We arrived in Spain nearly four weeks ago and the overall weather has been disappointing. We have had rain, cloudy days, sunny days but with a bitterly cold northerly wind, freezing cold nights and finally this week, some signs of spring in the air.
Today is the third or fourth day of unbroken sunshine with pleasantly warm temperatures during the day and chilly overnight. A quiet Friday so far, catching up with a few chores and relaxing after a day of excess yesterday in Vejer de la Frontera (initially) and later at Conil de la Frontera.
As it’s Friday night, there’s a “care in the community” meal at Rosaleda restaurant. Seafood starter, Pork cheeks and flan for the princely sum of 15 Euros per person.
It was Flamenco night.
On the way back to the caravan, Moe grabbed this great picture of a menacing orange sky. At some point during the night, the heavens opened…
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Vejer de la Frontera – Thursday Week 4
Dawn broke across the campsite at 08:20 today – visible in the distance across the sea and over the horizon. As seems to be the way at Camping La Rosaleda, this event was witnessed by few and around 09:30 we emerged from our slumber and readied our selves for the battle ahead.
Today we had reserved a table at the magnificent Moroccan restaurant in Vejer, called El Calife – rated number 2 on TripAdvisor. It’s a 16km cycle ride with a very steep 3km climb up the hairpin road to this spectacular “white village”. Our route took us through La Muela where we stopped at a busy cafe. Richard ordered a round of Carajillo coffees which warmed us after the long slog from the N340 into the village of La Muela.
Carajillo coffee seems to be similar to an Irish coffee in that it’s an Expresso with a shot of Brandy or Rum but not typically served with any milk or cream.
We arrived at the Plaza D’Espana in Vejer with its iconic fountain forming the centrepiece.
After securing our bikes to various orange trees, we descended through the depths of the ancient building and into the garden courtyard for lunch.
We chatted with a group of teachers on a school trip from Norway and France. The kids were apparently exploring the famous streets of this old town with a packed lunch, whilst the teachers wiled away the afternoon at El Calife.
We ate well. Jennifer had an Aubergine Tagine; Moe the Lamb Kebabs (followed of course by desert) whilst Richard and I shared the BBQ meat platter.
A “Cointreau” Cajillo was the appropriate way to end this feast.
The cycle back to Conil, with the wind behind us and the steep descent from Vejer hillside was a little more pleasant than the journey out. It was now a stunning evening and we stopped at Atalaya park for refreshments. Moe and Jennifer shared another desert – Chocolate cake!
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Earlier in the week, we had our third quiz evening with Jennifer and Richard where, despite a much improved performance than the prior week, we were still 3 points off top spot.
This day the 5th February was the long anticipated opening of the restaurant “El Nautico” at the Port of Conil. Moe and I set off just after noon for the 4 mile walk to be disturbed by a phone call from Richard to inform us that the opening day was not in fact today but tomorrow.
We modified our walk and headed along the beach into Conil. Our favourite “beach bar” was also still closed but work is underway with an anticipated opening of the “Shack” on 20th February.
Sunday was a cold and dull day but we cooked a BBQ later on as we appeared to have an abundance of meat rapidly reaching it’s expiry date. Monday was another cold and damp day so appropriate for a visit to my favourite DIY store “Leroy Merlin” and then on to the Carrefour at San Fernando.
Richard picked a cold day to hire an “electric” moped which I trialled around the campsite. They are available for hire in town from 35 Euros per day with a variety of electric motors up to a stunning 1000W Bosch design. Check out Niu electric scooters on Google.
Tuesday was slightly warmer and we decided to cycle to Trafalgar for lunch. It’s a nice cycle ride on a divided road, part of Euro Velo 8 which starts in Cadiz and meanders across Spain. The route to Barbate at least is now all on a dedicated cycle path.
Lunch was at “Las Dunas” bar and lounge aka the Flintstones bar due to the wooden seats and various constructs. Inside was warm with a giant log fire in the middle.
