Talking to people all of Europe is suffering from extreme weather of one sort or another. Al Rocio is is a small town in the Andalucia region of Spain, on the edge of the Donana national park. South of the town is a lagoon, I was told today that it is one metre above its normal level. The town is built on sand with unsurfaced roads. The heavy and sustained rain on these sand roads has turned them into very potholed roads.
Andalucia is famous for it’s horses and El Rocio is greatly influenced by that, this is reflected in some of the shops which sale related goods. The style of buildings are traditional, in some cases ornate. Most have hitching rails in the front.
Weather, at the moment, is good. Keith managed to get in some birding. Took great delight in teaching a Spanish birder about local varients. Actually he was a nice guy and I enjoyed his company.
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Today, January the 5 th, we left Conil de la Frontera, with some difficulty. Whilst northern Europe as been suffering with ice and snow parts of Spain have been deluged with heavy rain and floods. Thunder storms and rain during the night. The site has terraced pitches of bare earth making them slippery when wet. Tried to drive off but, the wheels spun, two rugs, second gear and low rev’s got us off.
We are now at Al Rocio, south of Almonte, camping Al Aldea. First impression, probably one of the best campsites we have stayed on. More to follow.
P S anorak warning, bird watching coming up.
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The weather forecast for the day was good so we decided to go for it, a good decision. The drive took us about one and half hours thanks to the good Spanish roads. We started our visit with a cup of coffee al fresco in casemate square as the temperature rose to the mid twenties. A walk along Main street followed with its array of tax free shops trying to tempt us. After lunch we walked around some of the other areas soaking up some of the history. That was followed by a ride on the cable car to the top to see the apes and admire the views. Then, the highlight of the day, a visit to Morrisons supermarket. A drive to Europea point and we headed back feeling relaxed and happy.
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Friday 31st saw us move to the alantic coast south of Seville, happy new year. On route we observed some serious flooding, houses with water up to the top of the ground floor windows, they have had some very high rainfalls in the area. Our plan is to visit Gibraltar from here and then to move on.
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The sole reason for going to Granada was to visit Alhambra palace. It is a very popular tourist destination, as individuals you can only pre-book on the day. We were advised to arrive early. The gates open at 08 00, last admission 14-00, we arrived at 07 45 to find about 500 people in front of us, we got through the gate at 08 45. They allocate a time slot to visit the palace proper, every half hour, starting at 08-30. Ours was 11-00.
We recommend it, take your time, lots to see, the grounds, views and buildings. A big wow factor.
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Tuesday 29th we headed for Granada, a long hard slog. Isla Plana is about 50 metres above sea level, the road to Granada peaks at 1,750 metres. Lots of third gear, 30 mile an hour in the crawler lane. Downhill, forth or fifth with the engine braking our rapid decent. Fuel consumption was not good that day.
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Keith speaking. I tried to resist this but, in the end I could not. Although we are in Spain we closely followed the unfolding events in the south east caused by the bad weather and the ensuing travel chaos. When talking about the tunnel and euro star in particular my comment was, “send down a steam loco, that will sort it out”.
Low and behold the big green machine, Tornado did the business. Two untroubled round trips from London to the Kent coast. It even gave a lift home to some commuters who were stuck in London. I hope they dipped in to their pockets with a donation towards the outstanding £600,000 build cost of Tornado. It would have been nice if the media had given it more cover, forgot, they only do negative.
That weekend, up and down the country preserved railways ran as scheduled. You do not have to be interested in steam railways to appreciate the pictures, the scenery is magic. Go on youtube and have a look at the videos, in particular the North Yorks moor railway, note the little boy on the station and the big boys playing with their toys.
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We managed to visit on Wednesday, for the second time. Visited a museum, no photos, not permitted, had a wander along the sea front and around the old town. We both found it pleasant and enjoyable. For people who don’t do crowds that speaks volumes. A point for my friends at Dover transport museum. The museum we visited holds the Guinness world record for the largest collection of model vehicles, 3,500.
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We have been asked for more details about the site. Because of the lay out it is difficult to take photos so, we refer you to the website. www.campinglosmadriles.com
It is a nice site, ideal for those who wish to over winter.
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I have, on several occasions, watched a large flock of sparrows that roost on some land close to the site. When they take off the combined power of their wing beats produce an audible crack. These images are rarely experienced in the UK today. Simple things give so much pleasure. Keith
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