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Hello again!
Well we are ensconced in a most delightful campsite in the Sierra Nevada… las Lomas….. at Guejar Sierra high in the hills with mountain views, above Granada.
We have stayed here several times before and are never disappointed with it or the area.
But first our journey ,
Having left Mojacar we travelled on the A348 towards Canjayar where there is an Aire.
Our intention was to stay overnight in the Alpujarra region at another Aire…Ugijar
We hadn’t stayed there before so weren’t sure about the facilities on offer.
So at Canjayar we did all the necessarilies…. Water, grey waste, and the thunder box, but did stay in
Ugijar a perfectly good overnighter nothing spectacular , in a large central car park.
So onward through Cadiar…another Aire there…… to Orgiva.
We , well I, had decided to drive on to a parking area next to the Embalse de Beznar, just off A44. This was a Search for sites aire.
Managed to squeeze in there and we were just about to take pics of the lovely scenery when a most unusual thing happened…. It rained.
Well I can tell you we were shocked into inactivity!
Morning came and it was brass monkeys not surprising really as we were quite high and it was windy….so clearly the answer was let’s go higher to Guejar Sierra.
We have now been here , at our lovely campsite , for 4 nights.
Our first afternoon saw us venture out into the hills in search of a ruined castle. We didn’t find it as we took the wrong path! On and on we climbed ‘where’s that b….y castle…time marched on so we cut our losses and retreated back to the van…. But we will return !
The next day Lin decided to rest so I and my loyal canine Phin set off on a ridge walk which gives lovely views over to the mountains, which had snow, unlike the Pyrenees which had very little .
I have walked this ridge several times and it’s always been a bit hit and miss in finding the start and the path.
Not this year, signs detailing the walk with length, time, ascent , descent and little heart signs to indicate the effort required.
One heart indicating a flat walk, to five hearts indicating virtually vertical.
So with all this information off we went and low and behold there was also a bench to sit on at the high view point.
Phin having a break on top.
Pressing further along were civil war defence structures, Los Parapetos at 1750m.
The hills around Guejar and Granada formed part of the front line of the Civil war.
Onward along the ridge we trundled eventually dropping to the col Gitana and turned on our homeward route. ..and goats.
Well dogs and cows are not a good mix…. And we encountered 3 lots necessitating deviations from the path…usually upwards!
Nearing the end of the walk , thinking all clear now , we walked straight into what seemed to be 3000 goats , 2 enormous dogs and another group of cows with calves!
With nerves of steel we looked firmly ahead ignoring dogs, cows, and goats.
On the subject of goats we will return to the tale of the missed castle.
Not to be defeated we, that’s Lin as well and all of the precious pets, set off again to find the castle.
The castle El Castillejo was built by the Romans but it was the Moors who lived there and established the village after their conquest of Spain in 711.
They relinquished the castle when the Christian forces kicked them out.
We passed through the village of Guejar Sierra via the 16 fonts and down to the river Genil.
Lina in front of the fonts.
The road started to climb and we came upon a sign for the Vuelta.(see below).
For the benefit of those who have never heard of it the Vuelta, meaning the circuit/round is a cycle race held over several weeks in August / September in Spain.
It is the Spanish equivalent of the Tour de France and the Giro de Italia. Not quite sure why it’s called the Vuelta thinking it would finish where it started, but no, as an example this years race starts in Barcelona and ends in Madrid
Clearly it went via this road in 2022 on its way to the ski station where the road ends.
So us now clearly on the right route we climbed up to the castle.
We were enjoying the wonderful views when we became aware of a howling sound and a clanging bell.
Cows, always with horns, had arrived so we retreated down the path to come upon the Spanish equivalent of Claude.
We first encountered Claude, large mountain dog similar in size to a St Bernard, in the
Pyrenees when he was protecting the sheep there.
This Claude , or maybe we should call him Carlos, was a goat protector with a few sheep mixed in.
‘No problem’ he said ‘ just move along now ‘… so we did swiftly.
“Carlos” patrolling the ridge.
So for us it’s time to move on .
Lin has been studying our route and we have decided to head further in land to the Sierra Subbetica.
However before we speed northwards we are heading to a Natural Park just north of Granada, the Sierra de Huetor where we are in search of more battle lines.
For most of the Civil war the front line between the Republicans and the Nationalists ran close to Granada, as a result the hills are dotted with ruins of fortifications and trenches.
We ventured on a short walk through woodland to a well preserved Nationalist trench complex.
So now onward to the Sierra Subbetica via the A 92 north from Granada then onto the A432 the Granada to Cordoba road.
Mile after mile of olives up hill , down dale all against the background of a clear blue sky.
We arrived at an Aire called Dona Mencia .
This is on the Via Verde Aceite. An old railway line now converted into a cycle way, about 55 kilometres in length. An additional part has been added ,the Subbetica greenway to extend the route to Jaen.
The length is now 112km, passing through the picturesque villages of Luque, Zuheros, Dona Mencia, ,Cabra, and Lucena.
The Aire is on the via verde , there is a cycle hire facility and restaurant and of course a camper area, 3 euros a night to park up with all the usual facilities plus a shower and for a bit more dosh…electric.
It is of course ideal to explore the via verde and there is also a sendero about 12k over the hills close to the village of Zuheros.
I did this walk in the morning, an hour or so through olives and Holly Oak ( Quercus Ilex) emerging onto a plateau like area, great views but very rocky.
Phin and Gracie at the top.
We emerged from the fantastically signed path just above Zuheros….
more of this to come.
As a warm down i cycled with Lin to explore Zuheros and very lovely it was too …hopefully as pics show , please note Phin and Gracie had walked with me so the regal Lola had an outing on her own.
The next day we were leaving but thought to cycle first thing in the opposite direction this time with
the precious pets Lola in rucksack and Gracie in the basket .
(suits her as she is one).
Dear Phin had to walk , well trot along not sure how impressed he was as we got the silent treatment when we got back….he fell asleep
Dona Mencia is fine but very noisy as it’s on a main road. Hence we decided to move on to Cabra aire and very quiet with all the facilities but no electric ….or shower. It is also still on the via verde
The next day to recognise that we were in the olive oil centre of the universe we had a trip to a O.O. Museum and to celebrate bought 2 bottles of oil….one intense flavour the other aromatic.
Inside the musuem.
To further explore the V.V.we moved on to another aire, courtesy of search for sites ..Navas de Selpillar also on the V.V., a small village only us there surrounded by olives.
Of course it’s olive harvest time too so lots of frantic comings and goings ..harvesting, pruning and getting the fruit to the mill within 4 hours to get the best oil.
Sunset after a hard day!
On our 2nd day at Navas we were joined for coffee by Lin and Keith Ross and their Murvi…lots of chat.
Come the next morning off we went to Antequera via the A318 and A92.
We have been here on at least 3 occasions, visiting the Dolmens, a megalithic tomb and burial site dating back thousands of years and the amazing El Torcal de Antequera featuring towers of limestone rocks that look like a pile of pancakes, featured in previous blogs.
We thought to visit El Torcal again but on route came upon a gathering of camper vans, motorhomes on a piece of land between the town and the route up to El Torcal.
Checked the oracle that is, Search for sites and it seem to be a semi formal place to stop, so we did.
We managed to squeeze through and found a spot with views of the castle and mountains.
Well it’s a lovely spot morning and afternoon sun , and it has been hot and sunny.
I was inspired enough to go on a bike ride , discovering several senderos and after Lin had done the vital jobs on her list we set off to explore.
So wandering towards the castle, Alcazaba, a Moorish fortress we came upon the Ruta de las antiguas fabricas textiles.
…..route of the old textile factories.
Setting off along the route we managed to find ourselves on another ruta.
But all was not lost as the views over the city were good.
We also encountered locals wandering along with bunches of asparagus growing amongst the local vegetation. We looked but to no avail.. so returned to the van empty handed.
Not to be beaten we returned to the route of the old textile factories and trundled along the
River Villa discovering several of the old mills .
Some had been restored into residences, some empty shells and some crumbling ruins.
It seems the textile industry in Antequera can be traced back to the 15th century.
The mills date from the 18th century.
There is a permanent exhibition of the industry in one of the mills, El Henchidero, with machinery, blankets, old ledgers and photographs.
In previous blogs we have gushed over El Torcal de Antequera and when I was out on my bike ride I came upon a sendero which climbed high into the hills and down the other side of El Torcal ridge
It was 13 kilometres, so Lin agreed to drop off me and Phin at the start with the intention of picking us up on the other side.
The map board was a little vague about the exact end point and as a result we did eventually meet up in village Villanueva de La Concepcion. About 8k’s further….a long day , a shadow of my former self.
Lin had been busy attending to the vans needs and stocking up at Carrefour.
She had also found an unofficial aire in the sun and thought we would stay the night there.
I crushed this after checking the gas meter and discovering we were on the last knockings.
So back to Antequera and the gas shop and back to our previous pitch.
We had made rough plans of our next move but on checking the weather forecast some doubt was cast over them.
So the next day dawned and the forecast was right, hot sun, now became wet grey.
Not a day for a sendero , a city tour offered more opportunity to shelter should the need arise.
Hopefully as the pics show Antequera is well worth a visit , including El Torcal, Dolmens
Bullring and Castle.
So we intend to leave Antequera tomorrow and had intended to head towards Spain’s Atlantic coast and onto Cape Trafalgar but the weather doesn’t look good.
So after checking numerous forecasts we found one we liked and dismissed the wet forecasts.
So onward, after a visit to the launderette, to Olvera and another via verde.
The Via Verde de la Sierra runs from Olvera to Puerte Serrano and uses part of the old line which existed between Jerez and Almargen.
It is 36 k in length. The line snakes it’s way through the rugged terrain, not a flat bit to be seen, mainly farmed for olives.
The aire is at the old railway station, now a bar and restaurant, bikes can be hired.
There are two sections for parking ..blue and red.
Blue parking costs 10E and covers parking, electricity, and the other essentials water etc.
Red parking costs 5E and covers parking only.
We have been to Olvera on other occasions and once found a sendero to a nearby castle…the castillo de Hierro….the Iron Castle of Pruna. We felt the need to revisit!
It is perched imposingly on a rocky peak in the northern Cadiz Mountains.
It is famed for being one of the last Moorish strongholds in the region.
We walked along the A 363 to the bottom 
of the rocky peak where there is a century old spring….
enjoyed by Phin, and the stairway to the castle.
At the top are quite magnificent views enjoyed by visitors and the Griffon vultures that circled high above.
So tomorrow we leave Olvera . Today has been very strong winds, some sun still chilly though.
The weather outlook isn’t special , but mustn’t grumble!!!
So a journey through more hills , pseudo mountains, to the beaches from Tarifa to Cadiz a nod to history at Trafalgar .But the Duke of Medina Sidonia and Franco’s brother to come.
We will be entering Portugal afterwards but no blog from there, however episode 4 is still to come.
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