The Rain in Spain

Something I readily hadn't bargained for in Tarifa, its closeness to Africa, Anywhere in the town you look up, and, if it's fine you see the mountains of Morocco just across the water. It's uncanny.


Bus travel so easy in Andalusia. Our coach to Tarifa


The day before we had travelled the 40 minutes by bus from Vejer through drenched and flooded countryside, the high ground reserved for hundreds of wind turbines laced together with high tension lines. Something has gone crazy here for this sort of development.
Tarifa for the most part has remained Spanish and has a seaside feel about it, a little like South Shields for those who know what I mean?

The Hostal Alameda right in the middle of Tarifa

A good half day sees you around the old town and duty to tourism done you can get into the feel of the place. Kite skiing is the big thing here, so that should be a pretty good hint as why there are so many wind turbines along the southern Andalusia coast.
One thing which we haven't done is an excursion to Morocco or Cueta which can be done all in for three days at €55. If I had to do things again I would allow time for this.
I like Tarifa.

Sylvia in Tarifa


We're off to catch the 11.00 bus to Algeceras then the 1215 train for the 2.5 hr journey to Ronda.

Visiting Vejer or "Ve her" as they say in Spain.

Vejer is a white village, which sits strategically on the top of a hill, and marked the frontier for the Christian Kings against the Moors, hence the "de la Frontera" appended to all the towns in this part of Spain.

Vejer de la Frontera

There is only so much you can see in a small town like Vejer and about a half daywalking tour following the excellent tourist map will ensure you see the 8 historical monuments, 3 of which are unassuming arches through the town wall.

Arco de la Segur

Plaza de Espana

We arrived at the Hostal La Botica, after a comfortable and very reasonable €24, 2+ hour journey from Seville. Quite amazing to see the extensive flooding around Jerez and the southern part of Andalusia. The journey is across a vast fertile plain, under cultivation, and in some parts underwater, as far as far as the eye can see, and now I understand, when I see the Spanish labels on the produce in our supermarkets, that this has to be the garden of England.

 Leaving Seville

The bus doesn't actually come to Vejer but rather La Barca de Vejer, a couple of kms at the bottom of the hill just off the A-48. The short route to the top is blocked, so the long route is the only way up, and after many apologies from our jolly taxi driver and €10 with tip, we arrived at our destination. Tomorrow we travel to Tarifa the southern most part of Europe.

The Power of Faith

You can't visit Seville without seeing the Cathedral. It dominates, it's imposing, it projects the authority of the Catholic Church.

Built by Muslim craftsmen using the materials from the destroyed Almonad Mosque the interior is overpowering in the finest Catholic manner and provides a stark contrast the the clean simple design of the Mosque's Giraldo Tower which, now adorned with a cross and belfry, is merged into the Cathedral building,
The Tower is amazing. It has no steps,  no staircase. It has ramps, 31 of them to the top, to be precise. The Imam was required to call to prayer 5 times a day and realized he would probably be dead of a heart attack after a week climbing that many times to the top of the Tower. 
So he had it built with ramps so he could ride his horse to the top each time. Absolutely brilliant.
Besides the numbers of reliquary crosses, boxes and other papal approved bones of various Saints, there is the tomb of Christoph Colon, or Christopher Columbus to you and me.
Now CC has been buried and dug up so many times in so many countries and places and has so many official tombs that it is a fact that he has travelled further since he died than when he was alive. We have it on good authority though, that DNA tests on the bits that are in this Tomb, are definitely our Christopher. How they tested for a DNA match was not explained.




A must visit when in Seville, oh, and don't forget the genuine holy water from the River Jordan, on sale at the Cathedral gift shop, for only €19.90.

Seville

Arhhhhh ....... behind the red door!


Beautiful day, bright and sunny in the high teens. We decided on a walk through the parks, people watch and soak up the atmosphere of this wonderful city.

The Piaza de Espana is a huge semi circular exhibition building in the Parque Maria Luisa built for the 1929 America Spanish exhibition as a sort of apology by Spain for its deeds in the Americas. All the ex colonies attended and we now have this magnificent legacy right in the centre of Seville.

 The Cathedral dominates the city centre, built on top of the Grand Almonad Mosque destroyed by an earthquake, the only thing left standing was the Giraldo tower. Stick a cross on the top, add a new building, there you have it, a new cathedral.

Seville was the administrative centre and port for the New World and all taxes were paid in Seville. At one time Seville had the monopoly for the import of tobacco into Europe and this information is on view at Archivo de Indias, an amazing collection of papers charting the ephemeral history of the Americas.

Oh ..... the red door?

A rather badly kept secret is where to go to see Flamenco for the price of a drink.

If you can find it in the maize of narrow lanes just off Santa Cruz you come to a small red door in Calle Levies. A "minder" will let you into another world, a huge smoke filled space crammed with people and a small stage where amateur Flamenco is performed. Not a castanet in sight. Don't bother to turn up before ten as it doesn't start until around 11 and goes through until three.

Compelling Cordoba

A city built on 4 civilisations over 2000 years, Romans, Visigoths, Muslim, Christian and today a modern, vibrant and exciting place. We planned to do a 3hr walking tour but at €28 each we thought better of it. We had already meandered through the Fortress of the Christian Kings, so decided to save our money and walk our own tour. Banos Califales, Synagogue, Roman Bridge, Puerta del Puente, Mezquita-Cathedral all visited on our itinerary, explored using the myriad of alleyways that make up the old Jewish quarter.

Roman Bridge, Mezquita Mosque, Cordoba Cathedral

We are using the half board alternative at this hostel and packing our own lunches which has given us the flexibility to eat when and where we want. Evening meals are a bit basic but plentiful, and at €8 per head you can't complain.


Dining YHA style

We indulged ourselves and booked into the Hammam for an Arab bath. The style is modelled on the Roman bath consisting of three pools followed by the steam room, the baths increasing in temperature from freezing cold to very hot. A massage and a lay on a hot rock rounds out the nearly two hours of shear indulgence, and an overheard comment to the effect that if she ever won the lottery, buying an Arab bath would be top of the list.
Tomorrow we head for Seville by fast train, 145km in an hour.

 Lovely morning walk to the station for a fast train trip to Seville. Fast in every sense of the word, the quickest way to spend €64 and the quickest trip by train, Seville in just under 45 minutes.
We walked to the Samay Seville Hostel, which proved to be ideally located and newly renovated. We have a lovely twin bed room with private facilities and kitchen on the roof terrace.



Quick change and out to meet our guide for a 2 and a half hour walking tour.
A walking tour is free and the guide only survives on what you tip at the end of the tour, so they are very informative and fun things to do.
Tomorrow, more sight seeing and maybe some Flamenco.

Here we are in Andalusia

Here I am back in Spain after all these years, but instead of warm weather, it's been cold and wet.
The journey started out well with an early EasyJet flight to Malaga, bus into town, then a bus to Granada over 2.5 hours away. As we neared the city the weather deteriorated getting colder and more overcast until we reached the Estacion de Autobuses by which time it was teaming.
Information office and directions soon found us on a number 33 to the Cathedral, then a no.31 mini bus to "just ask for Albaycin".
Using Sylvia's, ask navigation system, we soon negotiated the warren of narrow alleyways in the Moorish part of Granada, to the Hostal Moni in Plaza St Bartholomew. A quick phone call roused the owner who let us in to our warm and comfortable lodgings for the next 3 days.

Hostal Moni, Albaycin, Granada

Granada is built of the confluence of two rivers draining from the Sierra Nevada, the Darro and the Genil, and is overlooked by a hilltop on which is built The Alhambra.

Our next days were spent exploring around the old city, and touring the Alhambra, luckily on our tour the sun shone brightly in the winter sky. The Alhambra palaces brought back incredible memories of the Muslim Palaces in Jodhpur in India.

The Alhambra

We unexpectedly bumped into our host on our return from sightseeing, who promptly invited us to his local bar and insisted we had coffee liqueur and cakes. The Moni was a happy place to stay with beautiful views over the Sierras from the rooftop terrace, friendly people, and is to be thoroughly recommended.

Our host at the Moni

Yesterday we left Granada for the 165km bus journey to Cordoba, and you guessed it, in the rain. The N-432 meanders through mountains and rolling countryside and there is nothing to see but olive trees. There must be a huge market for olive oil when you see the amount of olive under cultivation, for the hundred miles we travelled, and as far as the eye could see on both sides of the highway.

Cordoba - Directo Bay 10 at 1200

When we arrived, we used the Sylvia technique again to good effect, and found our modern youth hostel in the middle of the old Jewish quarter in Cordoba, just an alleyway away from the Mesquite, in quick time.

The hostel has been renovated for the new season and our accommodation is a former monks/nuns cell with private facilities.
Breakfast included we are about ready to set off this morning and yes it's pouring with rain.

Return to Northumberland

Back from a warm Madeira to this ......

Swarland, Northumberland, January 2010.

Christmas and New Year in Madeira

Hope you enjoy the Christmas lights in Funchal, Madeira

Madeira m'dear

Freezing cold and snow, snow, snow. What is a person to do?

Why ..... see in the new year in Madeira of course.

The only flight we could get was with Thompson out of Glasgow and after a very icy drive to the airport we boarded our packed aircraft for the four hour flight. Boy oh boy was it cramped in the single isle 757. Not very impressed at all with the whole experience. Landing at Madeira is interesting, as the runway is on concrete pillars jutting out into the sea. We were the only flight to get in that morning due to cross winds, other flights were diverted to the Canaries.

We had managed to book a wonderful apartment for the week, about a 15 minute bus ride out of Funchal, the capital of Madeira. Our hosts at the Villa Marta could not have made us more welcome over the week, taking us into the city to get our bearings when we arrived, supper on New Years Eve and viewing the spectacular fireworks over the harbour to welcome in 2010, flowers and Madeira wine when we left. Fantastic.

There is no such thing as horizontal on Madeira, everything is either up or down. Thus, you have to know there is a trick to be aware of when traveling by bus, and it is this. Always get off the bus the stop after your destination traveling from Funchal, and when catching the bus into Funchal always go to the next stop towards the city. If you do this then you are always walking down hill!

We also discovered that the best place to stop for a coffee and watch the world go by is the Golden Gate in the middle of Funchal. A beautifully restored coffee house, centrally located and wonderful ambiance.

We traveled all over the island by public bus which is an experience and I should think those of a nervous disposition would probably want to avoid.

 Certainly worth doing is a Levada walk which despite my earlier claim is actually flat, the pathway following the contours of the mountainside beside the irrigation channels, giving a completely different view of the island.

 

One has to be sociable, doesn't one?

Madeira m'dear








Our only disappointment was having to return to a snowy cold Britain after the mild temperatures of Madeira.