Wednesday 5^th April

Considering that we have been here for over two weeks we don’t seem to have done much: it’s been forced relaxation caused by poor weather. Let’s be honest – very bad weather! This region is normally one of the driest and sunniest in Spain, with only 8 inches of rain per year. That amount has already been exceeded in the time we have been here. There are some compensations, but the pot of gold could not be traced:

Unsurprisingly, it’s greener than usual. The small reservoir outflow is much more vigorous this year. It’s about a 30 foot cascade.

Occasionally the hills at the back of the campsite display a strange phenomenon, captured by my phone camera so it’s not really clear:

Guesses? Dashing in to get the better camera, the result is now obvious:

It’s a huge flock of sheep, with the shepherd lower down just visible carrying a red backpack. Some years ago we encountered a similar shepherd while walking in the hills and he indicated that he and his dog were out with the sheep 24/7. He must have a very understanding wife (Barbara?)!

Next shot is us out in the hills, a dry day at last. This carpet of plastic is but a small proportion of the tomato greenhouses all along this coast. Perhaps this is what we will all be eating when meat is banned for eco reasons.

A short walk to the local village on another day -  a lovely little chapel by the sea. Looks like it’s been there for centuries but it was actually completed in the 1960’s.

 Finally, we put some excess couscous in the bird feeder. To our amazement, a minute late, there’s a feeding frenzy! The bird feeder is Jane’s own design using two 5 or 6 litre water bottles. Perch points are cut in the one bottle and gravel put in the bottom for stability. The base only of bottle two is cut off and wedged over the gravel in bottle one. That’s the feeding tray, which also keeps the gravel in place.

France & Spain Feb 2022

 

Start: Saturday 12^th March

This year we have full Brexit in operation, so new regulations: 90 days max stay in the EU, take in no dairy products, meat or fresh veg and fruit – apart from bananas! We follow the rules and arrive early at Eurotunnel with an empty fridge expecting to be scrutinised. Well, we weren’t. A dismissive wave through as on previous occasions, and we’re loaded on the train early. We can’t wait to get started on our banana sandwiches for lunch and banana fritters for tea  … only another 24 kilos to go.. 

We arrive at Abbeville, one hour south of Calais, and spend an extra day stocking up with all the food we could have brought with us but didn’t. Pleasant campsite, convenient for the autoroute, and a pretty sunset from our pitch.

We noted that the tent on the right in the photo seems to be on pillars. More investigation in the morning is needed.

So here we have it: a tent on stilts, about 2 metres above the ground. Ill advised to drink in case you need to negotiate the ladder in the dark. Notice too the canvas Nissen hut in the background. There are quite a few of both structures, set up like a themed area. It reminds me of photos of some WW2 prisoner of war camps. Maybe this is the new novelty: Camping Colditz, here we come!

Monday we press on to Tours, on the Loire, for an overnight stop.  It’s mainly a residential site with room for some tourers. One of the residents, a Dutch guy, told us we were lucky to arrive today because tomorrow the whole site is closed, having been requisitioned by the local authority to house Ukrainian refugees. Several Red Cross vans taking people to prepare  those park homes already empty. We thought this a splendid idea but couldn’t say that the Dutchman seemed over pleased.

Overnight a red dust rain descended on us and most of Europe. The car and caravan needed a quick wash before setting off. The dust was Saharan sand so was worse the further south and nearer the Sahara you were. Friends already arrived in Spain took the next photo showing the orange Armageddon sky from which the red raindust fell.

Now on from Tours, in our cleaned-up car and caravan, to a location just south of Bordeaux. A laid-back site where we’ve previously stayed, in the pinewoods, with friendly chickens for company.  

Thursday: into Spain and no Covid, Brexit or any other sort of border checks.  In fact, we weren’t too sure where the border was. We were soon climbing the foothills of the Pyrenees, crossing central Spain, heading for the Mediterranean at Valencia. The mountain weather was wet, cold and sometimes  we were driving through low cloud.

However, central Spain is all high plateau so no great improvement in temperature until we descend on approaching Valencia. One more stop and we are at our destination. Less campers this year, especially the Brits who can’t overwinter because of the Brexit 90 day maximum stay rule. But it does mean there are plenty of good pitches, and here we are all set up with the awning and the mountain behind.

The campsite laid out In terracing with two rows of pitches at each level. The photo below shows a typical terrace with the pitches on the right having the sea view and those on the left backing onto the next level up. The white car is our pitch.

Our view of the sea completes the site survey, but the sun didn’t oblige on this one and unfortunately hasn’t done so since! It seems we are locked into a depression with strong north easterly winds and heavy rain. Spaniards looking for a sunny holiday right now are advised to head for England.

Living with Lockdown: Friday 20th March

We arrived 11 days ago at our destination campsite when Spain was functioning normally in spite of the climbing number of Corona virus cases,. By Friday the 13^th that all changed: lockdown measures were announced covering the whole of Spain and starting the following day, to last for 15 Days.

We’re a week through the 15 days and this is how the measures are working in our locality:

Los Madriles Campsite

Campers due to leave within the next week or so have all checked out. Some who intended to stay have left or are in the process of packing up. All hotels and some campsites will close by 24^th March, but we have an assurance  by management that this site will remain open as long as they can. New arrivals are not being accepted. New restrictions today: all toilets and showers on the site will have to close as will the swimming pool.

At this point, to return to the UK means a drive through Spain and France to exit via Eurotunnel. Permits are required to undertake this journey starting with a form from the campsite to say you are repatriating and further forms down-loaded for travelling through France that need to be printed out. You must use only motorways but it is uncertain if motorway services, other than fuel pumps, are operating.  It is unlikely that any campsites will be available for bona fide home-goers so we would need to overnight at motorway services.

This morning we thought we would stay, along with 8 of our friends, on the basis that the journey back could be a nightmare, and we appear to be well and safely accommodated here. However with, for example, the closure of the facilities, the restrictions are getting ever tighter and are estimated to last into the summer. Our group is now thinking perhaps the sensible option is to return to the UK, maybe in convoy. We are allowed to travel for the purpose of returning home.

General Travel and Movement

Not allowed. Necessary journeys only. Beaches closed. No recreational walking, biking or car outings. You can walk your dog (our campsite bans dogs, so we can’t borrow a neighbour’s dog as an excuse for a walk!)

Essential Shopping

One shopper only is allowed out whether on foot, bike or car. Permitted shopping: food, medicines, car fuel, gas.

Enforcement

Police are very vigilant. Restrictions enforced by fines. For example, two of our friends cycled down to the local village shop and were stopped on the way back by the Guardia Civil. They were warned that only one of them was permitted to make the shopping trip and next time they would be fined. The police in Spain still have that edge of unquestionable authority, perhaps a legacy from Franco's time.

There is much common sense enforcement by the supermarkets. Mercadona only lets in a limited number at a time to maintain a minimum spacing of 1 metre between customers. Free hand gel and gloves are available. Lidl’s security man at the door insists customers entering use the gel provided and dons a pair of plastic gloves. Customers are reassured by these measures and readily comply.

The great news, certainly in this area, is that, apart from slight shortages in the first few days, the shelves are full in all departments. We have all the items reportedly stripped from UK shelves like fresh and packaged meat, fresh veg, pasta, rice and toilet rolls, as well as the rest of the supermarket range. This is remarkable considering Spain has about 8 times more Corona cases than the UK and we are in lockdown.

Summary

We still feel safe here. Despite Spain’s high Corona virus numbers, the incidence in Murcia Province is low compared to other regions. The food and essential supplies seem good and the climate is pleasant. We have a great pitch with a fine view and friend to socialise with by sitting outside on one or other of our pitches. Our European Health Cards are still valid until the end of this year.

Our two fears are firstly, the official closure of the campsite and secondly, even if the site remains open, the tight restrictions lasting for many more months. Sadly, it looks like we’ll be travelling home: details later.

The City of Almeria: March 9th

Almeria city is the capital of the province of Almeria. It is less well known than other regional capitals like Seville as it has less ‘A’ list attractions. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant city and an important port with ferry links to North Africa. We parked by the port and strolled up the attractive main boulevard that used to be a dried-up river bed.

Trees feature plentifully, most with this bottle stopper clipping treatment that would do credit to any barber.

There were a few individual typical Spanish buildings that stood out.

And even in the backstreet quarters, some inhabitants made an effort to brighten things up. This flowery balcony is an example.

Approaching the cathedral we noticed a large sun symbol on the wall. It’s not certain who authorised the carving during the building of the cathedral in the 16^th century as it is represents Sol the Roman sun god and nothing to do with Christianity. However, because Almeria is the sunniest province in Spain, it has been adopted by the Almeria Tourist Board as their logo.

 Moving to the front of the cathedral, it looks more like a castle. This was the intention as the city was plagued by pirates and the upper parts of the church were designed for, and actually held, cannon.

That’s the trouble with having visited the stunning Seville cathedral, others look like a poor relation. However, the photo of this fine chapel shows a silhouette on the right exclusive to Almeria cathedral. By his horns, it has to be the Devil himself!

To be fair, the altarpiece is magnificent, and compares favourably with the best.

Going through the cloisters on the way out, it’s charming but functional. You can imagine the scurry of men passing powder up to the cannon when the city was under threat.

In the old quarter we walked through pleasant squares and elegant buildings like the town hall.

And this courtyard, beautifully proportioned, was a location for the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Probably the best monument in Almeria is the Alcazar, the fortress on the hill overlooking Almeria. It was started by the Moors in 955 and extended in the 11^th century. There are  at 3 rings of walls and at one time contained a population of 20,000. We did not visit due to shortage of time. The photo is from the car park just before leaving the city.

Almeria, although not spectacular, had a really nice feel and merited more time than we gave it.

The blog is usually written about a week after the event. After visiting Almeria we travelled the next day, March 10^th, to our destination campsite near Mazarron. A week on, at the time of writing, we are in lockdown at that site. Spain is now just behind Italy in the surge in Corona virus cases. In the next blog I’ll attempt to describe how we are coping locally and at our campsite.

Cabo de Gata Natural Park

We travelled the 270 miles from Seville to Cabo de Gata on March 1^st. The park was created in 1987 and covers 71,000 acres of coastline and adjacent countryside. This is part of the unspoiled coastal area.

There are a few simple resorts on the coast like this one at Las Negras, but basically the whole park is totally uncommercialised. Las Negras looks almost abandoned, but then it’s out of season.

We decided to spend a day in the more remote parts of the park, and headed off along the coast until the tarmac gave way to a rough dirt road. We continued on the dirt road through small green hills, as in the photo. The small tower on the right on the horizon is a traditional windmill.

Looking inland, the green growth is exceptionally bright, with purple flowers in the foreground. This lushness strikes us as unusual because this is the driest part of Spain with around 4 inches of rain a year (10 cms): thirty miles inland is Europe’s only true desert, where the Clint Eastwood Dollar films were shot. 

On the seaward side are splendid empty beaches. Some other cars and cyclists were also using the dirt road so we had some company. No doubt at weekends anytime after Easter it could get quite busy with visitors from the city of Almeria only half an hour’s drive away.

 Miles from nowhere we noticed an odd structure- a bus stop, with bus stop sign. By the condition of the shelter, we imagine the last bus was at least 10 years ago.

The track now got smaller and rougher, and as it started to climb the mountains in the photo below, our progress was stopped by a barrier: only walkers and cyclists can continue beyond (and perhaps the bus!)

We were hoping to reach the salt flats with flamingos on the other side of the mountains by following the dirt road, but we could backtrack and go another way. Didn’t bring the zoom lens so the 50 or so flamingos in the photo are barely visible.

We were hoping to reach the salt flats with flamingos on the other side of the mountains by following the dirt road, but we could backtrack and go another way. Didn’t bring the zoom lens so the 50 or so flamingos in the photo are barely visible.

The vegetable greenhouses surrounding the park are on a larger scale than anything we’ve seen anywhere and we estimated the total area, of which the next photo shows just a part, to be at least 10 square miles of solid plastic.

 A large workforce is needed to service the crops, paid at the bottom end of the wage scale. We noticed many very dark Africans in the vicinity and then alongside the road was a shanty town which housed them. There are doubtless more that we didn’t spot. You just hope it’s a better life for them than the one they left.

One evening at the campsite there was a most beautiful sunset. The only problem from a photography point of view was to avoid the flapping giant Red Dragon Welsh flag hoisted by a neighbouring camper in honour of St. David’s day. 

This was our chill-out stop, and with the well-run modern campsite we are staying at, we have soon achieved a quick recovery from the long journey down. But the unknown issues of Corona virus are now on the horizon.

Seville: the Royal Palace, the Alcazar

The palace entrance is through a gate in the old city wall; what remains of the city walls now surround the palace. City walls existed since Roman times, and even before that an enclosure of logs and mud, but today although much modified over the centuries, they are essentially the structure of the Arab regime before the Christian reconquest.

The palace was originally built by the Moors and extended many times, for instance by ruler al-Mu’tadid to accommodate his extended harem of 800 women. Imagine the queues for the bathroom!

After the Christian reconquest, king Pedro 1^st started rebuilding the palace from scratch using the same floor area. He was known as Pedro the Cruel or Pedro the Wise meaning, like President Trump, you love him or you hate him. His justice chamber near the entrance looks out onto the only part of the original Moorish palace he retained. The plasterwork is still very fine, and the tranquility of the little patio is quite delightful.

Before entering the palace we took a detour into the Cuarto del Almirante, the Admiral’s room, in which many of the voyages of exploration were planned. Founded in 1503, the purpose was to plan, recruit and set in motion expeditions. In the room adjacent is a chapel where the Virgin of the Navigators painting depicts scenes from early journeys, including Columbus’. The detail is so fine that it has provided historians with information not available elsewhere. 

In the next room was a collection of fans from different countries, very beautiful, but the connection to the palace is not clear. This is an example in case you were thinking along the lines of stuffed Man United or Real Madrid supporters.

First impression on stepping into Pedro’s palace proper was that it could have been made by the Moors. In many ways it was, because Moorish architectural practices continued after the Christian reconquest using Moorish craftsman that simply carried on working and passing on their skills.

This type of work is called Mundejar, and the first courtyard is a good example. It is the Patio de las Doncellas, built in memory of the annual tribute of one hundred virgins demanded from the Christians by the Sultan ruler. Might not be so easy to supply that number these days.

The quality of the work is amazing as is the harmony created by the design.

The Salon of the Ambassadors coming up next is the most stunningly decorated room in the palace. An Arabic inscription says it was constructed in 1366 by craftsmen from Toledo. No jobbing workmen here.

This is another wall of the great room leading onto the Patio de las Doncellas, the courtyard shown earlier.

And not let’s forget the ceiling, a great work to contemplate should you happen fall flat on your back.

The Patio of the Dolls below is so named after two tiny faces in one of the arches, that we didn’t spot. The arches themselves were brought from a 10^th century ruined palace near Cordoba. The room was reputed to be the harem in Moorish times, but hardly room for 80 never mind the 800 mentioned earlier.

Pedro was supposed to have murdered his brother here in 1358, and on another occasion topped a royal guest for his jewels. One of these, a giant ruby, he gave to Edward the Black Prince which is now in the British crown jewels! 

Next is the beautiful Salon of Carlos V built by Pedro for his mistress Maria de Padilla who reputedly had magic powers such that some of the courtiers

would drink her bath water for a knock-on effect. They’d have certainly got that if bubble bath or Radox had been around in those days.

The palace of Carlos V built later is elegant but seems almost bare by comparison with the lushness of Pedro’s works.

Out into the gardens now and the Mercury pool, the statue in the middle. NIce effect of being cool and exotic.

More gardens, these laid out within the last 100 years, looking more like a conventional UK park. Very pleasant but unremarkable.

This is the unusual Garden of the Cross, a pool containing a giant green dumpling. We’re not awarding full marks for everything.

One last general view of the formal garden looking very exotic.

Pedro achieved exquisite layout and workmanship in his palace, but unfortunately we have to rule against him for his misdeeds: he’s definitely Pedro the Cruel.

Seville was a city full of interesting attractions, many of which will need to wait until next time as we now move on to the Cabo de Gata.