OVER THE PYRENEES AND ON TO BORDEAUX

As we journeyed north we had to negotiate Madrid.  We decided to leave a visit to the centre till another time and went round the amazing system of motorway rings that seem to keep the traffic flowing smoothly.  After a night at Riaza we took a slight detour into a village called El Burgo which we thought might be interesting and realised that we were just a short drive from the Cañón del Rio Lobos which turned out to be a magical place.  Driving up the narrow road into the canyon we had no trouble parking in one of several large parking areas (this is a very popular spot with the Spanish during holiday periods).  From there we walked, alongside the stream to a chapel – the Ermita de San Bartolome ...

... surrounded by strange rock formations ...

... through one of which we could see the canyon beyond. (You can see this gap just above and to the left of the centre of the previous picture).  Birds of prey circled above us and when we drove back down the canyon and then zig sagged up the hairpin bends to a view point, we were more or less on a level with them.  

The most majestic were the Griffon Vultures.

Palm Sunday found us in the delightful city of Pamplona, famous for its annual bull run through the narrow streets to the bull ring.  We were able to watch a much more sedate Palm Sunday procession to the Cathedral, less “over the top” than the one we saw last year in Cadiz.

A suitably dressed children’s group with a very enthusiastic leader sang “Hosanna, Hosanna” ahead of a figure of Christ carried by a large group of men and at least one woman.

Pamplona seemed, on a Sunday at least, to be very much a “lived-in” city.  The plazas were places to meet and relax with family and friends and in at least two of them there were interesting activities taking place – Country Dancing ...

... and a display by a local consumer group of organic food (with free samples!)  Although there was a lot of open space and parkland the city was quite compact and in only a few minutes’ drive we were out in the countryside at our next site.

The journey over the foothills of the Pyrenees was less dramatic than last year’s expedition over one of the highest passes but we passed through beautiful forests of beech and then fir trees before saying adios to España and bonjour to La France.  We had two nights on a lovely, quiet farm site before heading for Bordeaux where we are spending Easter as there is an Anglican church here.

On Easter Day we joined hundreds of other Christians from several different denominations and from many countries at 7.00 am for a Sunrise Service, held in the local park, led by Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Free Church Clergy supported by a Liturgical Dance group.   

It was followed by breakfast and Communion in the school chapel used by the Anglican congregation here.

Tomorrow we continue the journey north.

MEMORIES OF MOROCCO

The Alhambra is a fortress and collection of palaces set in large, beautiful gardens in Granada.

Its name comes from the Arabic name of the original fortress in the eleventh century – “Al Qal’a al-Hamra” which means “the red fort” now known as the Alcazaba.

It was rebuilt and extended by Muhammed I ibn Nasr  after his capture of Granada (soon to be his capital) in 1237, in 1238 he captured Almería and built the Alcazaba there that impressed us so much (see last posting).  His greatest feat was to divert the River Darro nearly 8 km to the foot of the hill making possible the extensive engineering which supplies water to the whole complex. He founded the Nazarid Dynasty and a hundred years later his descendants Yussuf I and Muhammad V built the Nazarid Palaces. 

The present united Spanish Kingdom was really established by Fernando and Isabella in the 15^th Century and in 1492, they finally captured Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain

(The Moors were the north African Muslims, mostly Berber from Morocco, including the Nazarids).  They converted the Mosque to a Christian Church but did little else to the Alhambra.  It was their grandson Carlos V who destroyed much of the Arabic architecture and art and built a Palace complete with its own bullring in the centre.

His successors allowed the complex to fall into disrepair and it was used as a prison in the eighteenth century.  In 1812 it was captured by Napoleon’s forces who looted the Palaces and tried to blow them up before retreating but they were saved by an injured soldier – José Garcia – who remained behind and removed the fuses.  200 years later the American writer Washington Irving “discovered” the Alhambra and wrote his “Tales of the Alhambra” following which it was made a National Monument and the painstaking restoration of its Moorish origins continues today.

Having seen work by the same craftsmen in Morocco last year, what we saw brought back many memories which enabled us to understand the significance of what we saw in the Alhambra. 

In particular we understood the extensive use of water which was a symbol of power – the one who controls the water controls the whole of the life of an area.

The walk back to our bus to the campsite took us through the pleasant city of Grenada ... 

... past the enormous Cathedral outside of which were stalls selling every kind of tea and herbal infusion imaginable as well as some spices.

The following day we drove to another city with another Cathedral – Jaen.  There were also some Moorish baths beneath a palace that is now a museum.  In neither the Cathedral nor the Museum was photography allowed!  Driving north we soon arrived at the site at Santa Elena with its pine trees and beautiful azure winged magpies that had so delighted us when we stayed here last year.

DESERT, SNOW, SWALLOWS AND FROGS

We had previously arrived at Alicante airport but had never been into the city and as it turned out we had not missed much.  There are a couple of castles and we drove in heavy traffic round one of them with no hope of parking anywhere.  The castle – Castillo de Santa Barbara – did not look as though it was worth the effort of searching for somewhere to park so we drove inland to Elche which is the centre of date production in Spain and is famed for its palmeries.  After the beautiful palmeries we had seen in Morocco they were disappointing!

We continued south to Guardamar del Segura.  On this large site we met many “swallows” – mostly people from UK, Holland, Germany, France and a few from Scandinavia who, like the birds of the same name, spend up to six months over winter on a site here in Spain, returning to their home country for the summer.  Many had huge American RVs (the size and shape of a single decker bus) and several were just leaving. 

This is an ideal site for a long stay if you are not worried about the views – there are none!  It does have free use of a good indoor swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool (lots of different water jets to massage the body), excellent sauna, gymnasium, WiFi on every pitch, flat roads, a big supermarket as well as Lidl and an open air market within easy cycling distance and an English church a short drive away.  There is also the river estuary – a popular fishing spot (unfortunately nobody has told the fish what they are supposed to do!).  We stayed a week and made the most of the facilities before heading inland again to Murcia.

We were about to give up the search for somewhere to park in Murcia when we came across an area being developed with new office blocks as yet unoccupied.  There was plenty of space to park and an easy 15 minute cycle ride into the centre, mostly on dedicated cycle tracks.

The Cathedral, which was closed, is an extraordinary example of Baroque architecture.

And in the river was an interesting fish!

Returning to the coast we spent a windy night at Isla Plana and then drove down the coast through some very pleasant, not overdeveloped little holiday towns, including Garrucha where we stopped for lunch literally on the edge of the Mediterranean.

From there we entered a rather arid Natural Park – Cabo de Gato – where the vegetation was scrub suited to hot dry conditions and the only agriculture was tomatoes grown under acres of polythene netting to protect them from the sun and wind.  A short drive down the coast brought us to Almeria – a large port with ferries to Morocco and elsewhere.  We wanted to see the huge Moorish fort and after driving through the town headed for the beach in the hope that we could park there.  The beach ran from the port area north-east for several kilometres.  Obviously a popular spot with the locals it had car parks all along it and on-street parking which was easier for us because of our size.

We cycled back to the Cathedral, picking up baguettes for lunch on the way.  The Cathedral was interesting having been fortified for protection from the Turkish and North African pirates who terrorised the area in the sixteenth century.

The fort – the Alcazar – is magnificent.

Built on a solitary hill and now completely surrounded by housing ...

... it has been sympathetically restored and developed with beautiful gardens reminiscent of Morocco.

It was originally built by the (Muslim) Moors and added to by the (Christian) Crusaders ...

...  and in front of the Christian fortifications can be seen remains of housing uncovered by archaeological investigation.  At its height 20,000 people would have lived within its walls!  Now the only residents are several cats and beautiful green frogs in one of the cisterns.

Almeria was where we had to say farewell to the Mediterranean and head inland before turning north for our journey home.  A few kilometres drive took us through real desert which has been used as a set for a number of Westerns including “A Fistful of Dollars”.  Some of the sets are now incorporated into a theme park.

As we drove onwards and upwards we could see the snow covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada on our left and from our site for the next few nights we have had stunning views of these mountains. 

It is a few kilometres from Granada where the Alhambra is surely one of Spain’s “must see” ancient monuments which we are going to visit tomorrow.  On Tuesday we move on, so you will have to wait a few days to see the photos of it.



Sunset on the Sierra Nevada