We are on-board the Brittany Ferries flagship ro-ro ferry ship “Santona”. Powered by Liquid Natural Gas. We were first to board which is great but our location on Deck 5 is such that we will need to travel a full circle of the boat before disembarkation, so it looks like we may be one of the last off tomorrow evening.

We did though, manage to bag ourselves a couple of Commodore Club lounge tickets which I think means free food and drink for the duration of the journey. Expensive at 49 Euros each but very comfortable. Passes for this lounge are also included with a certain class of ticket but there were none available when we booked our crossings. We were also first into the lounge and have just the best window seats.

Prior to our arrival at Santander, we spent two nights at Camping El Astral in Tordesillas before a 4 hour drive to Camping Virgen del Mar, close to Santander.

We also ate at the restaurant at El Astral which we would highly recommend.

Some pictures from El Astral and Tordesillas.

And a few pictures from our overnight stop at Santander.

Day 85 and soon our enforced allocation of 90 days in the EU will have expired. Just as the weather is starting to get very warm with the last few daytime highs around the mid 20s and very pleasant to sit outside during the evening.

We had an early start today and were on the road at precisely 08:00. We had a number of options for a stopover site – Camping Arco Iris or Aranjeuz or Riaza in the Madrid area but in the end we drove all the way to Camping El Astral in Tordesillas, a distance of 405 miles and an elapsed time of 8.5 hours which included a pause for lunch and one other stop. Traffic was light until we arrived at the metropolis of Madrid.

We will stay two nights here and then find a site in Santander for Tuesday night, in preparation for our ferry crossing on Wednesday.

Our journey so far…

Monday was our first full day at La Manga.

La Manga is close to Murcia and after its urbanization in the second half of the twentieth century, is now a large and significant tourist centre. It has more than 3000 hours of sunshine per year with an average temperature of 18C.

It belongs to the municipalities of Cartagena in its southern part and San Javier in its northern part.

The coastal cord of La Manga forms a tongue of land that is 21 km long and extends from Cabo de Palos to the Salinas and Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar. With a width between 100 and 1200m it partially separates the Mediterranean Sea from the Mar Menor.

To the west of this tongue of land is the Mar Menor, a salt water lagoon connected by channels, through which the water is exchanged with the Mediterranean Sea that is to the east. The central connection (El Estacio) is an artificial extension and provides access to the marina.

Today we set off on the bikes to Cabo de Palos which is at the nearest end to Cartagena of the La Manga spit. The entire journey was mainly on cycle tracks and gravel roads. We visited the lighthouse there which was first lit in January 1865. The lighthouse features a large pedestal and can be seen from a distance of 24 miles away.

Thursday and we decided to cycle to the far end of the La Manga spit of land. This was disappointing. Tower block upon tower block and the entire strip was close to deserted. We did manage to find somewhere to have a spot of lunch and a three course menu of the day for 12 Euros each. I’m sure that some of the dishes which arrived were not what we ordered but who knows. This is Spain.

I can only imagine what this place must be like in the summer months and frankly, we wouldn’t want to experience it! It was a nice cycle ride, despite the architecture…

Today we headed West to Mazarron. Our first stop was the mines of Mazarron.

The special deposits formed in this area were created by the eruption of two volcanoes, creating deposits that were mined first by the Romans, then a succession of cultures right up to present day. Mining created the vast wealth that lead to the explosion of housing in Cartagena and the up market villas of the wealthy in Alhama de Murcia, as well as providing employment for centuries in this area.

Many of the abandoned buildings have now fallen into disrepair.

The Romans mined this area extensively, creating more than 200 mines for iron, 100 for lead and silver, 5 for copper and 2 for alum. This last one was the most popular, and was much appreciated for fixing colours in the tanning process and in glass making. Most of the mines are situated in the Sierra de San Cristobal, at 186 meters. Around the mines are the remains of chimneys, the mine buildings, the mini castellated turrets, which were used up until the 1950s.

The countryside all around glows with a multitude of colours, due to the sulphurs of the extracted minerals and the waste generated in the extraction process. Also there is an extensive vein of red ochre, in the centre of which is the old factory which made alums and ochres, of its time, the only one in Spain.

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We ate lunch by the sea and in the afternoon visited the Bateria de Casillitos at Cabo Tiñoso. These two battery emplacements are well worth the visit along the hair-raising mountain-hugging roads. It takes a long time to travel the last 5 to 10 kms. They are a great place to take visitors, offering stunning views, interesting architecture and fabulous great guns.

They were constructed between 1926 and 1933 as part of a sophisticated defence network which aimed to protect Cartagena and its important military arsenal.

Forty-four elements covered every angle of attack and batteries were constructed in a ring which encircled Cartagena and cut along the coast as part of the Plan de Defensa of 1926.

The location of Cabo Tiñoso was chosen because of its strategic location, 218 metres above the sea on a rocky cliff with easily defendable access. The Vickers guns were made in the UK and at the time were the best in the world for anti-shipping defence.

There were two different batteries at Cabo Tiñoso. La Bateria de Jorel, which houses three 1923 model Vickers 152.4mm, 45 calibre anti-shipping guns, and the Bateria de Castillitos which has the enormous Vickers 381mm guns still in place, measuring 17m in length, capable of firing a projectile weighing a ton over a distance of 35km.

Part of the excitement of visiting the batteries is that these guns are still in-situ. The buildings have been tidied-up to some extent over recent years although the site wouldn’t pass muster with English Health and Safety! If you have kids, keep a close eye on them as there are many un-guarded drops and many of the buildings and maze of passageways are open to the public.

The big guns of Castillitos were only ever fired once in action against Nationalist forces in April 1937, but the knowledge of the havoc they could wreak was enough of a deterrent to ensure they were not required in further combat.

Tomorrow we had planned to visit Camping Pueblo Blanco in Olvera and explore the via verde which snakes past the largest griffin vulture colony in Europe – but the weather forecast is for a week of rain.

In the other direction, (towards Murcia / Alicante), the forecast is showing no signs of precipitation and the daytime highs should figure in the mid-20s.

We chatted with a few people about options and booked a pitch at Camping Capfun at La Manga. This is refuted to be one of the largest campsites in Europe and everyone says we won’t like it…

We booked online and it took an age for the confirmation to appear, despite repeated phone calls to the site. When we arrived earlier today we were assigned a pitch which was already in use. Groan. In the end we chose one on the edge of the site, just 5 minutes walk from the beach and the bar / restaurant. It’s a big plot, fully serviced with some great views so things definitely turning positive at the moment.

Question is, how will we feel in a weeks time!

Today we headed a few miles along the coast to Nerja and a visit to the famous caves there. This experience is quite expensive – at least in terms of general prices over here in Spain- and it’s certainly not lacking investment. There is no traditional rural Spanish feel to this tour!

As we approached the site, a man in a yellow jacket waved us into a car park next to the caves. As a result of his guidance, (and apparent entrepreneurial creativity), most cars were parking on this waste ground, as opposed to the pristine car park of the caves complex (which we subsequently found to cost 2 Euros).

It was clear his presence was opportunistic to say the least and his explanation that a 1 Euro “donation” for the parking would be appreciated failed to impress!

Here are some pictures from the visit to the caverns.

A quiet day yesterday with a meal at one of the local restaurants. The steak was as good as it looks…

Our second and final day at Antequera started with breakfast at Loulu bistro. Freshly squeezed Orange juice, strong coffee and a very nice toasted ham and cheese roll. Interesting decor and tables.

Then we walked to the top of Antequera to visit the Alcazabar. The views across the town and surrounding countryside are spectacular and the castle was originally a Moorish fortress erected over Roman ruins in the 14th century.

The city and its citadel fell into Christian hands during the capture of Antequera which lasted for five months in 1410.

There’s a very good audio book and website (scan the QR code) which tells the story of the castle. Entry to the castle and the Royal Collegiate of Santa Maria was available for a combined price of 6 Euros each before concessions.

The Real Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor (Royal Collegiate Church of the Great St. Mary) is known to be the first Renaissance church to be built in Andalusia (1530-1550). Its monumental façade is one of the most representative symbols of the city of Antequera.

After reading the first Ken Follet book recently (“The Pillars of the Earth”), I have a more nuanced view of such architecture. The buttresses, columns and arches, whilst elaborate and pleasing to the eye, are in fact engineering and mathematical miracles performed in an era without computers and what we might call “modern methods”. Essentially they are there to support the roof and to ensure that the weight of the roof didn’t result in the walls collapsing.

In the afternoon we set off to the nature reserve of El Torcal de Antequera which is in the Sierra del Torcal mountain range just south of the city. The jurassic age limestone is around 150 million years old and was laid down in a marine corridor which extended from the gulf of Cadiz to Alicante. The sea-beds were then lifted to a height of 1300m during the Tertiary era, resulting in a mountain range of flat-lying limestone – rare in Andalucia.

Later, a series of fractures, cracks and faults at right angles were exploited by erosion which produced the alleys and large blocks of limestone which we were able to see during our visit.

The blocks themselves have been the subject of calcite dissolution and freeze-thaw action which, working on the limestone’s horizontal beds, resulted in the various shapes visible today, many of which resemble, and have been named after, everyday objects such as the Sphinx, the Jug, the Camel, the Screw, etc.

In the picture below as well as the ancient El Torcal, you can see the very modern high speed railway which links Madrid with Malaga.

Another out of sequence post here, but we’ve done such a lot over the last 36 hours that it’s better to post whilst everything is clear in our minds.

Tuesday morning, the last day of February 2023, and we set off for Antequera, which is a little over a 1 hour drive from Torrox. Joe had booked a hotel overlooking one of the squares in the centre of town – Hotel Infante.

Antequera is known as “the heart of Andalucia” due to its central location between the cities of Malaga, Granada, Cordoba and Seville. In 2011, Antequera had a population of circa 40,000 inhabitants and is situated at an altitude of 575 meters.

The city dates back to Roman times and there is a lot to see both in the city and the nearby national parks.

The large wooden shutters revealed stunning views across the square and of our local bell tower. There are a lot of bell towers in Antequera, and the city is steeped in history. In fact, if Joe had dug a little deeper into his pocket, he could have secured a room at the back of the hotel with views of the Alcazabar.

Before we arrived at the Hotel car park – or more aptly the waste ground near to the hotel where literally hundreds of cars were parked for free – we visited the Dolmens of Antequera.

The Dolmens of Antequera is a world heritage site but it is actually an ensemble of several cultural monuments. The Dolmen of Menga, Dolmen of Viera, Tholos of El Romeral and two natural mountain features – the El Torcal and the Pena de los Enamorados.

The Dolmens of Menga and Viera were the ones we would visit en-route to our hotel and they are just a mile or so out of the town. The Dolmen of Menga is a megalithic mound called a tumulus, long barrow form of dolmen and dates back to 3700 BC. We also visited the Dolmen of Viera, which is in close proximity and is a type of megalithic single-chamber tomb.

We queued for an hour to gain entry into the Dolmen of Viera and were somewhat underwhelmed – if I could understand more Spanish, I think I would find this isn’t a unique opinion.

And some photos of the Dolmen of Menga.

We then headed to the hotel and set off for a whistle stop tour of Antequera. This was when Moe discovered that Antequera has an marvellous collection of bell towers.

We passed the Bullring, which has largely been rebuilt in recent decades and is no longer used for bull fighting but holds local events and concerts.

We had picked one of the worst days of the year in terms of finding somewhere to eat in the evening – 28th February is Andalucia day – marking the anniversary when the region became an autonomous community of Spain. Eventually we found Abrasador Bodegas Triana and had an excellent close to the day. Food, service and atmosphere was excellent.

Some more photos below of our whirlwind tour of Antequera and the meal at Bodegas Triana.

We have a little bit of catch-up to do on the blog so it’s a fast rewind to Torrox…

Thursday (23 Feb 2023) we walked into Torrox costa from the campsite on a very windy and rather chilly day.

Dinner was at the local restaurant, La Roima.

Friday Moe had to visit the Doctor so we drove into Torrox and to the “Centro de salud”. She took her passport and GHIC card and was triaged by a nurse straight away followed by a short wait before she was examined by the Doctor and prescribed some medication.

Very fast and efficient but we should have been better prepared, with more stuff written down and translated. We assumed incorrectly, that in this part of Spain, everyone would speak good English but this was far from the case at the Torrox health centre.

After lunch we drove to Nerja and looked around this charming old town. The old and new meet along this coastline.

The Eagle Aqueduct, also known as the Eagle Bridge was built in the 19th century and has been used continuously since – presently used to irrigate farmland. It was built originally to aid the industrial revolution and was intended to carry water from the town of Nerja to the local sugar refinery in Maro.

The aquaduct was commissioned by the factory owner, Francisco Cantarero Senio and his signature is visible in the central pavilion of the aquaduct.

The design of the aqueduct is typical of the period of its construction (19th century), when the Mudejar style (copied from the ornamental architecture originally used by Muslim craftsmen in Spain between the 13th and 15th centuries) was very popular. The aqueduct is four stories high; each tier is constructed from a series of brick, horseshoe shaped archways, of which there are 37 in total. These are topped with a mudejar-style spire, on top of which is a weather vane in the shape of a double-headed eagle, from which the aqueduct takes its name. The origin of the eagle symbol is not known for certain, but it is rumoured that during the time of construction eagles were seen nesting in the hills of Maro.

Saturday we returned to Torrox old town.

Towering above the main square, with its warm, golden bricks contrasting against the white houses stands Torrox’s main church ‘Nuesta Senora de la Encarnacion’.

The church was built in the 16th Century over the site of an ancient mosque. Today the main parts date from the end of the 19th century as the church had to be completely rebuilt after it was damaged in a strong earthquake.

The new church was built in a Baroque style. It is a surprisingly large church for a pueblo. Constructed with 3 naves and a beautiful square tower which has semi-circular arches supporting a roof with pinnacles

Sunday we drove back to Lake Vinuela and walked part way around the reservoir. We also visited Periana because there’s a rough gravel track from Periana to Ventas de Zafarraya. In fact, with some decent electric bikes I think one could cycle from Lake Vinuela all the way to Zafarraya itself.

Monday we visited one of the pretty white villages – Frigiliani. Voted the ‘prettiest village in Andalucía’ by the Spanish tourism authority, Frigiliana is also important from an historical viewpoint. El Fuerte, the hill that climbs above the village, was the scene of the final bloody defeat of the Moors of La Axarquía in their 1569 rebellion.

We had a good look around this stunning location which is a tangle of narrow cobbled streets lined with whitewashed houses, their wrought-iron balconies filled with planters of brilliant red geraniums