WINTER IN SPAIN: 2013

We finally ended up in Conil right down in the south of Spain, halfway between Gibraltar and Cadiz. We have decided to settle here for the rest of the winter and not bother going to Portugal as we had originally intended. The weather is nice here; the campsite quiet and I should be able to get into some running and cycling again.

When we finished our walk on the Camino in October we picked up the motorhome from the storage farm and made for the coast at Soustons Plage just north of Bayonne. We had stayed at the aire there many times before and we like the area. Usually we do a lot of walking and cycling when there but this time after nearly 900 km walking of the Camino in our legs it was time for some rest and relaxation. We spent a week there just sitting in the sun before heading south for Spain.

Benidorm

Benidorm bay from Sierra Gelada

Cliffs and Med. from Sierra Gelada

After 2 days driving we ended up in Benidorm on the Costa Blanca. We found a nice quiet campsite well out of the town, it was cheap with free WiFi and I was able to pick up the UK TV using our big satellite dish. We spent a month here and were more energetic doing a lot of walking. Although Benidorm is thought of being Blackpool with sun, away from the beach and the tourists there are plenty of hills and some excellent walking. There was a range of hills, Sierra Gelada, running from Benidorm to the next resort of Albir that we walked both ways. The ridge path ran all the way to the communication masts high above Albir and we were rewarded with some excellent views of the cliffs and coast.

'Notch' in Puig Campana

Well waymarked route

Puig Campana

Another walk we did was in the hills inland from Benidorm and the route started from the village of Finestrat. It was basically a contour path and ran around the rocky summit of the Puig Campana. The interesting part above us was the square notch ‘cut’ out of the rocky summit; legend had it that it had fallen out and landed in the bay below becoming the island, Illot de Benidorm. One day we visited the resort of Calpe further down the coast where we climbed a huge outcrop of rock joined to the town by a narrow isthmus. At first it looked like an impossible climb of seemingly sheer rock but tunnel had been cut through to the rear of the hill and we were able to negotiate a steep path to the summit for an outstanding panorama. 

Sierra Gelada range.

Penyal d' Ifac at Calpe

Tunnel  through Penyal d' Ifac.

View from Penyal d' Ifac summit.

Benidorm clearly caters for the British tourist with lots of restaurants advertising full English breakfasts and lunches of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and pints of English beer.. There were also lots of restaurants serving the Brits other favourite food, Indian curries. We took advantage of this and had a couple of delicious chicken and lamb Madras, and the prices were also very reasonable. The British newspapers were also available on a daily basis.

After a month of lovely warm sunny weather it suddenly turned cold. After days of sitting out in the sun, working on our tans, we now had to get into our sleeping bags at night with a duvet on top to stay warm. During the day if we were stuck in the ‘van the heating was kept running resulting in the electricity tripping when we inadvertently put too many appliances on at the same time. We decided it was time to head further south, hopefully to warmer climes. 

Sierra Nevada

Palacio de Carlos V

Nasrid Palace

Courtyard in Palace of the Lions, Alhambra

Granada from the Alhambra

Panorma of Granada from Alcazaba

The plan was to head for Conil, a trip of about 800km which we decided to take two days over. The halfway point was Granada, a city of historical interest with many places of interest to see, and we ended up spending a week there. A 5 day ticket to visit all the attractions was purchased and we toured the city every day. The attraction synonymous was the Alhambra with its magnificent palaces and we spent one whole day there. On other days we visited churches. Monasteries, hilly view points and the Science museum. Also included in our 5 day pass was a one day ticket on an open topped city tour bus. It was worth the ride and we had a commentary in English highlighting the points of interest in the city as we passed. We were in a little campsite about 10km outside the city in the village of La Zubia and we got the bus from there each day. The camp was quiet the first few days but on the weekend which was a public holiday it filled up and there were lots of young kids noisily playing about. The only drawback here was that it was colder than Benidorm; the hills behind Granada are the Sierra Nevada and they have snow all year. On the tour bus we were told that the winter sports World Championships had been held there and one day they hope someday to put on the Winter Olympics. So at night it was still sleeping bags and duvet while we watched UK TV, which we were able to pick up successfully.

Archway under Alhambra walls

Gardens of Generalife

Butterfly gardens Science Museum

Our schedule was to leave on the Monday the last day of the public holiday but Moira went to the ATM machine at the bank on Sunday for money and the machine swallowed her card. As the banks were closed for the holiday weekend we had to wait until Tuesday to reclaim the card and get money. Fortunately the banks in Spain appear more customer friendly than the UK and there was no problem getting the card from among a pile of other swallowed cards. Now we had money to pay the site fees and hopefully follow the sun.

We did find the sun; it was lovely and warm at La Rosaleda campsite in Conil. The spot we settled for was ideal, on the sunny side of the site, close to the loos and receiving an excellent satellite signal. The only problem we had now was that both of us caught a cold. We have been stuck in the ‘van coughing and sneezing for nearly a week. Luckily the weather has been good, no more sleeping bags in bed at night. We are beginning to recover slowly and soon we can get out walking and maybe do some cycling.