All the Way to Seville

Friday, February 21, 2020

Today we woke up in Algeciras. To verify our location, we stepped out onto our hotel balcony and, yes, Gibraltar was there, almost within reach.  

But today our goal was to drive away from Algeciras and away from Gibraltar and head inland in the general direction of Seville.

We will come back to visit Gibraltar in a couple of weeks before we head to Morocco.

We picked up our rental vehicle at the port (a slow and tedious process) and eventually pointed the car in the direction of the road out of town. Of course, we had to navigate several roundabouts to get there. Being comfortable with roundabouts in other places – Kitchener-Waterloo, Australia, the UK – we felt we were well equipped to deal with whatever we faced. But, alas, we were incorrect. More than once, we travelled around and around a roundabout, trying to determine which lane was the correct lane to exit at the place we wanted to exit. It was all as clear as mud as vehicles on all sides seemed to randomly select lanes and crisscross to exit. As much as we enjoy driving and exploring new places, it really was a relief when we finally reached the freeway.

We kept our eyes on the signs to Jerez de la Frontera, our destination for today, and we knew we were on the right road heading in the right direction. Good thing since the speed limit on the freeway was 120 kph in most places. As at home, that meant that the traffic was generally travelling about 140 kph and whizzing past us. We were happy in the ‘slow’ lane.

According to the GPS, we were travelling through an area that had been designated a national park, Parque Natural Los Alcornocales. We decided to take the next exit off the freeway and travel on more local roads to see what we could see. It was a great decision, except the first road we chose ended up circling back to where we had just been. Thus, at the end of the road, we travelled along a stretch of freeway we had already been on.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed exploring the park. There was very little traffic, lots of early spring flowers in bloom, several side roads leading to multiple hiking trails and picnic grounds. The terrain was steep and rugged. The profiles of the mountains formed sharp peaks in the sky. It was windy and wild, so beautiful! We were happy to have explored this territory even though we had to repeat the freeway piece again.

Our next exit off the freeway took us onto a parallel service road heading north, the direction we wanted. It was a forlorn stretch of highway, generally paralleling the freeway but at times crossing over and back as the terrain allowed. Although this was still labelled as a national park, there was very little development in this area and the road maintenance was terrible. Bushes and greenery had not been trimmed for a very long time such that, in places, the navigable road was reduced to one lane only. Thankfully, there was very little traffic along this road and what was there seemed to be going in the same direction we were.

In due course, we discovered why. At some point in the last couple of years, there had been a significant ground movement (small earthquake? Landslide? Who knows?). The result was that there were places where the road had actually erupted, broken in two or collapsed entirely on one side or the other. We navigated the ridges and breaks like pros. It was quite an adventure. Eventually we found a barrier which explained why there was oncoming traffic. In fact, the road was closed in that direction. That made a lot of sense given the quality and the width of the roadway we had just traversed.

The landscape in this area was slightly less rugged than previously. Especially in river valleys, there were herds of cattle and occasionally sheep. Clearly, this is at least partially an agricultural area. And, it is most certainly spring, as there were many bulls visible in the fields with the cows. Calves will be forthcoming, no doubt.

We followed the service road for many miles. The quality did improve and the scenery was pleasant – rugged hills peppered with hints of agriculture. Finally we found our way back on to the freeway and headed more directly to Jerez. But there was one more stop to be made. We wanted to visit Medina-Sidonia, an historic village built atop a mountain.

The road up the mountain was in excellent condition. Clearly, it was built for tourist use. The village was visible from miles away. Every building was brilliant white with the church being the crowning glory at the very top. Happily, the town was very quiet so we entered the narrow streets with confidence and curiosity. 

But then, things suddenly changed. There were mothers walking with children at every turn. There were cars filled with parents and children. There were groups of young teenagers roaming in all directions. We could only imagine that school had just ended!

I came to the end of a very narrow street which emptied out into an equally narrow street. To turn left to go downhill or right to go uphill … that was the question. Did I mention the hills were steep and the streets were narrow? Oh .. and that the vehicle we rented was upsized for us and standard transmission. Good thing I know how to manage a clutch!!

An older gentleman was ambling his way past the intersection and decided that he could help us out. Jim was already out of the car giving me directions and now the village gentleman was also giving me instructions which deviated quite a lot from Jim’s. And of course, his instructions were in Spanish. He had decided that although I was already positioned to go up the hill, I actually should be going down the hill. It was at that point that I got the car lodged against some large garbage bins (thankfully plastic) which were perched at the corner. And I was getting just a bit flustered. A couple of moms and their kids came along and wandered through the chaos and then another somewhat younger male villager arrived on the scene. I signalled to Jim to give up on turning right. We were now going to turn left and go down the hill. Both village men seemed to agree on that point. And, in fact, they were very helpful guiding me as I gently turned the car and narrowly missed the walls on either side of the street.

I began to breathe again when we reached the bottom of the hill and before I had to make another left turn onto another equally narrow street. Let’s conclude this tale by saying that we had intended to have lunch in this very pretty village but we did not. It was time to leave town and to leave the villagers with the tale of the crazy woman driver who did not know enough not to take such a large vehicle through the heart of the very old village. The good news in all of this is that we managed to leave town relatively unscathed but it was hours before we found a place for lunch.

The remainder of today’s travel was uneventful. We continued traversing some lovely agricultural land. The soil seems to have different coloration within a small distance, certainly a beautiful sight to see, especially when freshly cultivated with tiny shoots of new growth rising from the earth. Crops varied quite a bit from olive groves to orchards of fruit trees in blossom to market gardening with small plots of many vegetables to grass (presumably for hay) and some grain fields. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was brilliant blue. It was a great day to be on the road.

We drove directly from Medina-Sidonia to Jerez de la Frontera, our destination for the day. It was quite late in the afternoon when we arrived at a very nice hotel close to the edge of town. No hills or narrow streets to deal with here. We were happy to arrive and settle in for the night. Our room was especially comfortable, a pleasant place to both work on this blog as well as organize the many photos we have taken to date. The only place that was not photographically recorded was Medina-Sidonia. I do not think any photo could top the visual images that are emblazoned in my mind.

Saturday, February 22, 2020

A sumptuous breakfast got the day off to a great start. Once again today, we had a very short itinerary, from Perez to Seville. And, once again we thoroughly enjoyed the drive through rich agricultural land although today we pretty much stick to the freeway.

As we approached Seville, not surprisingly the road widened to 6 lanes and the traffic increased substantially. I was careful to follow Jim’s GPS instructions carefully to ensure we took the correct exit and that we did not make any ill-advised turns as we navigated the many roundabouts. Shortly after noon, we arrived successfully at our hotel, right on one of the main streets near the edge of town. Jim checked in and then came with directions about how to get into the parking structure.

“Turn right at the second street, turn right again and right again and then left into the garage. The lady at the desk will open the door for us. ”No problem!!"

Well, all was well until we turned onto the second street … which was just as narrow as the streets in Medina-Sidonia. Although I love driving and feel pretty confident, I have to admit that turning into a tiny street did bring back some of the anxiety I had felt yesterday. Making the third right turn exacerbated those feelings as that street was also very narrow but the ‘piece de resistance’ was yet to come. From this narrow street with cars parked on the right, I had to make a sharp left into a dark and narrow passage that led to a steep slope going into a basement parking garage. I had to jockey the vehicle even to get it positioned to go through the garage door and then turn again sharply at the bottom so that I did not collide with the cement post that stood at the bottom of the slope. And … the door was open but nobody had turned the lights on.

With Jim’s help, we managed to back into a small parking space and turned the car off. However, the more we looked at the space we had chosen, the more we became concerned about how we were going to get out of that space and make the turn necessary to go back up the slope. So, eventually we decided to change spaces so that the hood of the car was almost directly across from the uphill journey. It took some manoeuvering but we managed to make the switch and I will sleep much more comfortably knowing that I only have to take the car out of the garage once and the car is positioned to make that as easy as possible. We will be using taxis while in Seville!!

And so we got ourselves organized in our room and then took a taxi to the centre of town. What a glorious town it is. Centro is a myriad of narrow streets and alleys lined with shops, cafes and housing. 

And on this gloriously warm Saturday afternoon, it was packed with people, many of who were clustered around café and bodega tables enjoying this inscrutable spring day.

Our taxi dropped us at the first stop on the Hop On Hop Off bus route. The bus was just about ready to pull out and was very full so we decided we would wait a half an hour for the next bus with the hope that it would be less crowded and we could find good seats upstairs. It was a pleasant wait along the river’s edge until the next bus arrived and, as we had hoped, we were among the first to board and were able to get the front seats upstairs, our favourite seats.

The first photo we took was of a caleche, one of many traversing the streets of Seville on this glorious spring afternoon. What differentiated this caleche was the driver. If you look carefully, you can see that she is holding a cell phone in her hand. We chuckled at the intersection of two eras – the caleche and the cell phone.

Another favourite photo was a car we followed until it shot forward with the wind. Quite a contrast to the caleche. There are some pretty spectacular cars in this city. (This is dedicated to our son, Iain.)

The drive around Seville was amazing. What an array of Spanish style buildings, tall towers, embellished window frames, beautifully painted buildings, tall modern skyscrapers, memorable bridges over the river, refurbished industrial buildings now used as museums and galleries, lovely parks and open spaces, and the narrow streets of the centro. We were amazed that the bus was able to navigate through those narrow passageways. 

All in all, it was a terrific overview of the city. And we knew exactly where we wanted to go next …. Back to the park with about 50 cafes where we would finally have lunch!!!

A quick taxi ride and we were there. Sangria and a lovely glass of wine awaited us along with a wide selection of tapas to nibble on. Most of all we were sitting outside, no need for a sweater, under the clear blue sky and bright sunshine.

It was a great time to plan our day for tomorrow. Seville is hosting a marathon in the morning so the whole centre of the city will be besieged by participants and fans. So we have to give some thought to the early part of the day. Later though, we will attend a flamenco show (Seville is the home of flamenco.) and take an dinner cruise on the river.

After we finished our drinks and tapas, we headed back to our hotel. It was an unusual trip because the major road that the taxi would have followed was closed due to the set-up of the marathon and, as a result, the driver got lost on his way to our hotel. It made the trip longer and more circuitous than necessary and his frustration was pretty clear even though only spoke Spanish. Eventually we arrived and all was well.

After a short nap, we found some reruns of Jimmy Fallon on tv and enjoyed a gin and tonic to close out the day.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

We had a late breakfast and a leisurely morning today because Seville was hosting a huge marathon and most of the central part of the city was closed to traffic until early afternoon. The day was bright and sunny and actually quite warm. It seemed a perfect day to run a marathon if you were so inclined. When we did go into the city in the early afternoon, we saw many tired athletes who had hopefully achieved their personal goals in this marathon.

We took a taxi to the river’s edge, the Guadalquivir River, where we wandered down the slope to the pier to board one of the many, many river cruises that were available. Large vessels, small vessels, self-propelled vessels, open air vessels, dinner cruises, private cruises, fast boats, slower boats … how to choose. We chose a cruise that was advertised as an eco-friendly cruise. It was a fairly small boat with a roof but open sides. It was powered by electricity so it moved quite slowly but made very little noise. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience. We saw many of the same buildings that had been highlighted on our bus trip yesterday but from a different vantage point. The river banks were filled with people relaxing, walking, biking, scootering … all manner of transport. It was the kind of day where everyone seemed happy.

We encountered a first world problem on the cruise though. The commentary was made available through an internet connection on the boat to a personal device, most commonly a cell phone. That was fine for Jim as he had his cell phone with him. I deliberately left mine in the hotel room because I am not using it while we are in Spain. So, no cell phone, no commentary. Hmmm … there was no PA system on the boat and no written script that could be followed. So, I simply sat back and enjoyed the view. Jim gave me the highlights as we travelled along and one of the staff who spoke a little English came by periodically to point some buildings out. I guess I have to learn to carry my cell with me all the time. Technological advancement you might call it.

After the cruise, we walked across one of the river bridges to find a place to get a bite to eat. There were several cafes along the street that paralleled the river. Alas, once again we realized that we really have not figured out the eating habits of the Spaniards. In most restaurants lunch is served from noon until about 4 pm. Then the kitchen closes until the dinner hour which is 8 pm. That means that between 4 pm and 8 pm there is virtually no ‘lunch’ food available. Even tapas is not served in most places between 4 and 8. We are clearly slow learners as this is the third consecutive day when we have eaten a substantial breakfast and not felt a need for anything until late in the afternoon. And on all three days, we have run into the same situation. Hungry but no way to address it. Today we did find a café (combined with a motorcycle shop) that was serving all sorts of coffee as well as a hot brownie and a lava cake. We ordered coffee and one of each dessert and that had to suffice until 9 pm tonight.

Why 9 pm you ask? Good question!! The other highlight of today was attending a flamenco show. Seville is known as the home of the flamenco dance and there are several places around the city that have regular evening shows. Jim was able to find one that was within walking distance of the river cruise we had taken. After loitering at the Moto Café for a couple of hours, it was time for us to attend the show. I had expected a larger and more elaborate venue but it was small with wooden chairs and a tiny stage. Because we had purchased first class tickets, we were given cushions to put on our chairs and seated in the front row. Others who had paid less for their tickets sat further back in this small room on plain wooden chairs. Each ticket holder was given a glass of white wine though.

The show, itself, was quite brilliant. It featured four performers – a flamenco guitarist, a female vocalist and two dancers, one male and one female. The show was about an hour in length. The guitarist played solo for a while at the beginning, a very skillful and dynamic performer and, even if you did not care for the music, you had to admire his commitment and his passion. The vocalist joined him after a while along with the male dancer who provided rhythm accompaniment with hand clapping. And then came the female dancer, dressed in flamenco regalia – firey red dress, dark hair drawn back from her face, flouncy lace scarf that flowed as she moved. And could she dance!!! She had energy, skill, passion and audience appeal. Her performance was brilliant!!! Her flexibility and sense of rhythm were astounding and her stamina seemed endless. Just watching her feet tap was mind-blowing. Later the male dancer performed in a similar fashion and then the two of them danced together. What brought us the most pleasure from the show was the fact that all of the performers seemed to truly be having fun. It was a fabulous way to spend part of this evening.

And then it was over and we were on a quest for dinner. Not far up the street was an elegant restaurant that overlooked the river. The menu was appealing and it was close by. Time to finally eat!! I ordered some delicious carrot soup and a main dish of white fish. Jim order a seafood appetizer followed by a lamb main dish. We drank water and enjoyed the bread with olive oil. It was a lovely way to end the evening. And, tomorrow we will try to remember to have lunch before 4 pm.

We are now back in our hotel room, our last night in Spain, at least on this leg of the journey. We are heading to Portugal tomorrow where we will spend a few days with friends, Rick and Trish Chambers, at their winter location in Tavira. We are looking forward to seeing them.