The weather is a little different in this part of Spain. The high today was around 30 degrees but overnight, the temperatures have been falling to around 13 – 14 degrees. A late afternoon thunderstorm covered us in hail and the temperature dropped sharply by 10 degrees before recovering to the mid-20s for the evening BBQ.

We set off on our round-the-lake cycle ride in the morning – not quite early enough as we were still on the road in the midday heat.

Apart from the first 1/2 mile (which was not really suitable for bikes), the rest of the journey was on a decent track around the lake. We returned on the road from Ruidera to make things a little easier. Total trip was about 21km.

 

 

 

 

The Lagunas really are pretty and very well preserved, but this is an extremely remote area.

We left Guizarrosa around 9:30 in the morning for a circa 200km drive to Parque Natural de Las Luganas de Ruidera arriving just after lunch at Camping Los Batanes.

 

This location is very remote, Manzanares being a reasonably sized town located some 60km away. There is very little mobile phone signal in the area and wifi is not available on the campsite nor anywhere in the nearby locality. It’s going to be difficult keeping up with the blog entries.

The section we are on has some fantastic new pitches, all fully serviced but the trees and hedges need to grow somewhat to provide some decent privacy.

Mind you, our pitch is huge and the all-in ACSI price is 16 Euros per night. Not bad.

 

 

We have arrived at Camping Los Batanes. No wifi. No mobile signal.

But an area of absolute stunning beauty.

Half way round a 30k cycle ride and picked up mobile to submit this.

Firstly a correction to yesterdays post. The Flamingos don’t live in the nearby Laguna but fly there for a day trip from Donana National park – where we had previously visited during our stay at El Rocio.

Everybody needs new neighbours… They are from New Zealand – ok, so maybe the theme tune is wrong, but I’m struggling to find a claim-to-fame for this fine land. Cricket maybe?

Today they’ve been a little less friendly and the lady made some comment at breakfast (yes, the site provides a “free” breakfast and of course the opportunity to exchange pleasantries with the other inmates) about how noisy the site was last night.

That was a bit of a surprise because we are in such a tranquil location, everyone is tucked up in their vans around 11:00pm and I slept like a dream. I know we didn’t retire to bed until around 12:30 but we didn’t exactly host a rave. Or, could it have been sleeping next to a wide open window to mitigate the 30 plus night time temperature in the van? Is it possible that there was a snoring problem? No, of course not.

Today we were still feeling the effects of our exertions on the bikes yesterday. Mo has far more bruises and gravel marks than seemed apparent after her fall.

Still, we headed into Cordoba again and before lunch, toured the Alcazar and gardens.

Temperatures were upwards of 35 degrees so a long lunch was called for – and successfully executed.

 

 

 

 

 

It is festival time here in Cordoba. Like a much smaller version of Octoberfest but all the local girls are dressed in the traditional Spanish flamenco.

 

 

 

We move on again tomorrow so early evening we packed up the van and ate dinner at the campsite restaurant.

I ordered Flamenquin which is apparently a Cordoba speciality. I’ve never seen it before but it’s not entirely dis-similar to a Cordon Bleu, just a different shape. The body was in need of a fatty meal with chips covered in copious amounts of salt.

We will visit this site again. Probably March or October would be a better time of year in order to avoid the blistering heat and plague of midges.

 

 

The plan was for an early start today as we planned to take off on a cycle ride from Santaella to Laguna de El Donadio …. Around 14 miles round trip, mainly on gravel / unmade service roads and there would be a detour to cross the high speed railway line.

We weren’t exactly on the road particularly early and it was another hot day.

 

The two half litre bottles of water were wholly inadequate given the late start, 30 degree temperatures and the fact that we didn’t arrive back at the car until 1:00pm.

It didn’t help that Mo fell off her bike grazing her arm and bruising her hand. Fortunately a Spanish farmer was passing and he provided us with water to clean up the wounds. All the more embarrassing given that her velocity was zero at the time. She somehow tangled herself up amongst the bike trying to turn around.

 

We couldn’t get particularly close to the lake but were able to photograph the wild Flamingos living there.

 

 

Later in the day, we visited Ecija. Ecija is home to several magnificent baroque churches, the towers of each glisten with brilliantly coloured tiles which can be spied from far in the distance.

 

There are eleven in all and without a guide book, we managed to find about five of them before collapsing in front of a bar with a couple of cold beers.

 

 

Camping La Campina is a lovely site in the middle of the Spanish countryside, nestled alongside ancient olive groves and arable farmland. But… There is a problem here with a plague of annoying and biting midges.

The campsite owners make light of the infestation – after all, it’s due to being in the countryside and in no way a reflection on how the site is maintained – yet Rick spends his whole time in boots, jeans and a long sleeved shirt. And its 37 degrees in the shade.

Rick reckons they are some kind of wheat fly and that they don’t bite. However, the abundance of red swollen marks on our bodies suggest otherwise.

We did think about moving to Camping El Brillante in Cordoba which is a municipal site within walking distance of the city but we decided that the move would consume the best part of a day and so abandoned the idea.

So the plan is to stay here until Friday.

 

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.

 

 

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.

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.

 

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.

 

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then on to the lighthouse and the marina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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