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Spain in autumn: a cycling tour in sunny Andalusia (Andalucía)It's the end of October and it's time to take
a break. But where in Europe can one cycle around in this season
without being plagued by autumn gales and drizzle? An inspection of
the climate tables makes it clear that the South of Spain and Crete
are the best bets. The tapas beat the mezes this
time, despite reports in the papers about heavy downpours in Andalusia
(Spanish: Andalucía) in the week before our departure. But when we visit the
palaces and gardens of the Alcázar in Seville the morning after our
arrival, the sun is shining brightly between the clouds again.
The
extensive Moorish garden complex easily deserves a whole day. The
gardens of the Reales Alcazares, dating from the 17th century, are a
real treat, with a lush, subtopical vegetation of date palms,
bougainvillea, ficus and other exotic plants. As everywhere, it is
very busy with tourist groups near the entrance of the gardens, but
further down it's a true oasis and teh park is an excellent place for a picnic on a bench.
Sevilla (Seville)Seville is a beautiful city on the banks of the Río Guadalquivir and has one of the largest historical centres of any city in Europe. Once this was the home base of the famous Spanish Treasure-Fleet that set course for the Americas from here and returned with precious metals and goods.
In
the 1980's whole neighbourhoods of Seville were rather rundown, but extensive renovations
have saved this city and it's definitely worth a visit nowadays. The Expo 1992 World Exhibition gave the city a big boost and a lot of money has been invested in improving the infrastructure, like the construction of the high speed train connection with Madrid (AVE).
The
narrow lanes in the old city centre, where one can easily get lost,
offer surprising views of the splendid hidden patios of the city
houses. The nicest patios are in the Barrio de Santa Cruz.
A beautiful example of a Moorish patio is the Patio del Yeso,
built in the Alcázar at the end of the 12th century.
Intriguing mudéjar motives can be admired in many patios on floors and walls. In
Seville it is an old custom to leave the outer door open, so it's
easy to take a look at the patio, which is closed off with a
decorative fence most of the times.
Having wandered round Seville for a few days, it's time we pack our bicycles for a vuelta of two weeks through Andalusia. It is surprisingly easy to leave Sevilla on the western side; unlike in other Spanish cities cyclists aren't forced to ride on dangerous autovias or other motorways to reach the countryside (it's a different story on the eastern side, riding to or from of the airport!).
Along the Rio GuadalquivirAs soon as we have crossed the Rio Guadalquivir we are cycling through a
landscape of freshly ploughed black fields and large areas with shrivelled
cotton plants. The cotton fluffs heap up like snow on the shoulder of the
road and the white threads attach like sticky glue on our clothes. After a
visit to the Roman ruins of Italica, famous for the splendid mosaic
floors, we cycle along a quiet road next to the Rio Guadalquivir to
Villanueva del Rio y Minas, a village that was once famous for its mining
activities. The shaft tower still dominates the surroundings. Bar pensión
Reche has rooms for next to nothing and the wife of the manager cooks a
meal at night "quando tu quieres", that's whenever you want.
Villanueva has a splendid attraction in the neighbourhood if you are
prepared to leave the well-trodden paths: the Roman ruins of Mulva, hardly
reachable by car and by bicycle and foot only after a rough trip through
the hills (anyway, this was the situation in 2001).
The path to Mulva leads through oak
forests where we see lots of pigs indulging on the acorns laying on
the fresh green grass, that starts to grow again after the first
autumn rains. There are no signs, so we get lost a few times, but
after two hours of cycling we see the ruins of something that looks
like a medieval castle on a hill top in the distance, and soon after
we stand before the fence that surrounds the excavations of Mulva.
The entrance is closed of with a padlock. Just when we have decided
to climb the fence in this deserted area -- for one
reason or another we think to have the
right to visit the sight after such a rough trip -- the warden
appears. "It's closed on Mondays!" he shouts, but to our
relief, he starts to open the fence. Muchas gracias, señor!
From the top of the hill with the remainders of Mulva we enjoy
the panoramic view over the oak forests, with an isolated farm here
and there. In the Roman baths of the settlement there are some
fragments of fresco's and mosaics to be seen. The warden picks up
small parts of iron ore from the ground; for more than 2000 years
there have been mining activities in this area. We ask him if many
tourists visit this site. Especially over the weekend people make
the trip to Mulva, but refuses to invest more money in the
excavations. Most of the budget is reserved for the much bigger site
of Italica near Sevilla, he sighs.
Well, on
closer inspection there isn't really a lot to see in Mulva, but as
is the case with most ruins, the atmosphere and the surroundings
make the attraction, and they are really special up here. This is an
attraction that deserves a detour, we think. The warden shows us a
shorter route to Villanueva, that proves to be just as attractive as
the way out, but a lot shorter, so in the afternoon we can easily
cycle to the fortified city of Carmona in the Campiña Betica.
Carmona
For quite a distance we climb with an hidden gradient out of the broad
Guadalquivir valley, with views of Carmona on a hill in the distance.
Pensión Comercio has a room available, but as our travel guide
already points out with foresight, the reception her is very
unfriendly . The manager asks 300 pesetas to put up a bike and
starts a tirade against us when we point out this is the first time
we have to pay for our bicycles. Well, goodbye to him. Bar El
Potro has a lot of rooms for 4000 pts and they are adequate. And the
bar on the pleasant town square serves a good tapas menu, so in the
end Carmona can be recommended, also because of the panoramic view
eastward to the plain of the Rio Corbones. If you want to enjoy the
view from your room, you can settle in the local
Parador, built on the edge of the rock.
After a good night's sleep in the white village of Osuna,
where a heavy oily smell from the local olive press reminds us that
it's harvesting time, we set course in a southern direction. The sky
is deep blue and the scenery is getting more mountainous. The fields
are bare and grey, except for the greenish olive orchards, grain and
grapes have been harvested. It all looks like wintertime, but around
three o'clock, the temperature has risen to almost tropical figures.
That's exceptional, and the tv news even has a report about it.
Though we miss the colours of the poppy's and sunflowers that thrive
here in springtime, this landscape certainly has its own appeal. A
dissonant are all the dead rats on the roads, killed by the traffic.
Ronda
Circling high in the sky, birds of prey accompany
us to Ronda, one of the big attractions of Andalusia because of the
exceptional setting on both sides of a deep gorge. Throughout the
day bus loads of tourists from the Costa del Sol occupy the shopping
streets and view points near the bridges over the gorge, but in the
evening and early in the morning Ronda still is an agreeable place
where you can start the day in the churrería in the main
street, which serves a delicious breakfast of churros con
chocolate (fried dough strings with chocolate milk).
Along the pueblos blancosA beautiful quiet
mountain road brings us over a pass of exactly 1000 metres (La
Puerta de Encinas Borrachas) and further on along the pueblos
blancos, tranquil villages consisting of white plastered houses
with red roofs. It's a Sunday and there is a lot of hunting going on
along the mountain slopes. The parking lots of the ventas.
traditional roadside restaurants, are full of cars. It's a tradition
to take lunch on Sunday in these restaurants with the whole family,
grandparents included. We are approaching Gibraltar, but due to the
high accommodation prices over there, we move into a hostal in La
Linea, a desolate town in the shadow of the famous rock. To avoid
the busy four lane autovia, we have to find our way in an
industrious zone full of smelly oil refineries.
Gibraltar
To reach the British Crown colony
you have to cross the runway of the airport. There aren't that many
planes arriving or departing, though. There is a fee to climb the
rock, but there are many short cuts for walkers to avoid the ticket
windows. We don't see that much from the summit because of a
persistent thick cloud around the rock. It also gets very windy.
Time for a pint in one of the may pubs in town.
Everywhere on the rock there are signs pointing out that it's
forbidden to feed or touch the famous monkeys, but the Spanish
guides of the many tourist groups seem to encourage their customers
to feed them as many peanuts as possible. One of the monkeys is put
on a man's head. The poor guy doesn't like it at all but the monkeys
don't seem to mind all the mistreatment. They have been here for a
long time and will definitely not leave, if it's up to the British.
TarifaWe continue along the Costa de la Luz. Past Algeciras, in the direction of Tarifa, the road is rather quiet, but the wind picks up until it becomes a violent gale. In the mean time, the sun is still shining. Cycling is getting dangerous, but the storm is blowing nearly from behind, we succeed in reaching the surfing paradise Tarifa. This is the windiest place of Europe, and there's no question of denying that. Even now, early November, there are many surfers, who contribute to a lively atmosphere in town. Across the Strait of Gibraltar we can see the sparkling lights of Africa. The television news reports of exceptional heat and exceptional strong winds.
The storm keeps blowing from behind, so we're making good progress. Our next stop is the sandy, deserted village of Zahara de los Atunes, where there's is only one hotel still open this time of the year. The beach is very broad and scenic, but sunbathing is only a delight if you enjoy being sandblasted.
The beach front in Barbate has almost disappeared under the
sand dunes, blown on by the howling winds. Today it's even hotter,
our thermometer passes the 30 degrees mark.
On the terrace of
Casa Balbino on the lively town square in Sanlúcar de Barrameda
we enjoy the best Manzanilla and tapas of our trip. Sanlúcar is
rightly famous for its sherry. Our plan is to cross the nature
reserve of La Doñana to El Rocío and Seville, but that seems to be
impossible. Entrance to the reserve is only permitted with a guide.
So we decide tot take an alternative route via Jerez de la Frontera,
through low hills full of bare grapevines. Near Seville we are
caught in a downpour. There is no alternative to the highway to the
airport, so we have to ride on the hard shoulder, which is no fun at
all. Soaking wet we arrive at the check in counter. The late summer
in Southern Spain has finally come to an end.
