Thursday 26th September (Day 36)
Well, despite any misgivings about the Aire, as it is not anything to write home about, we had a peaceful nights sleep. In the morning around 07.30 they started to load the ships across the river. 09.00 saw me the first person through the doors of Aldi to get croissants and rolls, the former for breakfast and the latter for lunch. Off we cycled again to the centre of Sevilla and, like cycling both ways yesterday, we went wrong. Eventually we chained our bikes up by the Alcazar and went for a walk and a coffee before returning to the Tourist Office to meet Carlos (Charles) who was to be our guide. Once niceties were sorted eg tickets and ear pieces, we were off to the oldest palace still lived in - the 6th century Alcazar. It should be stated it is only resided in two or three times a year now, but let's not be picky. The benefit of the guided tour, apart from the guides knowledge, was not having to join the 90 - 120 minute long queue of people in the 25+ degree heat. What followed was an enchanting tour with historical backgrounds and explanations that were very interesting. Most surrounding the King Peter I. King Peter acknowledged and lived in peace with the Muslims who ruled the Granada region. Indeed after an earthquake the Sultan of Granada sent his workforce to build the Alcazar for Peter I. The other Christian kings in Spain did not like his friendship with the Muslims and, eventually Peters's brother, Henry, killed him and assumed the throne as King Henry III. Henry then circulated lots of falsehoods about Peter who is now referred to as 'Peter the Cruel' - a form of 14th Century Facebook. The downside of the tour was that the 12.00 tour finished at 13.30 and the next tour for us (the Cathedral) started at 14.00. Giving less than 30 minutes to see some of the gardens, eat and have a 'convenience' stop. It wasn't long enough and we told Carlos this. He has already told 'those in power', and did again in our presence, but he has been ignored in the past and likely to be ignored again - so trip advisor will reflect this fact. Anyway we were glad of our homemade rolls and water as we were soon off to the Cathedral. Again an even larger queue was bypassed. This is the largest (in area) Cathedral in all of Christendom. It was built on the site of the Muslim Mosque and is a meld of both Muslim, Gothic and Renaissance architecture. The bell tower is the original Mosque tower for calling the faithful to prayers. It has no steps but a continual slope as the Iman rode a donkey to the top five times a day to call the faithful. Again a great tour with lots of anecdotes. One involved a huge painting of St Antony. Emperor Bonaparte wanted this painting for himself and, when he conquered Spain, a local man tried to remove the painting to stop this happening. Seeing as the painting is about 6m x 15m in a large frame this was always going to be impossible. He therefore cut out St Anthony and over time dear old Anthony got lost. Then in the 20th Century, an art scholar from Sevilla, while on holiday in the USA found a painting called St Anthony in Prayer'. He recognised this as the missing St Anthony bought it for $150 dollars, shipped in back and it was faithfully and careful put back. If you look carefully you can make out the joins. Another feature of the Cathedral is it has the tallest alter in the world - 27m high. It depicts all the stages in Jesus' life from birth in Bethlehem to the crucifixion at Calvary. It has several thousand wooden people all individually carved. Christopher Columbus is buried here, well carried here (see photo). He wanted to be buried in the Dominican Republic, which he loved. Unfortunatly he died in Madrid and was buried there. Eventually his two sons shipped his body to the Dominican Republic so he was buried again there (and now happy). Well the Dominican Republic gained independence and Spain being, well Spain, wanted all there property back. So up he was dug again and buried again in Cuba, a Spanish colony. (You've guessed it already!) Cuba gained its independence so Christopher Columbus had to cross the Atlantic again and now resides in Sevilla. (It is said he travelled further dead than alive!) There was so much more in this fantastic building that a book could be written (well it has). It was by now gone 16.00 so it was clearly 'beer o'clock'. Then a stroll around before getting onto our bikes and going to the area of Triana, just across the river. The write up sounded good; the reality less so. We did however take a stroll on this side of the river, in the shade, and felt obliged to once again support the local economy with a beer. Onwards and upwards we cycled to the largest wooden structure in 'somewhere' - can't remember. It was as series of mushroom like things that you could pay to go up and view from. A 20 minute wait was too much for us. A cycle back to the motorhome and, in true tradition ...... we got lost again! Eventually arriving back we were hot and tired and the heat and tiredness seemed to have removed our appetite. So it was just fresh fruit, cheese and biscuits for tea. Over 16,000 steps and more tomorrow - our last day in Sevilla.
Friday 27th September (Day 37)
A warm night and a hot day ahead. - the low 30's expected. Hooray! We cycled into the city after breakfast and found the correct route - third day lucky. But Boo! There is a half marathon late this evening starting at 22.00 so the route will be closed. Having locked the bikes up we got on the 'Hop On - Hop Off' bus and took the tour of the city all the way round and on one stop more to see Plaza Espana. This bus option may suit some but it soon became clear that it was less useful for us. For one, the city is a dream for cyclists and two as the bus only goes one way it can take a lot of planning and / or time to use it to go from one place you want to see to another. The only real benefit for us (other than we got a big discount) was it gave us 'free' access to some of the places we wanted to visit - so I suppose on balance it worked well. So Plaza Espana and the Parque de Maria Luisa. The former is a semi circular building that is just, well gob smacking. A grand building and tiles and fountain and bridges. There are also seats paid for by all the major cities with tiles depicting something from their past. Next was the gardens. Again not full of flowers but a lovely gardens with nooks and crannies and fountains. Originally these were owed by, not surprisingly, Maria Luisa the sister of Queen Isabella and, apparently, many romantic liaisons were forged here! By now tummy rumblings were occurring. Thanks to our eldest we had been recommended the Mercado El Barranco to eat. (To Londoners 'Borough Market). However the bus was of no use so a slow walk back to the bikes in the heat. We had a great meal though, although we were a bit 'piggy'. We then walked to the 16th century hospital de la Caridad, then the San El Salvador church before arriving at the Basilica of the Macarana. All the places were just stunning and even the walks in between involved narrow lanes and beautiful buildings. Macarena was a place for the bus so we got on and, being by now thoroughly knackered, stayed on for the whole circuit again plus back to the start. This was made more interesting by roads being closed in preparation for the half marathon later. We then strolled to another bar, again recommended by our eldest, and had four tapas which were great; baked goats cheese with chilli jam; pork cheek in sauce; prawns in cheese sauce; and calamari. This was washed down with a beer and then a Sangria. The sangria was not the usual sweet / weak in alcohol drink you get in lots of Spanish places but a strong lovely drink. From here we walked about 400m to a Flamenco Centre and were entertained with an hour of 'genuine' Flamenco. Not a black edges red dress to be seen! It was in the museum of Flamenco and, by all accounts, a great representation of Spanish flamenco styles. A slow walk back to the bikes, retaking in the late night life, and a cycle back that, despite the road closures showed we had cracked it! Bed just after midnight. The city is fabulous and `i make no apologies for the number of photos - there really is not enough!
Saturday 28th September (Day 38)
Off today. After breakfast, loading the bikes, emptying and filling we were off just after 10.00. A stop for a few food items and then by 12.45 we arrived at Camping Aldea, at El Rocio. A big site but nearly empty. Having set up we had lunch and got some clothes washing done. This was to be a, relatively, lazy day. We sat around and to cool down had a dip in the pool. Then around 18.00 we walked in to El Rocio. What a town! How different! It is a 'wild west' town. You leave the main road and the whole town has sandy roads; hitch posts for horses; and stunning building. The centre is the church of Santa Maria. In June thousands of pilgrims come to worship and celebrate here. Normally this weekend would be a small festival. However, for this year only, it has moved to a neighbouring town. The word 'unfortunate' springs to mind. A slow walk back and dinner was had around 21.00 - still in the mid 20's.
Sunday 29th September (Day 39)
So off today to Portugal. By the time we did the basics it was just after 11.00. Then a lovely simple drive into Portugal, with a stop for diesel before the border as Portugal is around €0.13/l dearer (or 50p a gallon in real money). That said we had an issue with the satnav. It was 12.18 and we were to arrive at our intended stop at 12.04. This confused us but Portugal is on UK time and the 'switchover point' was somewhere in Spain, just before the border. So we need to alter all our clocks again. Arriving in Portugal we followed the 'Foreigners' sign and entered our bank card into a machine. Apparently now we can use the motorways without worry. This, if it works, will be a lot easier than all the 'doom and gloom' merchants saying how difficult it is, but we shall see. Having registered for the toll roads the first thing we did was to leave it and drive along the local roads to Manta Rota. The reviews of the Aire are interesting as they all mention 'Mr Grumpy' at the entrance. We, however, parked in the car park not in this Aire. Where we parked was free for motorhomes to stop although we were not allowed to stay. Many motorhomes were there already so, as we took up a space no bigger than some of the cars and were not staying overnight, we parked up. We then strolled onto a fabulous beach and swam in the Atlantic and then lazed on the beach. The tide was on its way in and, at one point, Chris shouted for us to move. Well, Usain Bolt could not have gone from dozing to standing up then to a start position (to pick up our items) to fleeing up the beach from the on rushing tide. All that got wet were the flop-flips. Soon after this we decided that we had enough sun (30 degrees). So back to the motorhome with a shower stop on route to get rid of the salt. Then off to Tavira. Only a 15km drive and we arrived at a large car park area overlooking the estuary - all free. A stroll into to the town which is less than 800m away and is a delightful town. A castle, churches, narrow roads, bars and all you would expect for a sea side town - no 'kiss me quick hats'! The beach is, however on an island and it is a €2 euro boat trips here. Back at our home we had cooked dinner before bed.
Monday 30th September (Day 40)
Off to Faro today, which is the Capital of the Algarve. A pleasant drive an we then parked up almost in the old town (we did take up three car park spaces but then the 52 seater coach took up more! Off into the old city and "NO" not another cathedral - we gave it a miss. Faro is a very pretty city with wide pedestrian areas and we enjoyed just strolling around. We stopped for a coffee and then walked to (another) church. It is the Carma church or chapel of bones. The church is, well, OK. It then has the Chapel of Bones. Until 'fairly recent times' it was a Catholic tradition that after seven to ten years they would dig up the dead! The chapel of Bones is made of 1245 Carmelite monks from their skulls, tibia and fibia and femur bones. Such a place is called an ossory. Entering it were the words "Stop here and consider the fate that will befall you". Where we had parked it was not clear if we could stay here the night but, as we were under the flight path for Faro airport it was a 'no no'. We opted for Armacao de Pera about forty miles away. We arrived to a car park, Os Armacenenses, overlooking some wetlands and 100m from a lovely beach. Unfortunately, we had to pay €4 for the night which we considered a bargain. We then walked along into the town and I got my haircut as I was definitely 'fluffy' around the ears. Returning to the motorhome a laze on the beach was in order so off we went to the beach at around 17.30 and, while I bobbed around in the sea, Chris sunbathed and read. Dinner was freshly caught tuna steak for me and salmon for Chris with a salad. Then it was a pleasant while away the time in the heat until bed.
Tuesday 1st October (Day 41)
After a quiet night we 'filled and emptied' for €2 and then set off. Our first stop was 'Sand City' about 10 miles away. Having arrived we paid our 'pensioners' entrance fee and were in. It is a large site with sand sculptures from all over the world. Wild west' India; The UK; even the pope on a Vespa scooter. All very large and it took almost two hours walking around. Back in the motorhome the hab door lock stopped working again - bloody thing. Off we went towards Alvor with a stop on the way for tea and lunch items - and the lock worked again......... About an hour from leaving sand city we were parked up and preparing lunch At a car park at Alvor. From here we went for a walk into the wetlands along boardwalks and met a couple from Bristol. He was about to kite surf having been a kite surfing teacher in the Red Sea. An interesting chat with his wife while he flew around and 'jumped' thirty or so feet into the air. Continuing on we returned and sat outside the motorhome, having moved from the free parking area to the official a parking area (€4.50). For the evening we walked to the harbour and had a meal - moules, ribs and pork in mushroom sauce all of which were to die for. A slow stroll back to digest the food and then sleep.
Wednesday 2nd October (Day 42)
We expected the 'bread man to visit this morning but he must have overslept! After breakfast we filled and emptied and were off. It ended up a 'bitsy' day. Our first stop was Praia de Luz, a town with a lovely beach but a sad history - Madeleine McCann disappeared here in 2007. A walk to the front and a coffee before walking the length of the sea front. Returning to the motorhome we had lunch, with the intention of walking back to the beach. However a chat with a couple of local Brits convinced us that Sagres beach, on our way to Cabo de Sao Vicente, was just as good. So off we went the forty five minute drive and parked in the car par of the Fortress. We then strolled down to the beach for some R&R. A lovely beach and totally clear water. Indeed less than 5m from the shore were hundreds of fish, wll well over 30cm. Really hundreds, jumping and generally having. good time (well I suppose). While I went up to my waist Chris went for a swim. Back on the beach and the wind was whipping up the sand and it was not very pleasant so we abandoned the beach. We then drove to Cabo de Sao Vicente (the end of the world) or the most south-westerly point of Europe. It was quite busy to say the least and windy. Additionally,it would appear the light sines further than any other lighthouse, over 59km. Our intention was to stay here for the night but we opted to return to Sagres. Having done so we walked a couple of miles to a cafe by the port for a beer. We then returned for dinner in the motorhome. Then we discussed what to do tomorrow.
