The mountain road to Zafra

After the excitement of the morning it was great to get back on the road again. The N435 road from the coast towards Extramadura was as spectacular as it promised from looking at the road atlas. Our guide book described the north of Huelva Province as having rolling hills that were surprisingly pastoral, and it's true! As well as the fields of beige and brown long horned cattle, some of the green hillocks were covered in closely pollarded Pom-Pom trees - some sort of nut we surmised; these gave the landscape an odd, but pleasing polka dot appearance.

Soon though, beyond Val Verde we were climbing steeply then swooping down into broad valleys. The road was wide and well maintained with little traffic This was motorhome travel as you imagined it, though big country with a blue sky enlivened by billowing banks of white and silver cumulii. After a couple of hours the rock outcrops grow larger, the ravines deeper and the bends more challenging. It's an exciting drive across the Sierra Aracena, but I was glad we had decided to do it on a calm day, in wind and rain the serpentine road would not offer an exhilarating drive, but a hazardous one. There are few petrol stations on the road, and even fewer parking areas big enough for a motorhome. This was a problem, as there was nowhere to stop for lunch, or by now early tea. The shenanigans over the battery had meant we had not bad a bite since breakfast. We were ravenous.

We crossed from Andalucia into Spain's most remote region, Extramadura. Most of this part of the trip has been based in the various regions of Andalucia; it's a much more varied region than we had expected, and one I have no doubt we will return to. After crossing the Sierra, we found ourselves on one of those wide upland plains that makes up so much of inland Spain.

As we approached Fregenal de la Sierra we passed a motorhome aire sign. An area next to the village bus station had been set aside, with a new service point. The village itself looked interesting with a big castle and fortified church next to it. We considered staying for the night as we were the only van, but n the end decided to press on to Zafra, not before finally managing to grab something to eat.

Fregenal de la Sierra castle from the aire

It was late afternoon before we finally pulled into the Zafra Aire in the car park of an old industrial building on the edge of town. It did not look too prepossessing and I did wonder if we should have settled for the one in Fregenal de la Sierra . But, despite the challenges of what had been a tricky day, intrepid as ever, we wandered the kilometre or so into the old centre. Though the modern area is bland, the narrow streets and arcaded squares of the original town are lovely, especially in the golden light of early evening. However, even in the main square all the cafe's seemed to have shut up shop, even though the streets were busy with the Spanish equivalent of the passeggiata. It was chilly, still late winter in Extramadura, a different Spain here, more down to earth, and you sense that people don't have money to spend. 

Zafra - a pretty main square at sunset - not one cafe open!

old window with moderista influences

Moorish influences in the arcades

I want my palacios in NHS green tiles please...

The sunset even cheered up the modern outskirts

Perhaps in these more remote regions the country's financial predicament may be more overt. Certainly on the whole, apart from perhaps in Isla Christina, in Andalucia, Spain did not feel impoverished, indeed it felt like an optimistic society still investing in infrastructure. But really, as a tourist, without being able to talk to people, or read local newspapers, how can you ever know what things are really like?