We've decided what we are going to do over the next week or so, but not the order in which we are going to do it, that depends on the weather.
We're in Jerez right now parked in the usual place - the area autocaravanas run by La Morada del Sur, a motorhome repair and storage company. Having had to cancel our booking with the Burstner main dealer in Lincoln due to the snowy weather in January we wondered if Morada del Sur might be able to fix some of the van's minor glitches while we stopped here. Sadly their workshop is fully booked for the next two weeks, so we'll just have to live with the glitches until we get home.
One of the delights of stopping here is the place offers a free glass of sherry on arrival. I went for an oloroso, Gill opted for a fino.
We headed to Jerez because the weather forecast predicts sunshine and showers and visiting a city is a better option when the outlook is mixed rather than going to somewhere outdoorsy. In the event the rain was not a problem; we had two sunny days in Jerez punctuated by a couple of sharp showers overnight.
There's an excellent cycle path into the historic centre from right outside Morada del Sur. With buildings from the Arabic period right through to the Modernista there is a lot to like about the old city. However the newer suburbs are attractive too, it's a good example of a 'liveable' city, the place has all the amenities of a large city but on a human scale.
It's a twenty minute cycle into the centre. You pass the usual supermarkets and malls but also lots of modern restaurants and gyms, a giant soft play centre for kids. At the weekend the place hums with llife. The mild winter climate means that you can eat outdoors on this sunny Saturday even if it is February 1st. The whole place is buzzy, it lifts your spirits just being here.
Our plan was to have lunch at La Gabriela in Plaza Plateros, a great tapas place we know in a lovely sunny square. Sadly it was closed so we tried somewhere else nearby but the food was poor quality and the service chaotic. You can't hit a winner every time
Having driven 100kms south from Olvera two days previously we more or less retraced our route when we headed back to Puerto Serrano. Like Olvera the place's old station provides access to the Via Verde de la Sierra. There are fewer than half a dozen parking slots big enough to accommodate a motorhome so arriving at the weekend is really a non-starter. Monday was forecast to be fine, so we drove back to the cycle trail in the hope of finding a space. Success! Only one other van was drawn up when we arrived so we pulled-in next to it and offloaded the bikes.
We had occasional showers while we were in Jerez but here in the hills the rain must have been torrential. The puddles in the car park were the size of small ponds. Where they had evaporated the sandy surface of that car park had become sludgy mud.
Thankfully beyond the car park the trail itself, apart from the first half kilometre, was much drier. It is a fabulous ride snaking along a contour line above the Guadalete river, through tunnels and over viaducts as the valley steepens into a gorge.
On previous rides the river was little more than a stream, today it was in full flood, a silted, muddy brown swirl.
We cycled about 19kms but it did not feel that far because for the most part the gradient of the old railway is gradual, apart from in one short section with hairpin bends where a viaduct must have been removed.
The next day we headed back to the sherry triangle and stayed for three nights at Camper Park Sanlucar. It's a basic no-frills site, little more than a field in an area of small holdings and 'huertas'. The facilities are somewhat rudimentary but serviceable. The people who run the place are friendly and accommodating and at €14 per night it's inexpensive - what's not to like! However, what actually brings us back is the place's location, situated halfway between Sanlucar de Barrameda and Chipiona, both equally accessible by bike by quiet rural roads or designated cycleways.
Sanlucar de Barrameda is situated at the mouth of the Guadalquivir on the west bank. The opposite side is undeveloped as it is part of the Donana National Park, an enormous area of protected wetland. A small ferry runs across the river. One day we will make the trip and explore the seaward side of the Donana National park on our bikes.
Not today though, our plans were less ambitious, cycle into Sanlucar, have lunch at Casa Balbino, a local institution serving up delicious tapas at affordable prices which don't seem to have increased at all since we ate here first three years ago.
The restaurant is situated in the corner of Plaza del Cabildo. There are grander squares in Andalucia and more architecturally significant ones, but I can't think of a more convivial one. It's inevitable at some point one of us will say to other while holding a fork of something delicious, "This is what civilization looks like."
We pedalled back using the coast road, the sky deep blue, shadows razor sharp on the endless beach.
Life felt good, so long as we resisted the temptation to keep glancing at the batshit crazy stuff coming at us from our phones.
Next day we headed eastwards along the cycleway to Chipiona. The track runs parallel to the coast about half a kilometres inland, you get an occasional glimpse of the sea through the fields. The area is a patchwork of smallholdings, orchards and market gardens. Crop of the moment seemed to be broad beans, but given the rich loamy soil and the mild winter climate I think you could grow anything here.
It's the antithesis of agribusiness, medium scale, local, like a future envisiage in Schumacher's 'Small is Beautiful circa 1973. Sadly it's not the way the world is going generally - 'might is right' seems destined to prevail.
However, whatever gloom and doom my phone determinedly channelled the real world in front of my nose contradicted it. Under a clear blue big sky Chipiona looked beautiful, not just the area around the Castillo, but the magnificent lighthouse too.
We had some great tapas at the bar next to the Castillo.
Gill ordered a manzanilla. Maybe it had been piped in directly from a nearby Bodega because the measure looked more craft beer sized rather than something you might associate with sherry.
Tomorrow we will start our journey towards Portugal, stopping for a few days on the Spanish side of the border at Isla Cristina. In the past 17 days we've travelled almost 1800km stopping in 10 different places, we need to slow down! It's not just a question sensing the onset of 'moho lag' there are practical considerations too, like catching up with the laundry and cleaning and sweeping out the van. Our bed has become a bit of a sand pit and I feel a bit gritty too.
No comments:
Post a Comment