From there we drove
up to the very busy
Seville ring road and back down the east side of the Rio Guadalquivir
estuary to the seaside resort of Sanlúcar de Barrameda where
motorhomes
can park on the large gravel area on the seafront. We came across
several colourful murals, wall tiles and art deco style houses just
back from the promenade. There was a terrific sunset that evening
but we were woken early
the next morning by trucks arriving to install massive electricity
cables on high wooden poles for the forthcoming feria so we drove along
the seafront to the
beach for a quiet breakfast.
wall tiles at the ice factory in Sanlúcar
We
decided to bypass Jerez de la Frontera and took the autovia towards the
large sprawling city of Cadiz then drove along the Costa de la Luz to
busy Conil de la Frontera, useful for several supermarkets, but
where motorhome parking is banned along the seafront, so we headed for
an ACSI campsite at Roche. After lunch we set off for a walk to the
beach, which turned out to be somewhat further than it appeared on the
map, along lanes with villas behind high walls. We eventually
reached a small deserted sandy cove at Playa del Aceite (oil?) and
after a short rest walked back along dusty tracks so so it turned out
to be a rather boring 9km hike in the hot afternoon sun. At least it
was flat most of the way!
The next day was more fruitful as we
drove inland to Vejer de la Frontera a delightful hilltop Peublo Blanco
(white town) of narrow streets which we somehow ended up negotiating in
the van (aagghh sat navs!) to reach the free coach and car park by
the tourist office, where we picked up some helpful leaflets.
After a stroll around the streets by the castle, church and some
typical tiled house entrances, we reached the colourful fountain
in the main square with the ubiquitous group of older men sat around
it.
Tiles at Vejer de la Frontera
We
then drove a few kilometres along the main road to the poorly
signposted NMAC sculpture park just as it closed for lunch. It
re-opened at 3.30pm and we wandered around the woodland trail to look
at a varied mix of modern outdoor pieces including a very large
concrete and water Skyspace by the American sculptor James
Turrell. As we often find there was just one other group of visitors
while we were there but it was worth the €2.50 pensioners entrance fee.
We headed back to the coast at the rather run down former fishing port
of Barbate and through pine forests of the Brena Natural Park
to Camping Pinar San José at Zahora just northwest of Los Canos de
Meca, where we stayed for two nights. It was about one kilometre
(genuinely this time) from the large sandy beach leading to the low
headland of Cabo de Trafalgar with its lighthouse and a plaque giving
details of the famous victory by Nelson. We wondered if the
English inscription was a true translation of the Spanish?
Cabo de Trafalgar lighthouse
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
- sunset and mural
Vejer de la Frontera a Pueblo Blanco
Vejer de la Frontera fountain
Vejer de la Frontera church
Vejer de la Frontera castle gateway
Skyspace "Second Wind" by James Turrell
Cabo de Trafalgar beach