Tincas on Tour...........again!!!

In the 70's I ended up in a Greek hospital on Crete...now that was an experience that will never leave me:censored:
 
Thursday 7th and we caught the bus into Lagos to visit the hospital to get the result of Mrs Tincas bacteria culture to identify the exact bug that has been causing so much trouble. The lab was able to confirm the exact bacteria within 15 minutes of us arriving and the good news was that the anti-biotic she is already taking is the right one so she just has to finish the course and all should be well. A quick trolley dash around the nearby Intermarche and we made it back to the bus stop 5 minutes before the return bus arrived, so no hanging around. When when we got back to the camp we found that our long awaited ACSI card had finally been delivered and so there was nothing stopping us getting back on the road again the next day to El Rocio. These events lifted our spirits above the rather gloomy weather we have been having and we both agreed it would be nice to be rolling again after 20 nights in one place, no matter how nice that place has been. That evening was spent in the bar saying goodbye to all the fellow campers we had spent the duration of our stay with, and the swapping of email addresses and pledges of “you must both come and stay with us when you are in Holland, Germany, France (delete as necessary)”; you really do meet some great like minded people travelling around.

The morning found us rolling again just in time for our nearside wiper blade to give up the ghost. Another hour or so was spent locating a garage to supply and fit a new blade and we were finally on the road again. The drive to El Rocio was uneventful and its good to be back on the excellent Spanish roads again. We arrived just in time to book two of the last remaining places on tomorrow afternoons 4x4 safari into the Donana Nature Park and we are hopeful of seeing some new mammals and birds that are endemic to the region, including the Iberian Lynx and Mongoose not too mention hundreds of species of birds in the Marshes.

We went for a stroll around El Rocio in the morning and found the town as quirky as before. If you want to know more we think the best thing to do would be to Google it as its far too weird and complicated to cover properly in this daily diary. We would say El Rocio was a “must visit” if you are in the area for the town alone, but the Donana Nature Reserve makes it worth it on its own in our opinion. Some of the “nature tours” we have been on before have left us a little flat, but not this one. We joined a party of about 10 people in a 4x4 vehicle with a bi-lingual guide called Javier and he could not have been more knowledgeable or helpful with all our questions. The trip was nearly 4 hours and excellent value at about 28 Euros a head. It included forest and marsh habitat and we learnt a huge amount from the informative guide, including how they had to temporarily drain off a lot of the marshes in 1952 to stave off a Malaria epidemic. The marsh has now been re-instated and they have imported a species of fish that eat the mosquito larvae to help control the mozzies which no longer carry the Malaria virus. We won't bore you with all the animals we saw, but of particular interest to us were the following:-
Fan Tailed Warbler
Flamingoes
Iberian Shrike
Hoopoe
Green Sandpiper
Marsh Harrier
Little Owl
Red & Fallow Deer
White Stork
Spoonbills
Shoveller Ducks.........................and.....................the first Swallow of the season that the guide had seen so far this year on its nothern migration from the southern Sahara to the UK. If we had to pick out a stand-out moment it would be in the late afternoon as a huge flock of Flamingoes circled overhead before landing for the night in the lagoon directly in front of us, all lit up by the setting sun .......priceless. The Iberian Lynx turned out to be a local version of a cheap anti-persperant that is supposed to make men irresistable to women, which was a bit dissapointing as I bought some and it doesnt work!!

Back on the road again on Sunday morning and a long drive down to Torre del Mar in search of some sun and sand as the weather has been a bit variable up to now. We really did pass through a variety of landscapes along the way starting with the flat lands around El Rocio and then the urbanisation of Seville (which we will visit on the way back as we love it) and finally some splendid mountain type scenery before we descended down to the coast. We had planned to stay at Laguna Playa but one look at the place was enough for us as it would be hard to get a fag paper between the vans. We then looked next door to Camping Torre del Mar which was a little better but not by much. We will stay one night just to get a load of laundry washed and dried but certainly no longer. We appreciate that everyone is different in their likes and dislikes but we would rather wild camp than stay in either of these camps which are set up to cram as many vans as possible into as small a space as possible and provide minimum or zero ascetic value. On the plus side there are a lot of parrots and Goldfinches on site which has cheered us up a bit. Mrs Tinca is planning our next stop as I write or we may just head straight to Cabo de Gata tomorrow which people have assured us is more to our taste.

The Tincas
 
We made our exit from the cramped (and smelly) Camping Torre del Mar first thing and we were soon on the road to Cabo de Gata National Park. This entailed driving for mile after mile through scrub and endless hectares of poly tunnels. We have now named this endangered habitat “Polyscrub” and feel it is only a matter of time before some academic with more brains than common sense designates it as an area of special scientific interest. We thought we might break the journey up with an overnight stop near Motril at the Don Cactus (Category 1?) camp. This turned out to be a patch of green completely surrounded on three sides by Polyscrub with the fourth side being a rocky beach. Needless to say we moved on, but it does beggar the question as to what ACSI inspectors have in mind when they are designating sites as Category 1. How it is possible to have a points system that grades Turiscampo in Lagos as the same standard as Laguna Playa in Torre del Mar is beyond us.

We arrived at the La Caleta site near the town of Las Negras in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park in what could best be described as a force 10 gale. However that is due to blow over tonight and we can't wait to start exploring the landscape which looks very interesting indeed. The facilities here are a little on the basic side but at least when we throw bread out for the birds it doesn't end up through our neighbours window!!

The next morning dawned dry and sunny and hot, with virtually no wind at all. We walked for about 20 minutes along the coast to the sleepy town of Las Negras for a morning coffee and a bit of a mooch and it is a really nice relaxed mixture of tourist bars and local fishing boats, and we immediately decided to stay longer and to explore the area a bit more. We had planned to take a walk down the coast which we were told was interesting but the lure of the warm sunshine was too strong and we lazed away the afternoon on the small rustic beach that is part of the camp site. If the weather continues calm and fine we will do the walk tomorrow........honest.

Wednesday 13th and another lovely sunny day stretches ahead of us. Walking boots on and we were off first thing (well 11:00 ish) to explore the coast walk down to El Playazo beach. Its a fairly easy walk with the odd abandoned fort along the way and deep blue crystal clear waters to gaze into. We took our time, as our life is no longer a race to make somebody else more wealthy, and loved the peace and quiet this place offers. Also spotted Black Wheatear and Crested Larks along the way and seeing what are new species to us for the first time is always guaranteed to lift the spirits, along with the picnic Mrs Tinca prepared, that we ate on the beach. Several vans parked up on the beach and its a lovely place for a few days chill out. Off to Las Negras tonight for some dinner and then we will roll on around the coast towards the town of Cabo de Gata tomorrow for one or two nights wilding before we decide where our personal compass will take us next.

The Tincas
 
Hi the site sounds wonderful. Is it in CamperConnect or ACSI please?
 
Hi Stonemags 76

Its ACSI and called La Caleta N 36° 52' 20.9" W 2° 0' 24.7". The town of Las Negras is an easy walk and there is nice wild camping just a bit further down the coast

The Tincas

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Its a funny old game this motorhoming lark. Our plan this morning could not have been more simple, drive down to the town of Cabo de Gata, mooch around a bit on the bikes and take in the bird life on the salt pans, wild camp for the night and then head on back down the coast to Marbella the following morning.......what could possibly go wrong? There are two roads into the town of Cabo de Gata; the right one and the wrong one. The right one is longer and takes you temporarily out of the national park but it is a relatively short drive taking in some nice scenery. The “wrong one”, which we took, is as wrong as an incorrect thing that has been to the University of Cock Ups and graduated with a first in mistakes. The first clue that this was not the road to take was that it was a short cut. The second was that it was a gravel road but passable. Well as you all know a gravel road holds no fears to determined Funsters on a mission to explore planet Earth. It all started well enough, sure it was bumpy and rocky, but leaving the van in second gear and letting it tootle along on tick-over had us merrily on our way. Local colour was provided by goatherds and shepherds grazing their respective flocks close to the track with the tinkle of the bells around the animals necks providing some aural relief from our grill pan which was trying to win the rattle of the year award. The track surface worsened and we were now on tick-over in first gear and our initially upbeat conversation had now ceased other than the occasional “look out for that rock / ditch / gully / ravine....delete as necessary. Did we flinch from our task; we did not? We are Funsters and we know that this track will end just around the next corner and there will be miles of black-top to take us into the town which we will enter in triumph having beaten the short cut, all as per the Michelin map by the way!!. Twenty minutes later we stopped, not because we were tired, but because the bloody track was fenced off with a sign on it saying pedestrian access only. There was nothing for it but to turn around and head back along the way we had come. Conversation in the van had now almost ceased and my attempts to make light of the situation were met by a look that could kill a small child at ten paces. By the time we made it back to the main road our grill pan, along with the cooker, had started to break down into its constituent parts.

Rolling again on the right road had us in the town of Cabo de Gata in no time, and to be honest its not half as nice as Las Negras where we have come from, but we found a spot to wild camp on the quiet end of the long beach and started to set up camp as we were gagging for a cuppa. However the cooker would not light, in fact all the electrics from the hab battery were as dead as the proverbial Dodo. Quick as a flash I had no idea what was wrong. However engaging my finely tuned engineering brain it turned out that the main 50amp fuse from the hab battery had rattled loose on the afore mentioned Track of a Thousand Potholes, so it only needed a bit of a wiggle to have all systems working again.

Now, on a lighter note, we would like to talk about contraptions. By this we mean things that we have seen people using that we would not necessarily consider essential pieces of kit while motor homing given the constraints on space. Is it really necessary to carry a spring tine rake and remove every leaf from one's pitch? Mother Nature will only deliver a fresh batch the next day. Then there is the hoe normally used for weeding that we have seen pressed into service to make a small ditch about three inches deep all around the pitch which apparently will prevent flooding. Last, but definitely not least, are the sticks / poles that people fashion to custom fit the camp shower cubicles so that they can wedge them against the tap so that they don't have to keep pressing it every 10 seconds whilst taking a shower. So come on you Funsters, admit it, what contraptions do you carry that you are prepared to share with the rest of us? We admit to a dust pan and brush, not enough tools to keep us on the road, a squeegie for the windows/our shower walls, a flagpole for our 2 flags (the Devon flag and of course the Funster flag), a small ground sheet for outside the van and a thing for getting stones out of horses hooves.

The Tincas
 
Really enjoying your trip report @Tincataylor . I think you like the same sort of places as us. I take it you didn't make the horse riding at el Rocio? I'm hoping to try it, but strongly suspect I'll be on my own!
 
Presume you went via San Jose and then past Playa Genoveses etc towards the Faro de Cabo de Gata, definitely not a good idea. That road has been closed for many a year, surprised that it is still shown and allocated a number on the map. In the summer months car's are not allowed at all and there is a bus service to the beaches from car parks in the town.

We don't think much of the village of Cabo de Gata either but there used to be a good Saturday market on the piece of waste ground that you probably stayed on, it was moved into the village a couple of years ago and is not as good.
 
Tincataylor said:
................................. There are two roads into the town of Cabo de Gata; the right one and the wrong one. The right one is longer and takes you temporarily out of the national park but it is a relatively short drive taking in some nice scenery. The “wrong one”, which we took, is as wrong as an incorrect thing that has been to the University of Cock Ups and graduated with a first in mistakes. The first clue that this was not the road to take was that it was a short cut. The second was that it was a gravel road but passable...........................
The Tincas
Click to expand...

Ooooops! and I nearly posted about this road when we found it in the Nav a couple of weeks ago! Wish I had now.
We've approached it from both ends whilst out mooching and if it's any consolation, even if it hadn't been barrier'd, at the Cabo end there are a couple of switch backs that my Nav only just got round, let alone a motorhome!
 
bellabee said:
Really enjoying your trip report @Tincataylor . I think you like the same sort of places as us. I take it you didn't make the horse riding at el Rocio? I'm hoping to try it, but strongly suspect I'll be on my own!
Click to expand...

Bellabee,
To be honest there is so much to see and so much information to be imparted that we think the experience would not be so good on horseback as it is in the tourist 4x4. We realise that wildlife ignores you when you are on horseback and it is a lovely way to get close to nature, but in this case we think the good old tourist bus is the best option. If possible make sure you get Javier as your guide as he is brilliant.

The Tincas

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Wild camped in centre of San Jose last April, lovely village and beach, good walk to rocky bay on north side, one or two locations here to wild.
 
Hi there jtp890,

We agree the town of San Jose is camper friendly and worth a visit. Dionne Warwick knew the way there apparently which is more than the Tincas did with Cabo de Gata..........................................:rolleyes:

The Tincas
 
We rolled relatively early for us so that we had a chance of getting to the Cabopino site near Marbella and still have the afternoon left for snoozing in the sun. It was Mrs Tincas turn for the driving and if there is a less scenic drive than the roads around Almeria in Spain then we have yet to find it. Finally the Polyscrub gave way to a succession of tunnels and viaducts as we got closer to our destination and we arrived at Cabopino just in time to nab what was just about the only sunny pitch available. We got most of the housekeeping duties out of the way first thing the following morning and with a full line of washing out to dry it was on the bus into Marbella to re-acquaint ourselves with one of our favourite Spanish resorts. We don't really know why we like Marbella over some of the other tourist hot spots, but it suits us and it was nice to have a bit of hustle and bustle after the solitude and peace of Cabo de Gata. A nice meal, a few beers, a bit of shopping and it was back on the bus to the camp. In the evening we walked down to the small marina near the camp site and sipped a few more drinks as we watched the floating gin palaces bob about in the harbour. Reflecting on the day it was hard not to feel that life sometimes just does not get better than this even though we haven't done anything special.

Monday 18th
After a few nights at Cabopino we decided to move to the Buganvilla site that is a bit further along the road and closer to Marbella. Cabopino is a good site but we think it is better as a summer site due to the fact that it has more shade than Buganvilla. We have stayed at Buganvilla before and it has excellent showers and plenty of room on the pitches. We were delighted to find an elevated sunny pitch was available to us and so we will stay here for a few days. The Wi-Fi is also much improved in the van since our last visit and we are happy to pay 10 Euro for a weeks connection. It is still provided by the Delphynet company, and last year the service from this company was useless wherever we went, but they seem to have got their act together now. The weather on the day we moved was glorious so after setting up camp it was a matter of chilling out in the sunshine which stayed warm right up to 18:00.......perfick.

Friday 21st
The days drift by at Buganvila and the weather has been mostly warm, and often sunny with just the one night when it bucketed down for hours. Our days are very relaxed and alternate between long walks on the beach and long periods of doing nothing at all when the sun shines. This frantic regime is broken by the odd bus trip into Fuengerola or Marbella to eat, or as happened today, to visit a unisex hairdresser to have ourselves spruced up a bit. They were very attentive and professional and both Mrs Tinca and myself are well pleased with the result at a fraction of the cost in the UK.

On Monday we plan to move further down the coast to Manilva (just past Estepona) for a bit of a change of scenery. There is a camp site there called Bella Vista that is supposed to be 5 star so we phoned to see if they could fit us in for a few days so we could pamper ourselves a bit. They replied that they were full and that they could not tell us when they might have a space......and this is from a camp site that charges 29 Euro's a night!!!! I wonder how many Funsters would be prepared to pay this much to camp, however the proof of the pudding and all that has resulted in the place being fully booked so perhaps people are prepared to pay more for a bit of luxury. We would love to hear from any of you who have stayed here or, assuming we are unable to get in, know of any good wild camp spots nearby.

The Tincas
 
They're obviously on the same diet as you but it's only half worked so far.:)

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Its time we tried to get some photos uploaded, so here goes and lets see if we can get past the useless OS that is Windows 10........

We were in Lagos in Portugal for Christmas and nearby is Praia de Luz, not crowded, unspoilt and where we like to chill out when its sunny.
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We always seem to put on weight in Portugal........................
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Five minutes after we boarded the 28E tram in Lisbon this happened.......ouch!!
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We found plenty of wild camp spots next to the beach during our travels, this is fairly typical of the view from our windscreen as we watch the sun go down with a glass in hand.
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Spotted this number plate on an American RV.......any offers?
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Mrs Tinca on a headland at Cabo de Gata with the lovely town of Las Negras in the background
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If you have been following this diary then these are the Ostriches I was taking a photo of shortly before getting some serious voltage up my wazoo.....................
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The Funster Flag fries proudly over the La Buganvilla site near Marbella
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Mrs Tinca taking in washing to help out with trip finances.
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That's it for now, more to follow now we have got the hag of it

The Tincas
 
Monday 25th,

We turned up at the Bella Vista site on spec and there was just the one pitch left so we thought what the heck lets see what you get for nearly 30 euros a night. Well its very nice and all that and the toilets and showers are excellent but I would have expected the pitches to be level on a purpose built site that is only a few years old. Having said that the pitches do have their own water supply, TV and grey water drain so no need to walk miles with the watering can of life or the blue bucket of servitude. The Wi-Fi is free but on the slow side. A plus factor is you do have easy access to a nice beach and there is a very pretty marina within easy walking distance that will supply you with all the bars and restaurants you could ever need. So, you pays your money and makes your choice but for us its no better than Turiscampo which is nearly half the price. They do offer discounts for long stay clients and perhaps this is the trade they are trying to encourage rather than people like us who tend to move on after a few days. The other observation we have made is that the camp clientele is nearly 100% from the UK, which is fine, but we prefer the nationalities to be a bit more mixed up.

The weather while we have been here has been very sunny and warm so our days have been a mixture of bike riding along the front down as far as Sabinillas and sunbathing. For those who may be interested there is some wild camping opportunity alongside the sea wall at El Castillo with room for about four or five vans. The locals turn a blind eye during the winter but we suspect you would be moved on pretty sharpish in the summer when every available car parking slot will be required. We have to vacate our pitch at Bella Vista tomorrow so we have decided to tootle off down the coast to La Linea / Gibralta to the aire that was suggested by Tonka (many thanks). From there we hope to be able to walk across to the rock for a bite to eat and a bit of sightseeing.

Thursday 28th

The journey down to La Linea was just a half hour dash and we found ourselves on the aire next to one of the marinas, which has water and dump facilities......and a laundry. Its a nice spot with views of th eboats and we would recommend it to anyone visiting “The Rock”. We found the walk to the border with Gibraltar was only 15 minutes and once across we took the bus to the bottom of Main Street. We mooched around the shops for a while and then had a pub lunch before taking the cable car to the top of the rock. The views from the top are excellent and although it was quite hazy the north coast of Africa was easily visible across the Straights of Gibraltar. The famous Barbary Apes were all over the place as was copious amounts of their poo so you had to look where you were going, at least they didn't pick it up and chuck it at you chimpanzee style.

Tomorrow we will head back up the coast to the La Buganvilla site where we plan to stay for a lazy week before heading to El Rincon which we will use to explore Malaga.

The Tincas
 
Friday 29th

First of all we have had earthquakes (we never felt a thing) and last night we had the mother and father of all thunder storms. The campsite was reduced to a collection of rivers as it poured down until about 04:00...but on the bright side our awning has not been so clean for ages. The storm must have cleared the air because the forecast for the next four days is wall to wall sunshine so Mrs Tinca is heading towards the site washing machine as I type so we can catch up with the laundry. Do any of you remember the piece they did on Top Gear about the indestructible Toyota 4x4 pick up? Well they should do another one on the Maytag washing machine, those things are built like a brick outhouses.

Wednesday 3rd Feb

The weather lately has been every bit as good as forecast and this has resulted in us doing not very much indeed. This has been lovely for us but it makes for a very boring diary entry as the days have just drifted by interspersed with periods of intense activity such as putting the kettle on or squeezing some more oranges for fresh juice. As a result we are as relaxed and tanned as a very chilled couple who have been told by their doctor to slow down a bit and get some sun. We are due for a couple of cloudy days but we have learned that the weather forecast here is not always that accurate so we take each day as it comes. We have managed to persuade the camp-site bar owner to put the Six Nations rugby on the telly tomorrow instead of the usual football so its going to be beer and pizza while we watch England give the Scots a spanking.

The Tincas

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Thursday 11th February

Well, England did manage to beat Scotland but it was not what we would call a riveting fixture. Thank goodness the Wales / Ireland game on the Sunday restored our faith in the game, a stunning performance by both teams and as an Englishman the only fair result was a draw. We don't know who is going to win the Six Nations,but if its not Ireland or Wales then I will eat my awning.

We rolled out of La Buganvilla the next morning and made the short (70Km) journey to the El Rincon site at the northern end of Rincon de la Victoria. Its a funny little site this, a bit like a cross between an upmarket aire and a full blown camp site, but the chap running it could not be more helpful and everything is spotless and well organised. However he is currently a victim of his own success and he is having to turn campers away on a daily basis as he is fully booked. We were forewarned of this from another camper we talked to who had stayed here so we booked by email in advance. Just for information sake this is only the second time we have booked ahead in two winters spent in Spain / Portugal. Someone said that it was generally more busy this year on the coast because people who would normally go to Morocco were reluctant to do so for safety reasons. Personally we don't think that a group of European p**s head travellers are very high on the Al Qaeda hit list but you never know I suppose.

The main reason we are here is that it is a short walk to the bus stop and from there it is a 40 minute ride into the centre of Malaga which we have not visited before. We see lots of posts regarding the beauty of Spanish cities such as Seville, Jerez, Cordoba etc. but Malaga does not seem to get a mention and we think this is a mistake. Malaga is a modern busy city but with a huge historical heritage that embraces the Romans, Phoenicians and Moors. This has left behind some excellent architecture and the whole city has a feel of a place that the local people are rightly proud of, something similar to Seville. It is a great place to mooch around the old town and its compact size makes this easy to do on foot, there are also some great places to eat and all is very good value for money.

Malaga is also the birthplace of Pablo Picasso and there is an excellent gallery of some of his works as well as the home where he was born and grew up. We make no excuses for the fact that the world of modern art is not one that we understand, but we soldier on trying to figure out what the artist is trying to say to the viewer. But we are afraid that after over an hour of looking at his work we feel that Picasso is to fine art what homeopathy is to keyhole surgery.

We manage to get some exercise on our bikes here as there is an uninterrupted cycleway that extends for at least 8Km along the beach, which makes for flat safe cycling, between stops for refreshment. The whole coastline here is under a protection order regarding development as the sea is a designated area of natural importance for marine life. This means that the narrow strip between the beach and the coast road has virtually no high rise developments which gives the whole area a very different feel from the more populated resorts.

Exercise is all very well but this afternoon we are heading back into Malaga to seek out a special wine bar called the Casa del Guardia near the local market where we will be able to sample the best Spanish wines to assist our bulk buying choice before we set off home.

Well, best laid plans and all that..........we were about to hit the town and walk down to the bus when a couple from Holland that we met in Portugal turned up. Needless to say this meant a visit to a local bar for a beer or three so the bar in Malaga will have to wait until our next visit. It is our last day at El Rincon today and the weather is lovely so we are going for a long cycle ride and a stock up of provisions as we start the long journey north to Santander tomorrow via Cordoba, Toledo Madrid and Burgoss.

The Tincas
 
Agree with you about Malaga, we have spent quite a few nights in Hostals in Malaga over the years, it is a very Spanish and vibrant city, passed over by many as being just an airport.

A night out in Malaga is almost on a par with Sevilla:)

We now have a PVC and are looking for somewhere close to Malaga to stay and the site you mention sounds ideal do they have a website, just done a google search and can't find anything obvious. Could you post details please:)
 
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Hi Matamoros
No problem, it's called Camper Area M & H "El Rincon". Based in Rincon de la Victoria and the coordinates are N36º42'59" W4º14'17. A really nice site :dance2::cycle::rock:
 
Emergency Update...........disaster has struck overnight on all our plans. This is much worse than mechanical or health problems or encounters with the local fuzz. Yes folks, the light in our Kahzee has given out and we are literally p*****g in the dark. Actually there are two florescent lights, one over the mighty Thetford and one over the sink. The one over the Thetford was reduced to the output of a geriatric gloworm somewhere near Gibraltar, but the one over the basin gave enough light to attend to all functions with confidence. But now the basin light has packed up in sympathy with its fellow fixture. If you see us on the road we are the van parked under the street light............

The Tincas
 
For an update of the leaving of the El Rincon site with a lamp post as a souvenir please check out the “Introduce Yourself” forum and the post from welcome newcomer Cath. Once we had uncoupled the van from said lamp post we were on our way to Cordoba and the camper stop just outside the Seville Gate entrance to the old city. The stop is pretty basic but its 11 euro per night and it has a service area for dumping waste.

We had no idea what to expect from Cordoba so the reality came as a wonderful surprise. Lots of narrow cobbled streets and a wonderful mix of Spanish and Moorish architecture. The two stand out “must see” buildings are the Alcazar (Moorish kings palace) and the Cathedral / Mosque. Both charge entry and deliver excellent value for money. The Alcazar has great views over the city and the Guadalquivir river coupled with lovely gardens and fountains laid out in an asymmetrical pattern. The Cathedral / Mosque is quite breathtaking inside and it must have one of the largest floor areas of any building we have ever been in. The fact that it started as a mosque and was then converted to a cathedral makes for a fascinating interior that really has to be seen to be fully appreciated. In addition to all this there is the recently restored Roman Bridge over the Guadalquivir river which is very impressive on its own.

We spent hours mooching around the narrow streets and had an excellent meal in the evening to celebrate Valentines Day in a courtyard restaurant specialising in simple Spanish meat dishes washed down with a bottle of red.

The only thing to mar the visit was the blown air heating decided to get a bit temperamental just when we needed it now that we have left the warm Costa del Sol behind. However after taking the front cover off and twiddling all the knobs it seems to be working alright again. We realise that our adventures will never come close to the Ian and Helga saga but with the loo light / lamp post / heater combo happening over a 24 hour period we were starting to run him a close second. We will be leaving soon for Toledo and hopefully there will be no more surprises,

The Tincas

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15th February

We left the beautiful Cordoba behind and headed ever northward with the intention of staying at a camper stop at Ciudad Real before heading on towards Toledo. The drive to Ciudad Real had us passing through olive growing high country on an industrial scale and at times in the van we felt like we were an insect passing through endless hectares of astro turf. The journey also took us over the Sierra Madrona and we finally dropped down into an upland plain and the sat nav delivered us to the camper stop that turned out to be nothing more than street parking in the middle of an industrial estate.....not good. However there was a camper repair / sales shop there so we thought we had found the solution to our loo light problem, but unfortunately they did not stock the 12V fluorescent lamps we needed. We did not feel like spending the night there so we swopped drivers and headed straight on to Toledo, and we are so glad that we chose this option.

You are allowed to camp in the a large car park at the base of the hill on which Toledo stands and we arrived in time to have an evening excursion into the city. The thought of hiking up lots of steps to get to the city was a daunting one but the good people of Toledo have sorted this by installing a flight of six escalators to enable visitors to glide effortlessly skyward and be disgorged close to one of the city squares. Toledo is every bit as fascinating as Cordoba while at the same time having a character of its own. Due to its more northerly location there is less of the Moorish influence but the cathedral is no less impressive for that and if you do visit make sure you purchase a ticket to climb the tower as the belfry is really impressive. We also visited the “home” of El Greco which is interesting, especially as he never actually lived there, but you really need to be a fan of the artist to get the best out of it. We got the most enjoyment just strolling around the narrow streets and admiring the lofty view across the surrounding countryside and down to the river Tajo which winds around the rocky outcrop on which Toledo stands.

Our tours of Spain have consisted of time spent on the Costas balanced with visiting the cities as we encounter them on the coast or on our journey across country to get the ferry home. We totalled these up and so far we have visited Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Jerez, Seville, Burgos, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada and Santiago de Compostela with Madrid and Aranjuez still on the list for the current journey home. We love being in the sun near the sea during the winter but we also love the inland cities where we can better experience the Spanish culture and regional differences. Its little wonder that people keep coming back to this beautiful country year on year as there is just so much to see and do. If any of you have wanted to take the plunge on a trip abroad but have not yet found the time or courage to do so then do not hesitate, there is soi much waiting here for you to discover for yourselves.

The Tincas
 
19th February

Is it really only another 6 days before we are due on the ferry back to Portsmouth? We have been on the road for 74 days and the time has flown by, but having said that we are now ready to return. We have the greatest respect for the full timers we meet but for us once we have been away for 10 weeks or so we start thinking about home and all the jobs that will need doing when we get there.

We are currently at the camp site in Aranjuez about 40 Km from Madrid. The town itself has plenty to offer the tourist in the form of a Royal Palace and some lovely parks to walk in as well as good train access into Madrid. We traveled to Madrid yesterday (it takes about 45 minutes for 4 Euro) and did the usual tour around the Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace and the Cathedral. The palace is one of the most ornate we have seen and its well worth a visit. However we found it interesting to compare this level of opulence with the beggars and people sleeping rough on the streets as there are more of them here than we have seen up to now. I guess the haves and the have nots are just part of the human condition but we are optimistic that a day will come when we find a better way. The plan (?) was to go back to Madrid tomorrow to check out the museums and galleries but I managed to twist my ankle descending some steps in the train station on the way home so we will have to wait and see how long that takes to sort itself out.

The market in Malaga, its probably our imagination but it does seem to taste better than Tesco's
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Some of the garden at the Alcazar in Cordoba.......we think this would look nice around the back of our bungalow.
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The Roman Bridge in Cordoba..........the heavens opened when we were half way across.........nice.
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The street artists in Madrid are nothing if not inventive
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The Royal Palace in Madrid or at least as much of it that the camera on my mobile could fit in..........
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The Tincas
 
You speak of vagrants in Madrid, over 20 years ago I passed Marid via the outer ring road even then there were Calais style camps on the outskirts of the city. Things haven't changed much by the sound of things.
 
21st February.
We decided not to re-visit Madrid due in part to me being a bit lame and so we opted to visit the Royal Palace in Aranjuez instead, and we are very glad we did. It was a gloriously sunny day and the palace and the surrounding gardens were well worth a visit as well as time spent walking in the Gardens of the Prince which has some of the largest plane trees we have ever seen. This will be our last night at the camp site and we will head off to Burgos tomorrow via the Repsol (Autogas) station and the Hipercor where we will stock up on liquid refreshment to take home.

Having conducted a thorough search for lamp posts and other hazards we set off to negotiate the multiple ring roads around Madrid. It was a good job it was a Sunday or we would have been stuck in traffic jams for sure, as it was Mrs Tinca drove through the centre of Madrid without any delays and then it was just a matter of enjoying the changing countryside as we climbed onto the Sierra Guadarrama on our way to the Repsol gas station at Aranda del Duero. We need the heating on in the van during the evenings at these altitudes so we take the opportunity to take gas on board whenever we can, and installing a re-fillable cylinder was one of the best things we did to upgrade the van. We stopped off at the Hipercor just outside of Burgos which turned out to be a waste of time as it was shut so the stocking up on wine will have to be put on hold until we leave Burgos. We arrived at the Fuentes Blancas camp site, where we also stayed last year, and had ourselves set up in no time. We often take a walk around the camp when we arrive somewhere new to see if we can spot any Funster stickers on the vans and sure enough there was a big yellow smiley face staring at us so we knocked on the door only to find it was our leader Jim and his lovely wife Sian and daughter Katie. We had a nice catch up chat and wished them all well on their forward journey on the ferry at Bilbao which they are due to catch on Tuesday 23rd.

22nd February
We took the lovely cycle ride along the river from the camp to the centre of Burgos at midday and it was good to refresh our memory as to why this is one of our favourite Spanish cities. The cathedral is one of the most spectacular in Spain and the promenade alongside the river is a great place to stroll in the winter sunshine stopping off for coffee or wine and tapas as the mood takes us. We will pop back into town tomorrow to re-visit the excellent Museum of Human Evolution before heading north to the elephant park just south of Santander where we will overnight before catching the ferry home.

The Tincas
 
Happy memories of being in Burgos and the Elephant Park with you last time you were there. Safe journey home - and hope to see you soon!

:drinks:

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