Today began with some more sorting out in the van before we leave for Malaga tomorrow morning and our return to Blighty.

Lunch was at the Micro Brewery in Conil de la Frontera where we sampled most of the ales on offer and a selection of Tapas.

 

 

 

Dinner was at the campsite restaurant. The kebabs were just awesome.

Internet problems at home have affected the ability to post recent blog entries but now the connectivity is all resolved, it’s time to catch up on a week or two of posts.

Today was preparing for our departure at the weekend. Some laundry in the morning and coffee at Paul and Andrea’s.

A late lunch was taken at the Harbour restaurant and later in the day we found our first geocache on the route from the Port Lighthouse to Cabo Roche.

 

Day 33 and we drove to Barbate which is a coastal town located about 25km from Conil and some 11km along the coast to the east of Cape Trafalgar and within the La Breña y Marismas del Barbate Natural Park.

We hiked around the National Park, around 6 miles in total. Stunning views were to be had from the coastal path heading east into Barbate.

When we had visited Seville recently, the waitress in Puratasca had told us that the Conil area is her favourite part of Spain and provided us with 3 restaurant recommendations. One of them, El Campero was in Barbate so we decided to test out her recommendation. The second was Trasteo in Zahara de los Atunes and finally, La Fontanilla in Conil itself.

The approach to the restaurant was through several streets of run-down apartment blocks and the general feel of Barbate was something of an old fishing port which has seen better days. We were not entirely sure what to expect.

Anyhow, El Campero was just superb – including the miniature Tuna Burger – and we have two other recommendations from her so we will be sure to check them out also.

It is Monday and Day 31. A relaxing day at the campsite, reading and chilling. Another beautiful day followed in the evening with pre-drinks at Paul and Andrea’s and then a table for eight of us at La Rosaleda restaurant for Fish ‘n’ Chips night.

This is so Spanish…

Tuesday we visited Vejer de la Frontera, a Spanish hilltop town on the right bank of the river Barbate and some 30 minutes by car from Conil. The town of Vejer de la Frontera occupies a low hill overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar and surrounded by orchards and orange groves.

It contains several ancient churches and convents, and the architecture of many of its houses recalls the period of Moorish rule, which lasted from 711 until the town was captured by Saint Ferdinand of Castile in 1248. Agriculture and fruit-farming are the chief industries; fighting bulls are also bred in the neighborhood and a running of the bulls is held annually.

 

Many of the streets are too narrow for cars and as you walk around if you look through an open doorway you are likely to see beautiful inner patios with lots of flowers and plants. The main square, the beautiful Plaza de Espana, shaded by vast palm trees, has a wonderful old fountain with traditional ceramic Andalucian frogs, which spout water high into the air, thus forming a fountain.

 

Saturday was another rest day and an opportunity for Mo to take care of the laundry and to familiarise herself further with the additional duties she’s been assigned following Joe’s injury. Such fulfilling tasks as emptying the chemical toilet and ensuring the water barrel is fully topped up!

Late afternoon and a packed bar saw England take on Wales in the six nations rugby and secure a thoroughly deserved win.

Sunday and we decided to visit one of the local Andalucian hill-top towns. Wikipedia states: Medina-Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. It is considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, used as a military defense location due to its elevated location. Locals are known as Asidonenses. The city’s name comes from Medina (Arabic for city) and Sidonia (of Sidon), meaning “City of Sidon”.

First of all, upon finding a car park, we were directed by a “local” in fluorescent jacket to our spot and charged 2 Euros. After leaving the car park, a true local stopped us and told us not to pay the guy in the yellow jacket – car parking was apparently free. Mo seemed to think his actions were somewhat entrepreneurial – I on the other hand think he deserved a good slapping… So beware who you pay for car parking in Spain!

Medina Sidonia was a fascinating place to look around and at this time of year, reasonably devoid of tourists. In fact, the town was very quiet until we found the main square around mid-afternoon. Every bar and restaurant was absolutely packed (mainly locals, no doubt some spending their car park fees) but we managed to find a table and enjoy a beer and Tapas for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived back at Camping La Rosaleda just in time for the Rugby – Scotland vs France, followed by Lamb chops cooked on the Weber.

As we aren’t relocating frequently, particularly at this point in our travels, the postings have become a little less consistent and this blog entry will cover a full 9 days.

Friday, and Day 20 saw us conclude our short break in Seville. Before checking out of the hotel, we walked a few miles along the river bank and then headed back to Conil via the Carrefour at San Fernando, near Cadiz.

Friday evening was a 3 course meal at the restaurant and we were seated next to the folks on our adjoining pitch. Perfectly nice couple but they don’t speak any English and it’s been some time since I used my limited French. It made for an interesting evening. Food was good.

Saturday and Sunday weather was rather chilly and very windy. We caught up on the washing, I watched the Tottenham v Arsenal game at the bar and later we walked into town.

The weekend saw a motorbike rally in Conil which we visited both days. Sunday was mothers day so Mo was treated to one of my special BBQs!

 

Monday brought further inclement weather with rain until after lunchtime. Walked to the beach in the afternoon and another organised meal at the restaurant (Iberian BBQ meats). This time we were seated with several Dutch, a German lady from Bavaria and a couple from Blackpool. It must be something genetic about the Germans and their love of meat as this German lady not only cleaned up her own plate but the meat leftovers on TWO others!

Tuesday saw us return to Chiclana for the market and then a relaxing afternoon back at the caravan. BBQ of lamb chops in the evening.

The Wednesday plan was to visit the restaurant at the Port of Conil. It was closed a week earlier because it was a Tuesday but today we had high hopes of enjoying a nice meal overlooking the harbour. It’s a pleasant 8 mile round trip.

Anyhow, we hadn’t managed to leave the car park of the campsite when Mo started what can only be described as “fiddling with her Alpine walking sticks” and as she swapped one to her other hand, she entangled it in my feet and proceeded to trip me up. I performed an almost perfect belly flop, landing directly on my lower left rib cage.

I was then transported to the local trauma hospital in Puerto Real, with suspected broken ribs, in the back of a Ford Transit van, which appeared to have undergone a low-budget conversion into a Spanish ambulance.

Fortunately, Xrays revealed no broken bones so I’m now back at the campsite; sunbathing, reading and relaxing. Mo’s punishment is to carry out all heavy lifting duties including the emptying of the chemical toilet.

 

 

 

It is also important that Mo keeps Joe thoroughly hydrated…

 

Of equal concern is the ability to maintain our fitbit progress. Prior to Joe’s injury, the 7-day rolling total was in excess of 110,000 steps. This record is now in tatters.

 

Day 19 was spent at the Alcazar – Spanish for Palace.

From the outside, the building appeared somewhat underwhelming but once inside, the rich architecture and magnificent gardens kept us enthralled for a full day. We finally left at 17:00, which is the closing time for the building and gardens at this time of the year.

 

 

 

 

Apart from the buildings and garden, there was an interesting pair of birds – a peacock and it’s guardian, the duck. The duck, clearly suffering an identity crisis followed the peacock around the gardens all day, and anyone who got too close had their feet aggressively pecked!

 

 

Later in the afternoon, the garden filled with artists – some were really quite talented.

 

 

 

In the evening, we dined at Puratasca, also in Triana (we were too tired to walk back into the centre of Seville). Food and service was just excellent. If you came across this establishment, it looks like a cheap café and likely you would walk right past it.

It was however recommended by the hotel and is actually ranked about number 63 of all Seville restaurants on Tripadvisor. It was such a nice evening and meal that it compelled me to post my first Tripadvisor restaurant review!

Although our waitress was not fluent in English, she patiently explained all the menu options. The menu is not extensive but that’s often a good sign. We had a Risotto to start followed by a large steak (to share) with fries. The house wine was also very pleasant and remarkably inexpensive.

It also turned out that our waitress is very familiar with the Conil area and we came away with 3 recommendations for restaurants near us. I will be sure to post our findings.

We decided to spend a few days at Seville, arriving at the Hotel Monte Triana mid afternoon.

First impressions of the hotel and its location are excellent and there is sufficient underground parking at the Hotel priced at 14 Euros per night.

The lady on reception spotted we had a large car and provided us with an oversized parking space. Most places would have been just too small for the Sorrento.

The cathedral of Seville looks magnificent in the late afternoon sunshine as we enjoyed a several hour stroll orientating ourselves around the town.

Dinner at the Sol y Sombre. This is recommended on a Seville Traveller website. It was certainly an experience.

 

Anyone with local knowledge of Berkshire / Oxfordshire may be familiar with a pub called “The Bell” at “Aldworth”. Time has stood still at this particular drinking hole and the same can be said of the Sol y Sombre. Great evening although Mo’s selection from the Tapas wasn’t the best.

If you are visiting Seville, head out of the town centre to Triana and give this place a try.

We don’t even know what it is called! Still, it’s the only restaurant at the Port of Conil and situated in a lovely position. The only slight problem is that they are closed on Tuesdays.

This made our near 8 mile hike something of a wasted journey. And being the only restaurant at the Port, we returned to the campsite shortly after our arrival and enjoyed a late afternoon BBQ.

Better luck (ok, planning) next time.

 

The weather has changed and the forecast is for at least 5 days of un-broken sunshine. We took the opportunity today to dust off the bicycles and head off to Cabo de Trafalgar.

It is off the coast here, back in 1805 that the Battle of Trafalgar took place. All that is visible is the “Trafalgar Lighthouse”, a few information prints about the battle itself and miles of stunning beaches.

Evening was Fish and Chips in the restaurant. Camping La Rosaleda really do know how to spoil us!