So we set off on our little road trip in a 24 year old convertible Renault 19, no air conditioning and a recently acquired reluctance to start. We took the A7 from our house near to Castillo on the Costa Del Sol, up to Algeciras, and the inevitable traffic jam, the roofs off and it’s ok when you’re moving, but in 34° plus, in stationary traffic it’s a killer.
Golden moment of the day
A Spanish family waved at us in a traffic jam and complemented the car, but I doubt that he was serious in his offer.
We took the coast road down to Zaharia de los Atunes, where I really should have had my camera out, there had been a fair or something and a stage, and presumably people camping in the woods, the amount of rubbish was simply staggering, I wish I’d photo’d it but I didn’t think.
We turned towards the coast after Tarifa, the most Southerly point in Europe, and one of the windiest. On through Barbate and past the Trafalgar lighthouse. Inland there were massive wind farms. It was blisteringly hot, and everything seemed bleached white. We were intending to camp at Conil de Le Frontera but it was a featureless landscape of hotels and modern blocks of houses. The ground was flat and this added to the lack of visual interest, so we thought hey, let’s go to El Puerto de Santa Maria, where we camped 14 years previously.
Its not easy making a 2 man tent cosy, we thought camping under pine cones should be nice, but come the morning, the tent and the car were both covered in sticky sap. Apart from the towels, I also forgot a clean t shirt for Steve for the next day, we didn’t have any chairs either or proper pillows. Must get my act together for the next trip.
In the morning we headed up to Jeréz and then on to Arcos de la Frontera.
We took the small winding roads as much as possible, it’s surprising, inland the scenery is amazing, in the winter there’s frost and snow, in the spring it’s as green as the Lake District. Now the grass is a washed out beige and there’s little grazing for the cattle. The lakes are reservoirs and usually support a hydroelectric power station. The road was barely 2 cars wide with bridges quoting a max weight limit of 3.5 tonnes, but that didn’t stop the huge lorries and trailers carrying cork to the factories.
A recently stripped cork oak. It’s easy to think wine always has a screw top or a plastic cork, but it’s good to see real cork is still very much a thriving industry.
This view is only 30 miles or so inland from the southern Costa Del Sol. Then back on down to the coastal A7, and down to the med.
A total of a little over 200 miles, but very tiring in the heat and with the wind blasting us, home in time for a shower and a quick walk into Castillo and a lovely meal at la Meson.
Little Road trip to El Puerto de Santa Maria
Golden moment of the day
A Spanish family waved at us in a traffic jam and complemented the car, but I doubt that he was serious in his offer.
We took the coast road down to Zaharia de los Atunes, where I really should have had my camera out, there had been a fair or something and a stage, and presumably people camping in the woods, the amount of rubbish was simply staggering, I wish I’d photo’d it but I didn’t think.
We turned towards the coast after Tarifa, the most Southerly point in Europe, and one of the windiest. On through Barbate and past the Trafalgar lighthouse. Inland there were massive wind farms. It was blisteringly hot, and everything seemed bleached white. We were intending to camp at Conil de Le Frontera but it was a featureless landscape of hotels and modern blocks of houses. The ground was flat and this added to the lack of visual interest, so we thought hey, let’s go to El Puerto de Santa Maria, where we camped 14 years previously.
Its not easy making a 2 man tent cosy, we thought camping under pine cones should be nice, but come the morning, the tent and the car were both covered in sticky sap. Apart from the towels, I also forgot a clean t shirt for Steve for the next day, we didn’t have any chairs either or proper pillows. Must get my act together for the next trip.
In the morning we headed up to Jeréz and then on to Arcos de la Frontera.
We took the small winding roads as much as possible, it’s surprising, inland the scenery is amazing, in the winter there’s frost and snow, in the spring it’s as green as the Lake District. Now the grass is a washed out beige and there’s little grazing for the cattle. The lakes are reservoirs and usually support a hydroelectric power station. The road was barely 2 cars wide with bridges quoting a max weight limit of 3.5 tonnes, but that didn’t stop the huge lorries and trailers carrying cork to the factories.
A recently stripped cork oak. It’s easy to think wine always has a screw top or a plastic cork, but it’s good to see real cork is still very much a thriving industry.
This view is only 30 miles or so inland from the southern Costa Del Sol. Then back on down to the coastal A7, and down to the med.
A total of a little over 200 miles, but very tiring in the heat and with the wind blasting us, home in time for a shower and a quick walk into Castillo and a lovely meal at la Meson.