Month: May 2023

Trujillo was the destination today. It’s was only an hour away so no rush. You never know what to expect when you get to these small towns and was completely underwhelmed by my first impression. I tried to get into town but that did not work so froze on and the came back to have another go via a supermarket.  The aires was right beside the town bull ring and the whole place looked dirty and run down. But you have to give it a go as there were eight pages devoted to it in my guide book. AND they were right. What a place. Once you get past the initial streets and get into the old town you are in for a right treat.

Trujillo was the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro and he was the conquistador who knocked seven bells out of Peru. A lot of his men came from here and their cruelty is well known. Anyway when they came back they built palaces and churches up on the hill above the town. It’s full of convents etc and very worth a visit. There’s even a castle at the top of the climb. Eventually walking down you come to the main square Plaza Mayor and thTs spectacular. It’s got a Statue of Pizarro on horseback under the cathedral with bars and restaurants all around the square. I was that impressed I stopped and had a beer!!!

You can’t leave this place after one day as there’s just too much to see. It’s all in a relatively small area but you also have to walk it. Today was an aqueduct search!!! Not content with one they’ve got two aqueducts. And pretty cool there are tooooooo. Normally they are u section shaped but the first one I visited had two pipes laid in them covered to keep them cool. This was virtually intact. The second which fed the town was much bigger and of standard design. The second had mainly fallen into disrepair but you could see the main structure. Impressive for sure.

I eventually got to the Moorish castle which was beside the Roman bridge over the river. It was 430M long for goodness sake!!! It was best to see this from the castle. Just north of this was the temple to the goddess Diana which just appeared from a narrow street. It was in excellent condition.

I returned to the site via the amphitheater and there were a lot of school trips visiting. All the kids were dressed up in Roman outfits. Even the teachers. Fantastic to see. I imagine it was end of term trips before the summer holidays. Good for them.

iad intended to stop at Zafra to have a look at the castle but was disappointed when I arrived. The aire I intended to stay at looked unused and also I found the castle not worth a look. So I moved onto Merida which I should the best preserved Roman town in Spain. I parked up near the main sites in an aires which was basically a bus station . But it looked Okay.  The teatro Romano and anfitreatro were only fifteen minutes away. You could buy a combined ticket for all the sites in the town. A lot of work had obviously been done in preserving the site and both were interesting and very close together. The theatre had a double frontage to the gods and the marble pillars are well preserved. The ancitheatre looked a bit tired but you could get a sense of the place.

Next to these two was an excavation of a couple of Roman houses of the wealthy. All the usual bathes and mosaic floors but interesting. I’ll continue visiting the sites tomorrow including a temple to Diana and the circus plus the aquaduct.

Cordoba here we come!!! It was only an hours drive north but all along the way ,both sides of the road and as far as the eye could see, where olive plantations. Millions of them.  I’d decided to park up in an official motor home car park just near the river. There was a lot of stuff on the net about dodgy people trying to con campervans to pay up or else. So rather than take any risks I took the safe option.

It was only a fifteen minute walk along the river to the mosque/cathedral. It’s really some complex. Being a Sunday it was closed from 12 unti 3pm for services but that was fine because I managed to get myself on the 3pm entry schedule. That gave me plenty of time to have a look around. Opposite the mosque by the river is a restored roman bridge which was worth a look at. Also the old town

Id read in my guide book it would be advisable to precook the Alhambra in Granada so I tried to do so on the net . It was fully booked for the next week but you could get a guided tour for €65. The overnight car park was €45????????Who are they kidding?

Anyway I decided to visit as I’m heading up to Córdoba on the Sunday. Parked up in the coach/motor home car park. And headed down to the site. I’d at least thought I may be able to get a photo of the entrance gate, but no. I did ask if there were any tickets going but was told no,only the gardens. As it was starting to rain I decided against it and set off going north to Córdoba. Eventually I stopped off in an aires at Priego de Córdoba about half way there. The Alhambra was not really all that busy. Okay there were quite a few people there but I was lead to believe they restrict the numbers to avoid damage to the site. You get an allocated slot and if you miss it, tough luck.

The journey up here was through the olive region. As far as the eye could see were plantations. Even up the mountain sides. It rained all the way up so did not get a chance to stop. Córdoba tomorrow so that should be better.

I decoded in the morning not to go all the way to Granada in one go but stop over in Antequera which is on the way. Half way stop.

It was just over an hour to get here and I went straight up to the fort above the town. Parked up without too much trouble and set off down the narrow streets to the  fort. It’s in fact a Alhambra which is a Moorish fortification and very well preserved. There’s also a Roman fortification being excavated beneath which you can observe. I’d decided not to visit the Alhambra as I’m expecting to visit the one in Granada. It was only a couple of euros to enter but decided no. The fortifications are very well preserved with a church just outside the walls.

I headed down to an aires just outside the centre for some lunch and a walk into town. All these southern cities have bull rings and Antequares is the oldest in Spain right beside the city gates. I managed to pick up an O Ring seal for my camping Gaz bottle in a hardwear shop which was a major achievement. A harder job than you might expect. And it fits!!!!

Granada tomorrow.

I  set off from Cadiz this morning heading north near Seville and then east towards Ronda. This was the only destination for today. Up up and up but over pretty good roads. I went straight into the centre but decided that was not a good idea and carried onto a campsite a little out of town. checked  in without any problem and walked back into town. Downhill!!!

Ronda is famous for its gorge and bridge over it. 130m straight down. I made the mistake of following the signs to the gorge which lead me down to the bottom,or near enough to realise I had to climb back up again to see the bridge. Still, I got some reasonable shots from down below and also saw the moorish bath house. I don’t do heights so it was a challenge to peer over the parapet. I was a very brave boy.

It was very busy with day trippers but not so to make it uncomfortable. I was going to stay here for two days but have decided to move on east to Grenada as there’s just not enough to do. I may visit a Roman site nearby in the morning on the way out.

This campsite has a swimming pool so I’m off to have a look!!!

After a leisurely start to the morning I headed back into Cadiz. Luckily the storm had blown over so we were back in the sunshine but not too hot. I half expected not to find a car park but almost immediately found an open park next to the railway station. Cheap as well at €1:20 per hour. As you can imagine being a railway station it was right in the centre. Good find.

Across from the station was the cruise centre and a large ship had docked. This was different from the three I’d seen yesterday. I went straight left onto the old town and to the cathedral and main square. I ventured into the fruit and fish market which was interesting. Quite cheap too. On through the narrow streets to the far end of Cadiz where the fort was situated. All still in good order. From there I followed the walls back to the port.

Cadiz is definitely worth a visit .

Quier day today. Headed down to Jerez where sherry is made but extremely disappointed. The place was dirty and grubbing. Very surprised by that considering the money from brandy and sherry that must be generated. I did not even bother to stop. But moved on to Cadiz. As it turned out all the sherry houses are at El Porto de Santa Maria which is the next town south. Much more prosperous.

It had started raining by this stage so entered the old town by the port in a drizzle. I tried to find a parking spot without any success. I passed all the local landmarks but no joy. It’s obviously a major ship building city as there were three large cruise ships in the harbour being fitted out. So eventually I gave up and headed out of town to an aire on the dual carriageway. It looked such a nice place I’m going to give it another go in the morning. It stopped raining at 15:30.

Bright start to the day. Headed out from this boring site at 9am to try and find the number 41 bus stop into Seville. It was opposite Aldi so relatively easy to find. Got on the bus but it was going in the wrong direction. Anyway it stopped at the terminus and turned round so finally we were on our way. I actually got off before the centre by the river at the bull ring. Noting there was a bus stop opposite going the other way. You could take a tour of the ring if you wanted but I declined. After Madrid it’s the second most attended in Spain.

Anyway over to the Cathedral which is pretty spectacular to say the least. The queue outside was really long and you had to pay an entrance fee so I gave it a miss. But walked all around visiting the plazas and fountains that were everywhere. The whole area is pedestrianised but for some reason the let bikes in. I came across one group of cyclists who were obviously on a guided tour getting in everyone’s way. Daft!!!

On my way through passed the tobacco factory which was used to process tobacco in the 18th century. It’s some building and is now part of Seville university. Worth a visit. From there it was only a short walk to the Plaza de Espana which is a large park with some amazing lakes and buildings at the centre. Impressive. Apparently it was used as a palace setting in StarWars 3. Must catch that some day. It’s a bit of a walk out of the centre to get there but well worth the effort

That was it for the day apart for a visit to Aldi on the way back. Cadiz tomorrow!!!!!