Road trip territory

Get Google maps to plot a route from Santander to Seville and it suggests the one we use. Not that we are total Google-bots, we used this route even before we became enslaved by big data. However it's  unsurprising that both algorithm and human opt for the same route - from the Cantabrian coast, across the mountains, south towards Vallidolid,  past Salamanca and Palencia, then onwards using the Autovia Ruta de Plata through Extramadura; it is the fastest, most direct route for anybody heading for the Costa del Sol or the Algarve.

Goggle may calculate purely for practicality, but people choose the road for other reasons too ; quite simply it's one of the finest road trips you can take Western Europe.

So what are the prerequisites for a satisfying road trip? Length of course, though in Europe we struggle with this, and have to adjust our expectations downwards; we can't compete with the empty, sparsely populated American West or Australian outback. Nevertheless this route across Spain is magnificent, taking you from a place with green mountains and deciduous forests, though prairie sized vineyards, across rolling hills dotted with olive trees, ending in a land of tall palm trees where city streets are lined with orange trees full of chattering lime green parakeets. 

The entire route is punctuated by a series of small cities each with a beautiful ancient centre, stately Salamanca with its glorious central square, medieval fortifications at Caceres and significant Roman remains at Merida. 

This time we sped past them all opting to stay close to the autovia, keen to make quick progress towards a warmer climate. We camped under an olive tree on a site on the edge of the Sierra de San Bernavé, near Plasencia.

Sometimes you come across small villages that have taken the trouble to provide a fully serviced area autocaravanas provided for free. Alujucén is a tiny place just off the A66, but everything about it was delightful.

The landscape of the Guadiana valley in winter is unexpectedly green and fertile, however orange trees abound, gradually the south asserts itself, the light and colour magical to escapees from the north.

Even in a motorhome you make rapid progress, it's dual carriageway all the way, mostly motorway. Often you have the road to yourself. With not another vehicle in sight on goes the cruise control. The driver can relax and appreciate the landscape; big vistas across empty plains, blue Sierras ringing the horizon, above us birds of prey circling, kites, buzzards and occasionally an eagle or vulture. 

Southwards we go, plotting our progress by the major rivers we cross, the Duero at Tortisillas,  Rio de Tajo as you approach Caceres, the Guadiana at Merida, then finally, settling down for a couple of nights in the area autocaravanas next to Seville's river port, the Guadalquivir. Simply repeating their names in my head like a mantra feels uplifting. 

What is the opposite of lockdown? Escape? Release? Liberation? For the compulsive traveller is it hyperbolic to suggest that being able to wander as you wish is some kind of quietly understated apotheosis?