Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 33, Cordoba…

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Today we caught the bus into Cordoba. It stops right outside the campsite and takes about 45 minutes to reach the central bus station in Cordoba. Return fare is 8 Euros for an adult.

The main sites today were the cathedral with its unusual arches and the old bridge leading into the main part of the old city.

 

Cordoba Cathedral

Cordoba Cathedral

Bridge at Cordoba

Bridge at Cordoba

 

Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 32 Chicken update and on to Cordoba…

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Time to hit the road again. This time a short 250km drive to a village situated around 40km south of Cordoba.

An early start and big surprise – the weather has taken a turn for the worse and it is raining heavily. This is probably only the second or so occasion we have seen any precipitation since our departure from blighty.

Our pitch at Campina

Our pitch at Campina

Anyhow, despite the inclement weather the journey was swift and uneventful – the new site being very rural and consisting only of 35 pitches. We have a stunning view over the rolling wheat fields and Olive groves.

 

Anniversary Meal

Anniversary Meal

The other news to report today is that last nights meal was a roaring success. Despite my feeling that it wouldn’t be third time lucky, Mo succeded in securing our Chicken and Chips feast. The anniversary meal went ahead as planned. I do know how to treat a lady…

The new site (Camping La Campina) near Cordoba offered us a friendly reception. Nothing is too much trouble and we already have an outline program of events to take up much of the week. It is festival time in Cordoba so there should be lots of extra stuff to do and see.

La Campina menu

La Campina menu

 

Dinner was Paella at the campsite. This site also includes a continental breakfast so we’ll be making full use of that before catching the bus into Cordoba tomorrow.

Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 31, Anniversary…

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Today is our 23rd wedding anniversary and we thought we’d do something really special for dinner. Elusive Chicken and Chips. From the campsite restaurant washed down with a bottle of Lidl champagne.

We know how to live life to the full..

At the Mo-ment, swmbo has ordered this much sought after and rare dish at Camping Bella Vista, and much to my surprise it is slated to be ready in 1 more hour. Might it actually arrive?

Full update tomorrow when we up steadies and head for Cordoba.

We are now staying exclusively in Spain having abandoned the idea of driving through France and taking the Eurotunnel. We now have a crossing from Santander booked for early June, as we meander slowly North.

Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 30, Estepona…

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Today we visited Estepona. As is becoming traditional, Mo had pre-planned an itinerary and tour of the town.

Orchid Museum

Orchid Museum

The first surprise of the day was the Orchid Museum. In fact we almost abandoned the stop here because we couldn’t find it and at one point we’d been a mere 10m away from the square.

Inside the Orchid Museum

Inside the Orchid Museum

Entry was free and a vast array of orchids on view in  a new building with a giant glass domed roof.

The biggest surprise of the day was bumping into some folks we had met a year ago at a friends wedding anniversary. What a coincidence.

Estepona street

Estepona street

 

The streets around the old town are a picture of flowers. Hanging baskets and pots adorn the walls of the buildings every couple of metres. We had a nice long lunch in the Plaza de Flores.

 

 

 

Mo mis-behaving

Mo mis-behaving

Finally we walked along the Promenade where Mo couldn’t resist climbing on the kiddies climbing frame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estepona Lighthouse

Estepona Lighthouse

 

Then on to the lighthouse and the marina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was a BBQ so the elusive chicken tea continues. Tomorrow is the night.

Euro trip 3, 2015 – Day 29, Train to Ronda…

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An early start today to catch the train from San Roque La Linea to Ronda.

Our Train at Ronda

Our Train at Ronda

We had booked our tickets the previous day via loco2.com and printed them off on our mobile printer.

Whilst it isn’t a long drive to Ronda, the train journey on the single track line is proported to be very special amid scenic views adorning the climb through the valleys and mountains.

View from the Ronda train

View from the Ronda train

It’s 9:30 in the morning and we are around the halfway point and the journey is living up to its expectation.The GPS shows we have tracked up to an altitude of 320m. Ronda itself is around 720m.

Mo had pre-planned a guided tour around the Old Town to take in views of all the old bridges and sights. This included a hike down the “Water Mines” at the Casa del Rey Moro palace – all 300 steps.

Water Mine Stairs

Water Mine Stairs

 

The journey down was ok but fairly gruelling back to the surface. In a bygone era, the water mine was used to get water to the surface from the river at the bottom of the gorge and apparently slaves were chained up in the mine shaft to perform this work.

 

 

 

Gorge at Bottom of Water Mine

Gorge at Bottom of Water Mine

 

And the reason for the water mine – the gorge at the bottom of the shaft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also hiked down the side of the gorge to take the classic view of the Puente Nuevo.

Jo admires the classic view of Puento Neuvo

Jo admires the classic view of Puento Neuvo

The “neuvo” bridge is not actually that new, as the building of this bridge commenced in 1751 and took until 1793 to complete. The Puente Nuevo is the tallest of the bridges, towering 120m above the canyon floor.

The highlight of tour of course was watching a group of Indian guys with their “Aerogenix” drone.

Highlight of Ronda!

Highlight of Ronda!

Flying it around the main sites in the town. I’ve said before that I definitely need a drone but I hadn’t anticipated the added benefit of it accompanying us on our travels. No more hiking down gorges, just launch the drone for the perfect selfie.

It did look a fairly sophisticated piece of technology and a quick Web search suggests they come in at around 15k Euros. Might have to increase the budget somewhat…

 

Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 28, The Chicken Saga…

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I did think about blog entries every other day as everything around here is 50% British and it doesn’t quite feel like the genuine European travels.

Anyhow, today is an exception. We have a chicken crisis. On Monday, we wanted a easy meal so we went up to the campsite bar which has signs plastered around “Chicken and Chips takeaway, 13 Euros”. So we sat down and ordered some drinks and then tried to order the said takeaway. With a big smirk on his face, the barman announced “We don’t have a chef on Mondays. No Chicken”. So, we then had to finish our drinks and fire up the BBQ. So much for an easy tea.

Today we wanted a speedy dinner because we have an early start to take the Train to Ronda tomorrow. Aha. Chicken and Chips. Again I persuaded Mo that we should have a drink or two whilst they were prepared. The beer arrived and with a smile on my face, I ask if the chef is working and can I order the chicken please. “Aha, no problem sir” grinned the same barman, “it will be ready in 2 hours – the chef has to cook it”.

Foiled again. Friday, whether we want Chicken and chips or not Mo is determined that it will be third time lucky.

I think otherwise.

 

Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 27, Costa del Sol…

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The more observant amongst our followers may have noticed that there isn’t yet a blog entry for Day 26. Well, the diary is only maintained whilst we are away in the caravan on a Eurotrip and to be perfectly honest, we’ve become a little confused and disorientated.

Firstly, nearly everyone around here is British and secondly, when you try to speak to someone in Spanish, it elicits a bemused response. I know our Spanish isn’t great but ordering a cerveza and a cola lite is normally ok.

Typical Spanish restaurant?

Typical Spanish restaurant?

It didn’t help when we visited the local village to discover one of our nearby restaurants, which would be more at home in Camberley High street!

Anyhow, it’s taken a full 24 hours to become acclimatised to Little England (remember we are still far away from Malaga, Torremolinos and Benidorm) but we have concluded that we are actually still in Spain hence the blog is resumed.

 

Puerto De Manilva

Puerto De Manilva

Walking yesterday and cycling today including a visit to the Puerto De Manilva.

Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 25, On to the Costa del Sol…

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We left El Rocio today. With mixed feelings about missing the festivities and pilgrimage but en-route we did pass a number of pilgrims with their horses and wagons all beautifully dressed up. Perhaps we should have stayed…

Anyway, onto the Costa del Sol and a category 1 campsite near to Estepona named La Bella Vista. Mixed feelings about this part of Spain as we don’t want to find every restaurant serving Fish and Chips and fried mars bars! Still we haven’t been here before so we should give it a chance and we understand Estepona is a well preserved town, far away from the high rise monstrosities of places like Torremolinos, Malaga and Benidorm.

We have heard and read lots of reviews about the campsite which is located with its own private beach and whilst the pitches are allegedly a little cramped, the facilities are reputed to be second to none.

We arrived at the site mid afternoon following a 4 hour drive from El Rocio. First impressions of the site were very good. Yes, the pitches are tight (a van over 7m and full awning would create issues in getting the car on the pitch as well). The hedges though have now grown somewhat from the pictures readily available on websites and there is some shade.

Ocean view

Ocean view

The view over the pool, private beach and ocean is stunning. Not bad for 29 Euros a night, discounted to around 20 Euros per night for a 7 day stay.

 

Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 24, Penultimate day in El Rocio…

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Another early morning walk although the definition of early seems to have slipped a little.

Sand Dunes

Sand Dunes

More like an early lunchtime walk across the sand dunes to the beach.

 

 

Mo heading back

Mo heading back

 

 

Mo on the way back…

 

 

This was our last full day in El Rocio and we’ll be glad to see the back of the dust. At times you can barely see a 100m and there’s so much activity preparing for the pilgrimage.

Eurotrip 3, 2015 – Day 24, Early morning walk…

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It wasn’t quite so hot today – it appears that the worst of the heatwave is behind us. Hopefully temperatures will stay warm but not excessive.

This morning we had an early start and walked a section of Donana National park, around 4 miles in total.

Donana Board Walk

Donana Board Walk

It’s good to see the EU is spending our money wisely – around 5 miles of boardwalk to stroll around on.

 

We didn’t see a Lynx today and in this region of the park, the marshland and lagunas are dry and there was little wildlife to observe.

Stork

Stork

 

Several Storks nesting on the electricity pylons and a large Black Kite hovering above, hoping to relieve the Stork of its chicks.

 

 

 

 

In the evening we cycled into El Rocio.

El Rocio - Wild West

El Rocio – Wild West

Just like the Wild West – townsfolk riding around on their horses and being pulled along in their horse drawn carriages. Away from the solitary tarmac road, cycling is impossible on the sandy streets and we should have left the bikes behind….

… Still, a million people will complete their pilgrimage to El Rocio next Sunday.