s believed, by some, that some of these ships came to grief on the west coast of Ireland.
Perhaps a pointer to this is the story told to Lin by her Auntie Rene that her relatives were these same Spanish sailors…. Something to do with her surname sounding Spanish.
Said sailors finding their way to Pompey.
Onward down the road now on Spain’s Atlantic coast. Wild seas ,
winds and more wind or kite surfers than you could shake a stick at.
“
Very different to the balmy seas of the Med.
On checking the old search for sites we found an aire run by the delightful Raphael. 12 euros a night, a bit more for 🔌🔌.
All within walking distance of Cape Trafalgar, and the faro…Trafalgar lighthouse.
The sea site of Admiral Horatio Nelson’s famous victory in 1805, defeating the Spanish and French fleets.
Of course the poor man lost his life but is forever remembered at new year, great sporting successes and in the past CND rallies in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Whilst here we have been planning our route northwards through Spain and into La Belle France 🇫🇷.
So from here it’s up the coast via Conil de La Frontera and Cadiz and on up towards Sevilla.
Having been to Sevilla a few years ago this time we took the ronda (by pass) around it , joining the A66 heading North with every other vehicle a 16 wheel lorry.
Alongside the A66 runs the N 630 following the same route but with virtually no other vehicles, passing through rather pleasant countryside.
We decided this was the route for us.
Several years ago we wanted to visit the Sierra de Aracena and so we did.
A disastrous experience …..the campsite ….dirty, unfriendly and not surprisingly apart from us empty.
So we have never been back to this area.
However in the last few years the number of aires in this area has grown.
So I picked out an aire at Higuera de La Sierra…sounded just the job.
Unfortunately so good it was full.. so onward up the road.
This time a delightful place called Llerena.
Large area to park , electricity and all other facilities.
A sendero too and best of all virtually empty
The sendero through the olive groves.
The town library in a church
The church in the Plaza Mayor.
We stayed 3 nights sampling the delights of the walks and a very fine town.
Thus rested, on we went still north but with the left hand down a bit west.
We were heading for Badajoz. We had been told the aire gets full so arrive early…so after an early start we arrived ..Full!
But it was Carnival time so we were pointed further down the road about 200 m and parked there with many others.
It is on the river Guadiana with a park area ..perfect.
The Guadiana forms the border between Spain and Portugal from the Gulf of Cadiz to very near Badajoz and from here it had travelled from half way across Spain rising near Albacete.
However enough geography …the carnival is a four day affair and happens all over Spain from large cities, towns and villages.
The main purpose is to have a jolly good time.
Many people do this by dressing up in a vast array of costumes some very elaborate and for others a bunny onesy or maybe Abba, Japanese ladies accompanied by a Frenchman and a lone Samurai …best appreciated pictorially …..
On a grander scale there are dance and band groups….mainly drummers .
They seemed to be arriving non stop from lunchtime but the main show started about 7.00pm when each dance /band group took their turn to perform.
We wondered why the carnival was happening when it did….we thought to mark the end of winter. But no, apparently it has pagan origins and occurs 40 days before Easter..so moves each year.
To sum up, it’s a grand old knees up enjoyed by all.
So the next day we left a quiet Badajoz and headed north. We thought to stay at a place called Torre de Don Miguel and did in fact arrive to be greeted with pine trees covered with nests of processional caterpillars, well, we shifted out of there dam quick.
They are very dangerous to dogs and none to pleasant for humans.
So after grabbing the aires book , we headed to Almeida in Portugal.
If I may say so myself a very fine choice too.
It has a wonderful Star fortress.
Now these evolved when gunpowder began to be used when attacking castles.
Traditional castles were having a bad time of it what with holes being blasted in them.
So the star design evolved. It’s a very flat structure composed of many triangular shaped bastions
We’re designed to cover each other.
Entrance to the star fortress.
Now that is a very poor explanation so I would suggest further individual research as the mood takes you.
For those that live near us…Hampshire….the fort at Gosport is a star ⭐️fort as is Fort Nelson.
Whilst wandering around the fort we noted a sendero to a thermal area…how could we resist.
So off we went the next day 14k around the unusual hills to a very disappointing modern thermal area and the original therm which had very much seen better days .
The path was interesting though..
Cyclist with helmet? There were many strange rock formations.
A lichen tree!
Ah well there you go!
So off tomorrow heading via the N332 and N 221(in Portugal) to Mirando do Douro which sits on the border with Spain a river again being the border.
No particular reason for coming here but it is a magnificent setting sitting above a gorge of the Douro.
Didn’t stay long quick stretch of our pins and off to Zamora.
Now we have never been here before and the only Zamora I was aware of played football for, amongst others , West Ham United.
Namely one Bobby Zamora, a centre forward , who could be a bit hit and miss in scoring goals and judging by the song sung by the faithfuls of W.H.U, more misses than hits.
It was sung to the tune of ‘That’s Amore’ and went like this…..
‘When the ball hits yer ead and yer sitting in row Z that’s Zamora.’
Football fans can have a cruel tongue….
We are very pleased with ourselves in deciding to come here . It sits on the Douro and has an aire very close to the historic centre.
In fact most of the interest was one long street finishing at the cathedral and castle. The cathedral’s dome is interesting, it has scalloped tiling and miniature pagodas and I thought it looked like a bit mosqueish,
Our guide book thinks more like a south East Asian temple!
All wonderfully restored and maintained.
The largest number of Romanesque churches in Europe are also a feature of Zamora.
A very fine plaza mayor, where Lin treated us to coffee and cake.
Complete with storks nests on the town hall.
Street scene
Mills along the Douro
A leisurely stroll along the Douro and back to the van for tea.
Another night here and tomorrow via Ampudia, to see another castle….the Spanish do love a castle and on to Burgos.
A risky move as reading our guide….’Burgos is known as a chilly city,’ epitome of the saying ‘nine months of winter, three months of hell’. Apparently it’s also known as a sober and reactionary town.
Oh and finally was the seat of Franco’s Civil war junta. Risky indeed.
Well as it turned out no risk at all as we didn’t go there.
Upon rising from deep slumbers the sound of pitter patter on the van’s roof was the greeting.
This rapidly turned to sleet, and then snow .
Not to be deterred we still intended to carry out our plans, however as we progressed the snow became heavier and on checking the forecast for Burgos we rapidly decided not for us -3 degrees overnight.
Onwards north deciding to keep driving till it improved.
The improvement was it stopped snowing , but rained heavier.
Santander was our destination not for the ferry , as many do, but to sightsee.
So that was the plan for the next 2 days but we thought to stay a little outside of the town.
So we were headed for an aire next to a safari park, with elephants.
However we sailed past our turning and when you’re lucks out there isn’t a turning round point for miles.
But Lady Luck came to our aid, I said to Lin ‘not to worry, look… at the next exit is another aire’…the hidden gem of Leirganes, it’s in Cantabria close to Picos de Europa.
Additionally it’s on the train route to Santander.
We thought of taking the train into Santander but on reading the rules and regulations regarding travelling with mascottes (pets) only one per person.
So tricky with 3, we thought of hiding Lola in a rucksack, but knowing her she would poke her little black bonce out at just the wrong moment.
So we explored the village today and very pretty it was too.
The fisherman who as the legend says disappeared mysteriously to reappear and then disappear!
The beautiful countryside we walked around.
Sadly the cannon factory in the village , the first in Spain, was closed , but the bridges, river and delightful houses made up for that disappointment.
So not to be thwarted by Renfe (Spanish trains) we will drive into Santander tomorrow.
So Santander and a very convenient parking spot, close to beach, football ground( where the city team …Real Racing Club de Santander … we’re at home today).
A local event of runners…with the local Bomberos (firemen) running in full kit, including oxygen tanks…not for use although a few were gasping.
Our target was the very popular El Sardinero beach and a coastal walk to the lighthouse.
The beach said ‘ no dogs’….however every dog and its owner in Santander were there all running about without a care in the world….so ours did too.
Super views from footpath.. cliffs , coast , city and mountains with snow.
So planning our route with an eye to the weather… and tomorrow it rains in Spain.
So we’re now looking to travel past Bilbao and onto San Sebastián.
As we were driving along I happened to mention a postcard I received from my Granny from San Sebastián many years past.
Readers of our summer blog 2022 travels in Switzerland and surrounds will remember Maggiore Granny and the postcard I received from her from Lake Maggiore.
Well I also got one from San Sebastián. Thinking this must have been on a coach trip she did with my God parents …a pilgrimage to Lourdes incorporating San S.
So a nod to a great granny,
(I also got a card from Rome…..story there?)
So further north and into France
So hasta luego to Spain for another year, we consider ourselves to be very fortunate to be able to visit and travel in this wonderful country…especially in winter!!!
Hope you have enjoyed our offerings…. Back to Blighty and the South West Coastal Path…. Oh and Ireland in May.
Phin thought he might pen this blog !!
Take care, Wendy, Lin , Lola,Gracie and the boy Phin