The Palace at Cordoba

The cathedral was originally a church which the Muslims destroyed and built an enormous mosque in it’s place. When the Christians then won this part of Spain back, they put a Cathedral over the top. Fortunately the architects in charge of designing it in the 1500s had the foresight to leave the perfectly beautiful Arab features in place. It is colossal and didn’t really have a feel of anything other than intense cold as the large carved wooden doors all along the sides are holey, (not holy).

After our visit and foundered with cold we returned for breakfast in the hostel, everyone wearing coats and hats throughout. We then made a quick excursion to the Alcazar where the Christian Kings used to stay, en route to the railway station. This is quite special but has been restored recently and somehow has lost the magic you feel in a really old palace.

The courtyard and old Arab baths at the Palace

View from the very top of the palace battlements looking down on the Arab baths.

Further view from the Palace roof.

So there we were back at the station still hoping to get to Malaga and this time we knew the only way out was by car. So for 3 hours and an awful expense we hired a car and drove to Malaga, exchanged the car for the one we’d already hired from there and headed south to Soto Grande.

A tree frog appeared in time for Christmas!

Harriet, Jim and Olivia arrive the day after tomorrow and Simon and Rosie on Christmas Eve, it’ll be the first time I’ve seen them all since 11th September and I’m quite excited.

We'll be signing off for a few days but Happy Christmas and New Year to anyone who may dip in to this. (We are still on our emails. alecarmitage@gmail.com and viviarmitage@gmail.com

Yes the whole family swam IN THE SEA on Christmas day!!

even me!

Happy Christmas 2009!

We will be signing off for a few days but Happy Christmas and New Year to anyone who may dip in to this. (We are still on our emails. alecarmitage@gmail.com and viviarmitage@gmail.com

Jerez to Cordoba pics

The river Guadalquiver which a week ago was nothing more than a stream. In the distance the Roman bridge which crosses the river at the cathedral/mosque

Moorish architecture in the cathedral, somewhere in the centre is the christian altar and choir stalls.

Evidence of the Cordwainers who originated right here.

Below - the ceiling above the christian altar and to the right a mish mash of christian and moorish architecture

Saturday 19th December Jerez-Cordoba We were still on the hunt for the sherry so set off for the railway station via a great little bodega recommended by the barman at the hotel. At 10am it was full of men drinking sherry but again we drew a blank. Plenty of ordinary Sherries but no VORS. So off to Seville where we had a train change en route to Cordoba which gave us the opportunity to finally find what we wanted in the Barbadillo sherry shop. We really enjoy biking in Seville now we know where we are going and whizzed around the streets avoiding trams and people. This time there were a lot of Christmas market stalls thrown in to add to the general confusion. Lovely sun again so ate a picnic in a park quickly before heading on to Cordoba. What an amazing city this is. So full of history with a much more Moorish feel than some of the others we have visited. It was at one stage the most important Moorish town and the biggest Muslim mosque back in the 700-900 Cs. Before this the Romans had also lived there so there is quite a Roman feel to the architecture as well and a great many buildings and ruins to look at. Going to Cordoba was one of those ‘have to do things’ (especially as the current King Cordwainer, Ollie Chamberlain, lives in Dorset) and getting there by train is easy. The trains have bike compartments too and Spanish rail don’t even charge for a bike. After Cordoba we were planning to take the train on south to Malaga. However this is when our failure to plan ahead sufficiently really hit us. We thought we’d be really efficient and buy our tickets for tomorrow as soon as we arrived at the station only to be greeted with a devastatingly dismissive shrug and the words NO bikes on the train to Malaga. You’ve got to be kidding we said. Nope. Too many details to go into but we wasted an awful lot of time trying to sort out alternatives without resorting to the motor car. It was arctic (well not like the U.K. type arctic) but much colder than recently. We stayed in a little hostel/hotel which was old fashioned but with lots of atmosphere. In the restaurant where we had supper we ordered ‘dos Manzanilla por favor’ and were back to the old problem of being given two herbal teas. The waiter said we were in the wrong area for sherry (only 50 miles away from Jerez) and in Cordoba they drink Montilla instead. So we swopped the tea for a couple of those, it was nice but not quite as good as sherry. On Sunday we got up really early (7.30 which is v early for us, and it is still dark) as the Cathedral/Mosque is only open for 2 hours. It is an extraordinary mishmash of architecture. We knew exactly where it was having walked around it last night but when we set off down the myriad of narrow lanes and streets we became totally disorientated and completely lost. But we did find a very impressive wall plaque put there by the ‘cordwainers’ which is about the only evidence that we saw of their existence in the town. Oliver tells me that next year a team of Cordwainers are going to cycle from Cordoba to London – good luck to them I say the Spanish countryside is not exactly like Holland, but I dare say they’ll have extremely comfortable soft leather linings to their cycle shorts, and probably leather saddles too!

Jerez

Friday 18th December
Jerez
We might be quite fit for biking, but make us do a day’s sightseeing on two feet and we really feel our age. The forecast was for a lot of rain and the Spanish seem to be rather accurate with their forecasting, which I suppose is good in some ways! It rained on and off all day (more on than off) so we sploshed about through the streets. Jerez is very attractive and quite small so everywhere is within walking distance.

We started by visiting the Spanish Riding School which I had been trying to get to for some time. There are no shows at the moment but it didn’t matter as we have seen them perform in the past in the U.K. Instead we had a fascinating 2 hours with a guide (in English) who took us around the Palace, designed by a French architect in the late 1700s and it looked very much like some of the chateaux we had visited in France. It was extremely ornate but at some time in the 1800’s had been abandoned and left empty and has only been restored quite recently. Unfortunately it looked as if it had been done ‘on the cheap’ as all the huge gilded mirrors, pictures and furniture had been gone over with gold paint.
We watched the horses training in the show ring for a few minutes and then went on to the Museum of horsemanship - fascinating details about the various breeds and how it all evolved from working with the bulls - it was the rogue ones who started the ‘bull fighting’ theme. Then on to the carriages which were very elegant and largely presented by the King and the Royal family. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos in the Palace or the museum so nothing interesting to show here. Afterwards we spent some time in the stables which were immaculate and so were the horses. They start training the horse from the age of 2 and it seemed rather hard on the youngsters to spend their entire lives in stalls of about 4 meters square. They never retire and we met their top horse, who has won several Olympic medals, (sorry, can’t remember his name something like Ambassador or Impressor) but who is now 20 and still does a bit every day. Apparently they never get a rest period as they would seize up, get fat, lazy and forget what they are about – bit like humans! They are all stallions, except the carriage driving ones, and the mares and foals are kept elsewhere. It looked a wonderful place to study for 4 years, as they can specialize in saddlery, veterinary skills as well as riding, and they even have a British student.

Anyway enough horse, Alec was very good natured about spending his morning there. We then went on a mission to find a special bottle of 30 year old (V.O.R.S) sherry which we had been asked to get. This took most of the afternoon and we saw a lot of town. We had imagined that Jerez would be like Sanlucar de Barrameda and have Bodegas and Sherry barrels everywhere, but you really wouldn’t know that this city is the centre of the sherry trade at all.

Harvey's Bristol Cream Bodega - we all know who the real owner is!!Tio Pepe - an old favourite!

On our travels through town we met someone even older than us, who was taking a short break outside a Bodega before his busiest time of year next week. He invited us to join him and the three of us would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and New Year.

Later that evening we caught up with him again but he was too busy to stop and chat!

We had every intention of finding a Spanish party but a monsoon struck and we found the closest possible bar to where we were staying and hid in there for our supper. Luckily it was very good and full of atmosphere with a noisy family in charge – ages ranging from a much adored 6 y.o girl to boys who were waiting at tables. The walls were covered in pictures of bulls/fighting and horses. They voted on abolishing bull fighting in Catalonia today, and I think the anti bull fighting lot won the vote but even with the dictionary we couldn’t quite work out which way the vote went. Last week our very opinionated waiter said there was a plot to stop it, as the land taken up with breeding and fighting could be put to better use as building land. We fell in to bed at 11, having passed the locals just leaving to go out to have supper.

Every bar, restaurant and supermarket is festooned with Jamon Serrano - and our restaurant was no exception. With all the fag smoke in all the bars we're surprised they don't just hang them up raw, the effect ultimately would be the same!
On the way home we couldn’t help but notice Jesus has been born here in Jerez too, so Julia’s concern that he might have been born in Seville but not yet in Rota paah!!

Huelva pics

Christobel Colon (Colombus) looking out to sea down the Rio Tinto. As Charlie said there is no actual evidence that he set sail from here and a number of other ports along the coast also claim that he set forth from their ports too!!

And again from the bar where we toasted his success!

Thursday 17th December.
Huelva-Jerez de la Frontera
At about 3 .a.m. the earth moved and it was not a pleasant experience! We were woken by huge shakes and bangs and initially thought it might be the couple next door. However, as our bed started moving across the room we realized it was an earthquake. Luckily it only lasted a few seconds but long enough to make for a sleepless night. Various people in the high rise flats opposite were hanging around on their balconies too. The weather had gone from very cold to pretty warm and the sea was very rough as we had biked along the coast so perhaps that was a sign of some unsettlement on the sea bed. No one mentioned anything at breakfast or on the local news but Harriet tells us it measured 6.3 on the Richter scale just off the coast of Portugal and Huelva. We both felt quite out of sorts for the whole day, as though our bodies had been given a good rattling.
We biked along the coast, (me checking for suspicious cracks in the roads) to look at the rather magnificent statue of Christopher Columbus at the mouth of the river Tinto. He has been looking out to sea since 1929 although it looks like a much more modern statue than that. The sun was blazing down so we had a beer and some olives in a bar beside him and then headed back to Huelva station to catch a train to Jerez (sherry fix coming up). We met a lovely girl on the train who is teaching English in Huelva, originating in Vienna, and had worked in France, China, England and is now debating where to go next. We felt most ignorant struggling through 2 extra languages.
Jerez station is sensational, all pale blue tiles and a very ornate building. We had made a Lastminute.com booking for something called The Tryp Hotel which when we arrived was a bit sniffy about cyclists,(they charged us 8euros to park each bike in the basement) but who cares, this is real luxury! We had a very quiet supper of meatballs (Albondegas cooked in sherry, a favourite around here, the name rolls off the tongue quite easily compared to other things on the menu) in town and the waiter told us that tomorrow is a holiday so there will be party time in the evening - Ole’!

El Rompido pics

The Galleon which is under construction and is meant to be setting off for Shanghai sometime in the New Year. The long post in front of it and between the boat and the yellow crane is another mast, complete with crow's nest - it's a very handsome machine.

Long view of Huelva across the salt marshes.

El Rompido 15/16 December

Tuesday & Wednesday 15/16th December
El Rompido
Tuesday we decided to have a bit of a day off (what from I hear you thinking!) but there is something about getting up each day wondering where you will end up that night which generally adds to the stresses and strains of a long trip. As it is such a nice place we took the bikes and had a perfect day exploring locally. It is still sunny but bitterly cold as there is a north wind and lots of snow about 100 miles inland. The Spanish are all in scarves, boots, long puffa coats and woolly hats – they just don’t know the meaning of the word cold! But the Huelva Beauty Queens do; a beauty pageant is being held at the El Rompido (almost as good as Pornic) Golf Hotel. We’ve never seen such a teeth chattering collection of skinny girls before – I wonder what the collective noun for them would be?
There were several four balls out on the golf course as by 10am the sun has warmed the place up and the dew has dried. It all looks pretty perfect if you haven’t got anything better to do.
Wednesday 16th
We almost booked in for another night as the forecast was atrocious but at about the time we might have funked it the sun came out and there just wasn’t an excuse any longer.
As we left we had various destinations in mind but once again ended up in Huelva as we know the place and since the next stop was to be Jerez it made sense to be next to a railway station. Huelva is in the grip of Christmas fever and the streets were teeming with people and the square bedecked with palm trees in Christmas lights and carols over the tannoy. Even we began to get into the spirit.
On the way into Huelva we passed the Galleon – under construction and since it looked as if it was about to dump hail on us, we skirted past the 'Police No Entry' barriers and headed for a small tin shack which it transpired housed an Expresso machine. The hail began a minute later and a breathless man tumbled in to join as 10 seconds after that. He explained that the boat should be finished in about a month’s time and would set sail thereafter for a) Seville and then b) Shanghai where it is supposed to form part of the 2010 Expo Exhibition. Their route after Seville is the Med, Suez (bit scary after Murray and Amanda’s experience) and then who knows how to China. I (Vivi) didn’t think it looked very sea worthy and couldn’t see any sign of an engine room, but the man was very excited about having a place on board.

El Rompido (again)

Having waited ever since Bordeaux to see one of these they are now beginning to be a bit 'old hat' but they still give me a thrill every time I see one!






The El Rompido golf course from our bedroom window. If Willie, Ant, Jenny, Wrighty uncle Paul, Lulu are reading this and any of the Tues or Thurs DG&CC lot I can definitely feel a Spanish weekend of Golf coming on!





Looking across the course back towards our appartment.

Ayamonte to El Rompido (again)

Monday 14th December
Ayamonte – El Rompido (again)
We were pleased to get out of our hotel for breakfast, as we needed to warm up. We found an excellent bakery so settled down to tuck in but this was rather spoilt by the painter going up and down his ladder immediately outside the automatic doors, and the waitress going out for a ciggy and a chat, thus making them open and shut every couple of minutes. The Spanish smoking ban comes in on Jan 1st which is a relief for us. I think they smoke as much as the French.
We are returning towards Huelva by the inland route. We have realized that our idea of filling in time up to Christmas week by exploring Portugal was a little ambitious as we have hardly covered an inch of the map heading that way. We love this area so have been more than happy to explore it. At the side of the via verdes the scenery is a good mix of Strawberries, mostly ready for the Christmas market, grown under glass , Seville oranges and other citrus fruits. Alec is determined to eat a Seville orange as they can be plucked from the trees on the road side so I am waiting for his reaction when he does! The route was a bit rough and between agricultural areas there are quite a few shanty towns springing up, so we peddled quite fast past these. A lot of itinerant workers have arrived to pick fruit to find that there are no jobs so are living in boxes and under tarpaulin unable to return home. The rubbish is amazing everywhere, and I don’t think the locals have ever picked up a plastic bag or bottle. Around the fruit farms there are year’s worth of abandoned poly tunnels blowing about. It is a shame as it is beautiful countryside. For once we had managed to pre-book our hotel rather successfully, finding a fantastic 5 star golf hotel doing very cheap deals. We are now happily settled in to an apartment with every mod con surrounded by the marshes and a very nice looking golf course. (I could live like this!) I have had to remember how to cook in a chalet girl sized kitchen with only 2 rings and a microwave.

La Antilla to Ayamonte pics

Flamingos - white ones!

The ferry to Portugal with Vivi, not exactly fighting for space on the deck!

The ferry.

The Spanish town of Ayamonte from the Portuguese side.

An Avocet - nice chap!

La Antilla to Ayamonte

Sunday 13th December.
La Antilla to Ayamonte
OK Alec is finally going to get his wish and visit Portugal – well maybe tomorrow but we are ‘that close’ there are even signs to it. As we cycled out of town we noticed an open air fruit, veg and meat market so knowing we had a lot of cycling ahead we bought a picnic of baguette, tomato, Serrano ham, figs and bananas. Oh and a bar of chocolate! The sky was blue there is no wind and the road freshly built with EU money – once again we were rolling!
The route to Ayamonte is along the coast but after Isla Cristina you pick up the Via Verde (incidentally in case I forget this disused railway line was originally put there to carry the olives to the factories for processing) again which being an old railway line is straight but has fallen into disrepair over the last five years since funds were last provided to make it a ‘camino’ or as we’d say ‘footpath’. It isn’t easy to find but an old chap dragging his motorbike into his house told us with a mixture of shouting and sign language and lo and behold we found it. At the start was a ramshackle house with more furniture outside than in (a guess: we weren’t invited in) and a man, dog, several cats and a cockerel all sharing the same sofa and a donkey looking on possibly wondering if he could squeeze on too. The route runs through salt marshes which are spectacularly flush with water birds, flamingoes looking pale compared to the ones in Donana (no pink shrimps around here), black backed storks (didn’t know they existed) and I saw my first Avocet – spectacular!
We meandered along arriving in Ayamonte where the Guadiana River runs between Spain and Portugal. Cycling about to orientate ourselves we fell upon the ferry to Portugal - just leaving. With spontaneity unknown to us we leapt aboard and 10 minutes later arrived in Vila Real de San Antonio. From Spain it looked rather exotic and we had spied a colonial looking hotel where we planned to stay. We thought that life moves quite slowly in Spain, but in this particular town, it was almost at a standstill. The glamorous hotel turned out to have broken windows, it’s roof stoved in and the doors firmly closed by a chain and substantial padlock. Undaunted we cycled the streets in search of lodging, stopped for refreshment in the square complete with Christmasy ice rink, children and carols played on pan pipes. But what really spoiled it for us was Noddy Holder’s – It’s Christmas – somehow that song on pan pipes to us was missing the point a bit. On the other hand Chris De Burgh’s ‘A Space Man Came Travelling’ sounded pretty good!
Anyway after a fruitless search for accommodation we caught another ferry back and only just managed to find a hostel in Ayamonte. And it’s at times like this that you realize the ‘Meynard Keynes rules of supply and demand’ still apply. This was a real dog’s bottom of a hostel, freezing cold, no breakfast and they whacked us 50E for the night! Today we are in the 5* Campo de Golf at El Rompido (yes again, it’s on the route back) absolute luxury and it’s – the same price.
Two remarkable things happened today, firstly we saw a swallow heading north – idiot does he not know it’s snowing in Madrid. Secondly creeping from our frozen billet we had an excellent supper, but our waiter – a very chatty and Vivi says ‘good looking’ Portuguese explained to us that this year’s poppy harvest in Afghanistan was the biggest on record and that the Americans were only there so they could fly the empty planes back to the USA stuffed full of Heroin! We didn’t like to disagree and spark another international incident.

El Rompido to La Antilla pics

Vivi on the beach at La Antilla - note rolled up jeans for paddling!










On the cycle route along the disused railway line, rather romantically we wondered whether during the revolution this was the home of a communist railway worker?







Orange grove and very tasty they are too.









Cycle path, not many people know about these. Infact I'd say nobody, it's only by a miraculous mistake that we found it!

El Rompido to La Antilla

Saturday 12th December.
El Rompido to La Antilla
After an uncomfortable night we set off up the main road (which fortunately had a broad cycle lanes on either side) to Cartaya where today there was some sort of a horse event which Vivi was keen to see. Cartaya is a large town but a bit ‘down at heel’, so having thought we’d stop there and watch whatever the horsey thing was we decided against that and ploughed on. To our utter amazement we got lost (quelle surprise) but fortunately in the right direction as instead of having to take the motorway cycle lane we ended up on a disused railway line designated a Vias Verdes and going in exactly the same direction. We reappeared in Lepe which had a ‘main street’ and not much else and decided this was not the place to stop. But we did have lunch (on this street) which was good (the lunch) but the noise incredible – one boy in a black BMW passed 5 times windows down and music so loud we could not hear ourselves – no doubt a very effective pulling technique, but he was still on his own when we left.
On we went back down to the coast to La Antilla which is a seaside town so it’s pretty closed up but we sorted ourselves out in a lovely hotel on the beach and went for a long walk. The sea is not cold to paddle in, but after Charlie said there was a thick scum on the water when he swam in Rota I’ve decided with my delicate stomach to avoid taking such risks! Returning we felt like a cup of tea which is an easy one to do in Spanish. ‘Dos te con leche frio por favor’ – we have learned to say ‘frio’ because if you don’t they give you hot milk. Anyway two tea pots arrived, both with tea bags but sadly floating on top of cold milk. We are sure that 15 miles away in the Algarve they will have British tea down to a tee ha ha!!
Alec came into his own at supper in the local restaurant. As usual we alone are keeping the Spanish economy afloat in the low season, and there is usually a rather bored family hanging around the kitchen and bar area (the owners cum chef) whilst we have a quick meal. The children always look very fed up and tonight’s child was in charge of counting corks and bottle tops. Alec designed a superb Spanish galleon out of a cork, 3 tooth picks, 1 cent as the rudder and a few bits of napkin ripped up for sails. When launched in to an ash tray it sailed beautifully! Dinner cost considerably less than usual but the father looked quite miffed.
We have finally found a way to identify the dozens of tiny warbler type birds which flick in and out of bushes and never sit still for long enough to get a proper look at. Cycle along the side of a busy road, sadly every 20yds is another tiny corpse which once in the hand can be cross referenced with Coralie’s (lightweight paperback) bird book. All of a sudden struggling 1700 miles under the weight of an entire library has become worthwhile!

El Rompido pics

A stork on his nest - almost every pole, mast, stick and chimney has one!

The cycle lane out of Huelva and on to Lepe, the Spanish cycle lanes are very well kept secrets but when you find one it tends to be a goodun!

Sunset El Rompido - getting a bit chilly mind!

Had lunch here on the way into El Rompido which is why we decided to stay the night here.

The estuary alongside El Rompido the other side of the spit to the top left is the Atlantic.

Huelva to El Rompido

Friday 11th December
Huelva – El Rompido
A perfect morning following the route out of Huelva westwards. This area is all designated as Natural Park (as opposed to National Park where we bikers are not allowed). The Marismas del Odiel is a huge area of salt marshes surrounded by pine forests, so a haven for yet more great birds - Flamingoes, Spoonbills, Black Winged Stilts amongst others. We reached El Rompido (great name I think and also a great place) by early afternoon and liked it so much we decided to stay here. It is a delightful old port within in inlet and protected from the Atlantic by a long sand spit. There are masses of rather exclusive villas and golf courses built around the town. The swanky hotels were all shut for the winter, (not that we would have been in one anyway) but we found a beauty on the hill above the town overlooking the golf course and estuary. A two star hotel with four star views, three star service, one star pillows and mattress and five star prices. But, we were a captive audience as nowhere else was available. We left our bikes and luggage and spent the next 2 hours in the marshes full of Curlews and other sea birds and saw a beautiful sunset. As the hotel restaurant was closed it was back to the old days of biking a few miles in to town for supper but it felt good to have done 30 miles in the day as we are getting fat and lazy!

Seville to Huelva pics

Owing to Tom and Cameron occupying the cathedral we had to find other ways to occupy ourselves until our train left for Huelva. This is the Tower Oro beside the river and a few hundred yards from the bullring.




Now that definitely looks like Mary and without a doubt that's Jesus in front of her, so I'm sorry Julia but you are wrong. I knew she couldn't last that long looking how she was in the square at Rota!!
















Sculptures in Seville.























The river through Seville, navigable by yachts as far up as this, not that we saw any but maybe this is the wrong time of year.

Seville to Huelva

Thursday 10th December.
Seville to Huelva
Before we could leave we had to have a bit of a look at Seville as our last visit had been two years ago and in May. That time it was so stiflingly hot we could not concentrate and took shelter in the cathedral. This time we were going to do it properly and get to the top of the cathedral tower but once again were thwarted. This time by Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz who have been following us around a bit. They had arranged for the cathedral and the square in front of it to be closed for the day so they could carry on filming Knight and Day. We thought the paparazzi were following us!
Seville really is lovely (well the bit in the middle where the tourists are allowed) and we had a happy morning. We went to look at the Bull ring to look at it, and couldn’t remember why we had failed last time. On arrival we were told that it was guided tours only and we remembered that being the reason, so gave it a miss. We are headed for Portugal but have discovered that no Spaniard has any information/interest whatsoever on it, so we found the Portuguese consulate who completely understood our predicament about getting information about their country out of the Spanish but with a rather sniffy air told us that they were not a travel agency so couldn’t really help either. However they did finally relent and handed over all sorts of maps and touristy literature which will come in handy.
On the walk back to the hotel to collect the bikes and head back to the station for the next leg of our journey , passing the cathedral we noticed an enormous stable complete with crib, Mary, Joseph, cattle, sheep, oxen, wise men and yes you’re ahead of me – definitely a baby and I just think that it might be Jesus. (see photo) so Julia you were wrong, sometime between Tuesday 8th at about 11pm and Thursday 10th midday he was I’m afraid born, and you owe me!!
We caught the train to Huelva it takes just under 2 hours and passed through some stunning almost flat countryside which we realized afterwards we could have cycled had we had more time. Checked into a hotel and were beginning to feel quite excited about the forthcoming few days between now and Christmas when the family are coming out to join us.

Seville

Seville cathedral at night - the biggest in Europe.

Bulls heads on the wall of the bar where we had dinner. Rows of them!

Seville oranges with fairy lights - we can't can't used to this take on Christmas.

An amazing multi poinsettia bush which looked a little bit the worse for wear in the morning after a cold night. Rangers played Seville tonight and lost so there were a lot of very unhappy Scotsmen wandering the streets at 11pm.

Rota to Seville

Wednesday 9th December
Rota to Seville
We had to get up with a different attitude and get into gear to clear up and set off traveling again. It was really hot so all the washing dried a treat, we loaded the bikes and caught the fast ferry over to Cadiz in the afternoon; then onwards by train to Seville. Spanish trains are as good as the French ones and it was palatial with booked seats and places to hang the bikes. We were pretty nervous about finding somewhere to stay and biking through the centre as Seville has a bad reputation bike-wise. However, a really efficient girl in the travel centre at Seville station had us booked in to a small hotel in minutes, and produced a bike map through the city. It was amazing, all the way around the busiest streets, on a special bike route, and the adrenalin got going as everyone else shot past us, weaving in and out of trams and pedestrians who were foolish enough to walk on the wrong bit of pavement.
It is the most beautiful city and the Christmas lights were fantastic. In the cold air it all looked very festive and for the first time we felt quite Christmasy – although it was quite strange to see all the orange trees full of Seville oranges which line the streets, festooned with lights. Lots of chestnuts stalls and if we could fit any more into our bags we could have had very successful shopping for Christmas stockings. Our hotel was tucked up one of the old streets behind the Cathedral and it is a great area for exploring, full of tapas bars and restaurants.
We went to the tapas bar as recommended by the man in the hotel as we have finally learned that this is quite often the right thing to do. As it happened it was next door to the one recommended by my cousin’s husband Jimmy so who knows which one might have been better. Anyway our one was a very pro bullfighting bar and there were pictures of strutting matadors and dead bulls heads crowded all over the walls. Bit like William’s downstairs loo only these things were trying to kill the chap in the pink tights who was antagonizing them!

Rota harbour pictures

The crew and a bit of glamour.









As described in the blog!!









The very beautiful Virgin all dressed up for the Fiesta of the Immaculate Conception.

From the boat in Rota harbour

Tuesday 8th December.
We had been planning to go off to Veger de la Frontera but somehow by the time we had all agreed on where and what to do, it was too late, so we settled for getting to know Rota better. We strolled along the Sea front and Charlie put the other 2 men to shame by donning his trunks and swimming. He stayed in for some time and swore that it was lovely, so we were full of admiration.
Rota church (‘Nostra Senora de la O’) was absolutely stunning as it had been decorated for the Feast day - full of flowers, gold and over-the-top gaudy baubles in a side chapel, and the remainder was old and had a lovely serene atmosphere. The church bells pealed Silent Night and other carols on the hour.
Over here they supply static cycling machines in the parks and on the waterfront, every 100 yards, and it is rather nice to see some of the older generation (see photos) sitting in the sun chatting and keeping a little more mobile. We think they should do this at home and join it to the National Grid and then a lot of energy problems would be solved. What’s more, they haven’t even been vandalized.
Late afternoon had a bit of a ‘going back to school’ feeling as the others were flying off later. We are a bit nervous as have been given the responsibility of putting the boat to bed when we leave. We spent a quiet evening finishing off anything perishable, so it was a feast.

Rota

A seagull in the hood of a neighbouring very expensive yacht having is morning bath.








The nativity scene in Rota - all waiting expectantly.









A fish display, also waiting to see how they are served up. Hopefully better than the soup we were given in Sanlucar!








The man who makes other men feel like wimps!









Breakfast chef, and very good it was too - for those of us still feeling hungry.