Motorhome News from Europe 11

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Motorhome News from Europe 11.

Spain November 2004
Cordoba, Granada, Sierra Nevada and Almeria


Where have we been this week? Cordoba, Granada and the Sierra Nevada. Superlatives all the way!

Cordoba wasn’t originally on our route, but we’d heard from several people that it was not to be missed. To put this right it was necessary to make a detour of a hundred miles back to the north again and although the weather was clear and sunny there was a definite nip in the air and it was time for jumpers. Cordoba campsite was very convenient, just half an hour’s walk from the historic centre and we spent a couple of days there, enjoying the “small town” feel.


The highlights of Cordoba include the Mesquita, a huge mosque which amazingly also houses a Christian cathedral. The muslims ruled this area from the 13th to 15th centuries until ousted by the Christians when many Muslim buildings were converted to Christian usage. It is memorable for its forest of slender pillars supporting semi-circular red and white striped arches. Friday gave us free admission to another bullfighting museum and another Alcazar, with gardens ‘among the most beautiful in Andalucia’. It is always a joy to see roses, geraniums and other summer bedding still in bloom here, alongside bougainvillea and hibiscus. The 14th century synagogue and the maze of narrow streets in the Jewish quarter were also most interesting.

Beyond Cordoba we had a day in the hills just outside the city, in a forest park, a green playground for the Cordobans with hiking trails - and a campsite amongst the pines which we had entirely to ourselves. We loved Cordoba, in common with the whole of this region, though its nightmarish road system left much to be desired; but eventually we found our way out to the Granada road and headed south east.



At Granada we camped just outside the city and bussed in. The first day there we just got our bearings, did a bit of shopping, and shared a beer or two. The next day was time for serious sightseeing as we hit the Alhambra, Spain’s most visited attraction. We were somewhat mystified by the huge array of different places to visit inside the walls of the Alhambra, or “red castle”. Part is a castle, part a muslim palace, part a renaissance palace, part gardens. There are museums, viewpoints, archaeological excavations, shops and even a hotel. It offers a mixture of architectural styles as it has been occupied since Roman times. We got there as early as we could to try to beat the hoards of tour groups that descend daily. We went straight to the Palacio Nazaries, ‘the most brilliant Muslim building in Europe’ according to the guidebooks, dating from 12th to 15th centuries, and we did manage to look all round it before too many tour groups arrived. Then we went round again - there is so much to take in and so much magnificent detail to investigate. We were impressed by the intricate decoration; tiles, plasterwork, arches, patios and water features. We were also freezing, for two reasons; because the palaces were designed to offer a cool retreat in summer, and secondly, Granada is high on the plateau. We had coats but really needed gloves and scarves despite the blue cloudless skies and brilliant sunshine. For the rest of the day we wandered around the gardens, the 11th/12th century castle, the renaissance palace of Carlos V, a couple of museums and the café.

Feeling the need for a change from buildings, we next headed for the hills, or the Sierra Nevada to be precise. A wide road twists up for 35km from Granada to the ski slopes and the highest mountains in Spain. We followed the road as far as we could and then hiked up for 3 hours, amongst the patches of snow left by a recent snowfall and beside the ski runs where the artificial snow blowers were at work getting ready for the ski season. Being prepared for the cold, we found it was actually very much warmer than it had been in the Alhambra palaces!



The scenery up in the mountains was beautiful but more reminiscent of the Cairngorms than the Alps. Apart from a few choughs and a very friendly Alpine Accentor we didn’t see any wildlife - though maybe a few ibex saw us. Our most bizarre encounter was a young Brazilian woman with two elderly nuns, striding up the mountain looking for snow. They were taking her to the snowline as she had never seen it before. ‘How far is it,’ she asked, ‘I want to touch it.’ They were all clearly less exhausted going up than we were coming down!

After the barren ski area of the northern Sierra Nevada the southern valleys, or Alpujarras, were a complete contrast. Here we found autumn, with vegetation very similar to the UK, punctuated with brilliant yellow poplars; and mulberry trees, a relic of the silk trade from Muslim times. We hiked again up towards the summits from the south a couple times, at Capileira and Trevelez, about 30km inland from the coast. The footpaths and mule tracks rose above the whitewashed, flat-roofed villages, following the deep river gorges on wooded slopes in the warm sunshine, past tiny grazing meadows cut into the hillsides and abandoned dry-stone shepherd’s huts.




Our route then took us to the east for about 50 miles into the dry and arid wastelands of Almeria Province and south to the coast. From here, below the hills, the area flattens to Almeria across barren salt marsh towards the sea. This is spaghetti western country and we hope to see more of it over the next few days.

Our campsite just a few miles along the coast was not exactly to our liking at first glance. There are Brits, Germans and Dutch there for the winter in their caravans and motorhomes, Spanish families settling in for the weekend and a general sense of Essex in the sun. Not our scene! But, a short walk to the beach with the binoculars at sunset and we’re a little happier. This is some of the best birding we’ve had in the whole trip, with a few spectacular finds, amongst them; White-headed Duck (got ‘em at last!), Red-crested Pochard, Black Wheatear, Red-rumped Swallow, Flamingo, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Dartford warblers, Sardinian warblers, Great grey Shrike, etc. Now, we’re happy bunnies!






Let’s end this blog with a few statistics to put things in perspective.

We’ve now been on the road for 80 days.
For the past 14 days we have had cloudless blue skies and sunshine. In fact we have only had 2 rainy days in the last month. Overall, it has rained or showered a little on 11 days, but only continuously for 2.
It has become very cold at night, but it’s very dry so no dew or damp grass or condensation on the windscreen. Today’s temperatures certainly felt like August.
We have stayed at 55 different places.
We have filled up with diesel 22 times, the cheapest being Gibraltar at 43.9p (UK£) / litre. Normally, diesel is 0.81 - 0.84 euros per litre here; i.e.two thirds the cost in GB. We are averaging about 26 mpg; not bad for a 2.8 litre towing 3 tons.


And despite all this, we’re heading home in a few weeks. Smiley is going to rest up near Almeria in a secure lock-up while we fly back home for Christmas!


David and Janice
The Grey Haired Nomads

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Photos

Cordoba
The Mesquita

Cordoba
The cathedral within the cathedral..

Cordoba
Market square

Granada
within the walls of the Alhambra

Granada
.....from the Alhambra

Granada
...from the Alhambra

Mountains in the Sierra Nevada
....we followed the road as far as we could and then hiked up for 3 hours,

Spaghetti Western country
....into the dry and arid wastelands of Almeria Province

Cordoba
....gardens amongst the most beautiful in Andalucia