A detour to Monfrague National Park

Did I say we were heading to Salamanca? Well, there we were heading along the motorway in that direction and we saw a sign for Monfrague National Park, this is an area we visited in June of last year and enjoyed very much so on the spur of the moment we decided to go there again.

It was raining again so for the rest of the day we were confined to the van, but the next morning the sky cleared and we headed out in the van to the visitor centre for the park to pick up some local information for a day in the area. After a cup of coffee we headed to our first Mirador (viewpoint) where we saw our first vultures who were flying despite the strong winds.

We then moved further into the park where we parked up,had lunch then walked up to the castle and viewing platform atop one of the high points of the area. On the way up we saw vultures nesting in the rocks and at the top we were treated to an ariel display by the vultures who would occasionally out of curiosity fly down closer and have a look at us (maybe checking we were still alive and not edible???) We spent quite a long time just sitting watching their elegant soaring on the thermals and admiring the spectacular view across the park.

At one time we climbed the narrow stairs to the top of the castle but the wind was just too strong so had to come back down to the more sheltered viewing areas. 

Last time we visited the park the vultures shared  the sky with the Spanish Imperial eagles but now in October they have the place to themselves as the Eagles are off seeking winter sun in Africa.

We were lucky to have good weather as we discovered later that other areas in southern Portugal and Spain had violent, destructive storms and flooding, it seems we moved northward in the nick of time!

If you look close-up you can see the vultures perched on the rock ledges - well camouflaged!

Trials and tribulations but all ok in the end!

The day started out well, we got away early on a cold but dry morning, we planned to travel 80 miles to a campsite on a lakeside. But when we arrived the place was closed, probably for the winter, the gates had been sealed shut with cable ties, even though the information we had said the site was open all year. So we put our heads together and decided to head on for another 80 miles to a camperstop at Don Benito, near to the start of our last Via Verde, but when we arrived it had been closed off for a Hallowe'en festivity - we had nowhere to go, our chemical toilet needed emptying and we were running out of water! Not only that but the Sat Nav lost its voice and refused to speak! In the end we moved the barrier which stopped us going onto the camperstop to access the service facilities (emptying the toilet being top priority - or we would literally have nowhere to 'go'!) before we headed off in search of somewhere to wild camp.

We went back to the town of Villanueva de Serena and the start of Via Verde No 10: Vegas del Guidiana, we found the 'perfect' stop, a large car park by McDonalds and opposite a Carrefour supermarket. It wasn't the best of choices, it was definitely a bit noisy, but it would do for one night!

Friday morning and we set out on our last Via Verde of the trip and it turned out to be worth the hassle of the previous day's journey. The surface of the trail was mainly good tarmac, it was flat and we passed through wetlands with loads of interesting birds including Grey Heron which must have been five foot tall! 

The old stations we came across were deserted and derelict, just a memory of their former glory. The picnic areas were neglected with overflowing rubbish bins, it seems the funding for the maintenance of these tracks has long run out. But it didn't detract from our enjoyment of the trail and luckily the weather stayed sunny and warm for the best part.

In the evening we treated ourselves to a McDonald's with a Mcflurry to follow, then we went and stocked up for our last few days in the supermarket- what an exciting evening!

Another (noisy) night wild camping and we were off to Salamanca - and another step towards the port of Bilbao.

Footnote: Some of you may know we are in fact back home by now (13th Nov) but as I wrote these posts whilst we were away I decided just to carry on posting every few days! Trouble is it makes me want to go back.......

Via Verde de Sierra revisited....

During the night we had torrential rain and the forecast was for more but the sky cleared and it stayed dry all day for another wonderful day on the Via verde de Sierra with its 30 tunnels and the nature reserve with soaring vultures. We never fail to be enchanted by the safe cycling along deserted trails surrounded by stunning countryside, the warmth of the Autumn sunshine on our backs as we pootle along. Lyndsay, our daughter, said the other day 'aren't you bored of cycling?' Well, the answer has to be definitely 'No!' There is always something different to see along our route, the pleasure of finding a little village with a Bar to find for a coffee and researching and finding all the different Vias Verdes has given us a very different trip with a sense of purpose.

Once again we were able to cycle the complete length of the trail starting at each end ( I think that means we cycled it four times in all?) staying this time on the Camperstop at the old railway station Olvera (only 7€ a night with electric hookup and water)

We didn't regret coming back and revisiting this particular Via Verde and we were lucky with the weather as the next morning the rain was coming down in torrents.

 

We packed up in the rain and headed to another Via Verde located south of Córdoba (La Campina). There are no camperstops anywhere near it so we headed to a village (Fuencubierta) about halfway on its length where it intersected a road and hoped to find somewhere to wild camp, which we eventually did, by a picnic area on the trail, under the shade of an enormous eucalyptus tree. With plenty of daylight hours left we headed south on the trail, once again discovering quite different scenery - more olive groves with haciendas perched high on the hilltops.





The trail was quite stony, slowing our progress so we only did 13 miles - bringing our total mileage on our bikes this trip to 620 miles or 1000 km!! Just to put
that into perspective- we have cycled the equivalent distance of the entire length of Spain from top to bottom - Yikes!!!

Wednesday morning and we set out on the Via Verde La Campina heading north towards Córdoba, the trail was quite stony with a few tarmac stretches, we were surrounded on this journey by vast fields which would be used in the summer for cereal or sunflower crops.

Along the way we stopped for coffee in a bar along the way, enjoying the Spanish atmosphere of the bar with the village elders excitedly playing dominos at the back. I didn't know dominoes could be so much fun!

There were some lovely views along the way, the distant town of Almodovar with its castle perched high on the hilltop.

So we ended up spending two nights wild camping completely undisturbed. Time to move on again......

A visit to the city of Seville.....

After two days at Camping Aldea at El Rocio we headed to Seville and a camperstop next to the river and the port. It was very difficult to find as our Sat Nav didn't quite take us there and we ended up in Keith's worst nightmare - lost in the city! Luckily perseverance paid off and with more luck than judgement we found it. It was early in the day so we were able to head into the city on foot, arriving at the Reales Alcazares (Royal palace) after a 20 minute walk. The palace is still the official residence of the current royal family and reflects its Moorish history with a wealth of wonderful decorations with glazed ceramic tiles, the buildings and the gardens are magnificent with an amazing attention to detail.

After stopping for coffee at the Plaza de Espana, we then headed away from the Royal park and residence to the cathedral, passing the Torre del Oro on our way - a Moorish defence tower built in the twelfth century which was once covered in golden tiles

The Cathedral is the largest Gothic temple in the world being built in the twelfth century on the site of the Mosque when the city was under the Moors. The mausoleum, legend has it, houses the remains of Christoper Columbus

The city was alive with people enjoying a day out in the city, there are literally hundreds of bars and restaurants to chose from (although maybe one too many Starbucks!) 

But you know, at heart we are country bumpkins and couldn't wait to get away from the hustle bustle (traffic and fumes) of the city and get back out on the cycle trail again, so the next day we headed back to Puerto Serrano at the end of our favourite Via Verde de Sierra ( well it was almost on our way.....)

The Wild, Wild West....

So where to next? After another of our regular planning meetings we decided to head south again to a campsite on the edge of the Donana National Park, the site being at a town called El Rocio. When we arrived we asked the receptionist about cycling in the area and were told 'this is horse country, the roads are sand and not suitable for cycling'. This we discovered for ourselves is true - the town of El Rocio is like the Wild West - all the roads are compacted sand and every house or building has a rail outside for tying up your horse. 

The town has a very different atmosphere to the typical Spanish town, for one thing it was much quieter because there was less traffic and what traffic there was travelled slowly on the sand roads (apart from the odd maniac who didn't care about the suspension on his car!) 

The church in the town is a magnificent white building built in 1969. It houses a famous sixteenth century statue of the Virgin Mary which is believed by many to have miraculous healing properties, every year at the end of May, one million pilgrims come to the town when the statue is ceremoniously carried through the streets. It must be an amazing sight - so many people making the pilgrimage to this small town!

The Donana National Park is Europe's most important wetland and ' constitutes a mosaic of ecosystems housing a unique biodiversity'. It provides a habitat for thousands of European and African birds, some in danger of extinction. We were able to explore the area on the roads (fortunately there are quite a few tarmac roads as well as the sand roads!) and we had a last visit of this trip to a wonderful sandy beach before we start a steady journey northward towards our boat trip home from Bilbao on 5th November. 

Travelling to this area wasn't on our original agenda but we are glad we made the detour to visit such an unusual area.

The fantastic baroque decoration surrounding the statue of the Virgin Mary  which overlooks the alter 

The Silver tabernacle 

Via Verde Los Molinos Del Agua

Reluctantly after 5 days it was time to leave 'Motorhome Friends' and Portugal, heading back to Spain for our next Via Verde located in the town of Valverde del Camino, just north of Huelva close to the border with Portugal. 

The town of Valverde del Camino is a laid back sort of Spanish town, quite smart, lots of cafes and restaurants and well maintained with a number of interesting rest areas decorated with elaborate fountains. It is also famous for leather work particularly the manufacture of handmade boots and shoes. 

We found the camperstop in the north of the town, but the weather was still messing up our plans with regular very heavy cloudbursts, so for our first day we set out on foot heading north on the Via Verde 'Los Molinos del Agua' (our 7th Via verde) The trail was too rugged for our hybrid bikes and we only walked 3 miles before we had a to turn back due to an immense puddle and some very soft sandy mud which we were sinking up to our ankles in, it also started raining again so we weren't too upset to turn back to the van! 

Every Via verde has proved to have different scenery and this was no exception- it was almost like being on the Moors with rolling countryside of heather and gorse, when we walked through the cuttings they had been cut through the most amazing coloured slate - I just wanted to collect some up to take home for the garden!

After an evening confined to the van we were were able to set out on on a sunny Tuesday morning on our bikes on the Via Verde heading south through another different landscape.

First through forests of umbrella pine (Pinus Pinea) then eucalyptus, then cork, all growing in an amazing ochre colour sandy soil. It proved to be an incredible sensual journey with the intense menthol smell of the eucalyptus, the hot pines and the wonderful colours with birdsong we had  never heard before.
 Half of our route was on smooth tarmac and the rest on compacted gravel so we were able to cycle almost 30 miles for the day without too
much difficulty, stopping at our turnaround point for a picnic lunch.
Back at the van we then had to decide where to go next, our time is slowly running out, the weather is getting cooler, the days shorter - another Via Verde or maybe another seaside resort?

Cork trees - stripped bare of their clothes!!

A day out in Alte....

Perched on a hill, Alte is one of the prettiest villages of the Algarve. Our generous host Pedro insisted we borrow their car for a trip out, 

The weather was decidedly changeable so how could we refuse, we certainly landed on our feet when we arrived at 'Motorhome Friends' !

So we headed inland to Alte and spent the day wandering the narrow streets of pretty painted houses typical of the Algarve.

We visited the 16th century church Nossa Senhora de Assunçao and the water source Fonte Grande on the edge of the village where the women would meet to do their washing and share the village gossip. 

The area is now a tranquil riverside picnic area dedicated to a famous poet who was born in Alte,the walls of the area are decorated with beautiful blue and white tiles inscribed with some of the works of the poet.

All this sightseeing made us hungry so we stopped for lunch in a restaurant overlooked by the church and just for a while we sat and watched the world pass us by.

Just a little bit of Portugal paradise...

Our adventure continues and on Monday we headed into Portugal and the Algarve. Our destination being a town near Lagos called Alvor, a bustling tourist resort with a pretty harbour area and lovely long sandy beaches.

And on the way we found the place to have our gas bottle refilled and for only just over 6€ (less than £5 - now that's cheap!) This means we can stay on camperstops with no electric hookup again. Thanks to John and Gill for the recommendation!

On our first night in Alvor we treated ourselves to a pizza in one of the many restaurants in town  followed by a coffee and a walk along the harbour front.

The next day we headed out on our bikes to cycle along the many coastal boardwalks around Alvor stopping, of course, for a coffee along the way.

Back at the site, we had mainly English neighbours who are staying on site for the winter. The Algarve has a lovely temperate climate to get away from the cold English winter with its short days, I can definitely see the attraction!

 But we wanted to find an area away from the resorts so using our app Park4night we head to a mini campsite 6 miles north of Albefeira.

The campsite is called 'Motorhome friends' and the site is actually in their garden with lovely views of the surrounding countryside. Mareilla and Pedro, our hosts, made us very welcome and
we had use of the toilet and shower in their house ( heaven after some of the places we have been to!)
We were also invited to coffee an Almond liqueur while Pedro showed us a video all about the site and the surrounding area, he is Portuguese and he spoke to us in English and French to the other couple - very impressive to be able to speak in two other foreign languages, switching from one to the other!

Paderne castle

Of course we explored the area and nearby is a ruin of a Moorish castle, a Roman bridge and an
ancient mill as well as a small town nearby for a coffee and cake, but this time we went out on foot as some of the paths were not so well suited to bikes.

Paderne castle is one of the castles from the last phase of the Muslim occupation in the 13th century eventually being conquered by the Portuguese in 1248. Although now in ruins it is one of the castles symbolised on the coat of arms of the national flag.

The Portuguese flag 

We cycled to Albefeira but didn't enjoy it, the roads were much too busy, the Portuguese drivers don't respect cyclists and give them space on the road, my nerves were frayed by the time we got back! The resort town was a massive tourist resort and not our kind of place at all. If you know anything about us you know we like to keep off the beaten track! Oh yes, and it was very hilly, I don't like too many steep hills!

The Roman bridge viewed from the castle 

We had intended to stay at Motorhome friends for two nights but they made us so welcome we stayed for longer, they only charge 8.50€ a night (about £6) and we felt we could experience more of the real Portugal here.