After a quick shop in the Lidl at Tarifa we moved on to the windsurfers' favourite free camping a couple of miles west of the town. It wasn't as full as I had expected so we parked up and walked along a moonlit beach looking wistfully back across to the few lights marking Maroc.
A daylight walk on the Sunday gave us the chance to admire the kite surfers enjoying good conditions and in some cases performing amazing stunts by using waves to gain lift off and flying through the air for a remarkable distance. Last week's rains had filled the lagoon and the exit river proved too deep to cross so we walked back and collected the bikes for the fifteen minute ride in to town with strong side winds something of a challenge - indeed on the spur across to the Tarifa fort the blown sand provided free exfoliation as we marked the transit between the Med and the Atlantic.We cycled out on the harbour breakwater before heading in to old Tarifa for a couple of beers and then rode back to the park up and enjoyed nosing at the variety of vans, old buses, live in lorries and so on.
After a quiet night we drove on up to and past Cadiz to park on the riverside at El Puerto de Santa Maria where supervised parking at 8 euros a night provides a safe place to leave vans and catch the catamaran across to Cadiz. We cycled in to the National Park that projects out in to the lagoon and checked out the ferry times before enjoying a quiet night despite the adjacent circus.
The half hour trip saw us arriving in style at Cadiz which we thoroughly enjoyed exploring on foot as it is a compact city. Preparations for Easter were well under way around the cathedral and we enjoyed walking out to the excellent beaches on the Atlantic coast and then past the docks where a huge Carnival cruise ship was undergoing a multi million pound refit before a ghost crew sailed it round to Los Angeles for the forthcoming season - that would be a fun trip...... A good lunch in the main square left us ready for a final walk round the old traffic free centre before we caught the ferry back - another sea fog had rolled in adding to the atmosphere but back at Puerta it had cleared and we walked round the town before enjoying a good ice cream at a place we found out later was run by the good friend of the guy Salvo I had met in the Western Sahara.
The large Carrefour in El Puerto provided free servicing facilities so we drained and filled, did a good shop and then found a laundrette nearby with Mandy taking a shower in the van whilst I supervised the washing. We then called at a self service car wash to reveal the van's true colours once more after 3 months of Saharan sand and Atlas slush and mud. After nipping back to Carrefour to replenish the fresh water we drove off to Marchena located midway along the Via Verde De La Campina. The reviews had said access was tricky but presumably they had been left by the bigger vans as we had no issues and parked up for a ride out towards Ecija before walking up to the town later.
Moving on we parked at Ecija itself in a familiar aire close to the multi towered town (13 in total) and rode out on the VV towards Cordoba with a stunning burst of spring flowers lining both sides of the track. Walking round the town after dark was lovely as all the towers are lit up and the streets hummed with the usual gentle buzz of Spanish cafe culture.
With the start of Easter approaching we headed to Cabra on the Via Verde del Aceite as we hoped the free aire would be quieter than the one further along at Donna Mencia and took up a short bay with no room for immediate neighbours. Cycling west we passed through Lucena and reached Puente Genil for a drink before returning via the old station cafe back at Lucena for coffee and cake. At dusk a guy in a trackie shambled around asking for money and seemed content with just a euro - if each van was similarly inclined he would be clearing 30 euros a night...The walk in to town next day was a fair way but gave us a chance to have lunch in the Plaza Espana and a look round before we rode out to Donna Mencia which was was emptier than Cabra which had by now filled up. We rode in to town again that evening and went up to old castle with its panoramic view and a lovely Moorish church gateway. The munchies caught us out after a few beers in the square so we succumbed to a pizza parlour before pedalling back uncertainly after dark
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Driving east we spotted lovely Zuheros and its castle and then turned off to Luque located even higher in the Sierras Subbeticas. By chance the Easter parade was just starting and we were absorbed by the sight of locals dressed in white carrying an Easter religious float through the streets and up to the main church.
Moving on we decided to stay out in the sticks by a reservoir parking in the picnic area near the impressive dam on the Rio Viboras near the small village of Las Casillas. A change in the weather brought in cooler conditions as we walked in to the village and rain arrived overnight. However we were as always warm and cosy and moved on through at one point a fair fall of snow via Guadix to Orce. We stopped briefly in Guadix to walk round the old troglodyte houses in a rather scruffy neighbourhood and Orce was a random decision to pull off as it claimed to be one of the oldest villages in Europe. An easy to use service point on one side of the village was a bonus and we parked up in the large car park of the museum dedicated to the remarkable fossil remains found in the area that rewrote the time line of human development. Donning down jackets against the chill we walked in to the village and checked out a possible restaurant for the following day. We came across a remarkable little shop stuffed to the rafters with a huge variety of produce and obviously little changed in fifty years and bought a few bits and bobs from the friendly owner before returning for the first night with the thermal screens up in months.
The museum was excellent with Google translate via our phone cameras explaining things well and an enthusiastic guide leading the other Spanish visitors round. A short film at the end giving a glimpse of a day in the life of Neanderthal man was excellent and thought provoking and in that spirit we retired to the Mimbrera restaurant and devoured in my case a whole leg of lamb roasted in garlic and lamb chops for Mandy over a leisurely lunch - quite the best meal in recent times.
Arriving at Caravaca De La Cruz the town aire was busy but we tucked away adjacent to the path down in to town and walked down to the impressive main square and managed to get up to the hill top Sanctuary before the sun set. After a quick meal we then walked in to enjoy the moving spectacle of an Easter Parade with a huge float carried from the central church by 30 or so volunteers through the city's streets. A rousing band with drums and wind instruments was accompanied by people in capes and pointed hats and the scenes were witnessed by large numbers of people, many enjoying an aerial overview from their balconies. By checking out the street maps on our phones we were able to cut through a number of alleys and see the remarkable procession from numerous viewpoints. After several hours the parade returned to the church at around midnight and we strolled back to the van, glad that we had left the heater on. Ten minutes or so later after a hot cuppa we had made, and were in bed on a very gusty night when I heard a noise from the bikes as if a strap had come loose. Less than a minute later I heard another noise so looked out of the rear door window to find both bikes had vanished....
Within seconds I was outside in the freezing cold but well lit aire to confirm that the cable had been cut, another lock opened and all four wheel retaining straps ripped open - this latter act would have taken considerable strength and had I later noticed partially dislodged the whole bike rack. There was no sign of the thieves as they would have been able to ride off down hill and out of sight so rather than wake the large number of surrounding van occupants who would have seen nothing anyway I rang 112 for the police and was put through to an English language service and advised to report it to the local police later that day so we went to bed in a state of disbelief. Next morning we found a bungee discarded down the path but no other evidence and fellow stayers were oblivious to the drama. We walked down to the Policia Local office but were told it was a matter for the Guardia Civil a few minutes in another direction. Here using Google Translate we gave a statement and received a copy of the report by an efficient officer who said it was a bad area to park and had a bad neighbourhood alongside - perhaps not the best place to locate a popular aire in a popular town. On our way back to the van we looked in at a couple of bike shops as we intended to replace them as soon as possible and one guy was very apologetic about our loss and asked for contact details and photos of the bikes in case they were brought to him for repair.A very kind gesture but the bikes would almost certainly have been sold on to relatively innocent third parties.
Taking the approach that such an occurrence was no more than a frustrating inconvenience (and one that would have been unlikely to occur in Morocco) we decided to have a look in a Decathlon store at Alcantarilla less than an hour away. Here Hiscio a really friendly staff member with good English was sorry to hear our story and spent the next couple of hours helping us choose two new budget bikes plus a few accessories and two Gold Standard D Locks to get our plans back on track. Fortunately they had plenty of stock so Mandy now has a decent gravel bike and I plumped for a mountain bike with a reasonable spec. Hiscio set these up whilst we did a supermarket shop and then feeling much more positive we headed over to Mula situated mid way along the Via Verde Noroestre that had a large aire and adjacent car park.
A three hour run west along the old railway line to Bullas gave us a chance to give the bikes a final tweak and enjoy decent tapas and a beer or two. Back at Mula the aire had filled up and even the car park we had plumped for was filling up rapidly. The famous Drum Festival and Easter parades were the attraction and up at the town a long procession was getting going up at the main church with two horses ridden by costumed Centurions leading the way. The horses were superbly controlled in the tightly packed streets and about 6 different floats, bands and accompanying marchers began a 6 hour parade through the town - a remarkable experience. Good Friday was cloudier and cooler so we enjoyed a rest day but walked up again in the late afternoon as it was the drumming day and the streets were filled with dozens of people creating an ear splitting cacophony of drum rolls as families strolled round many with infants amazingly fast asleep and oblivious to the noise. A steep walk up to the castle offered great views across the town and surrounding lemon and orange groves before we walked back for an evening meal and some more tv courtesy of IPlayer.
Yesterday we rode east towards Murcia on the VV covering fifty miles with a head wind in each direction and having a drink at the station cafe half way along at Alguazas Molina, returning to find the aire much emptier than before. We could hear chanting and drumming so walked in to town only to discover that it was the local football ground so we decided to stop and watch the final half hour amused at the amount of noisy support a few dozen spectators could produce.. Up in town the streets were quiet but a candlelit service was beginning that might have gone on a bit but would have been very moving. We slept well overnight after an energetic day knowing that being under our multi strapped cover and with two very tight fitting D locks in place we were unlikely to have further problems - in fact I think the cover alone would have been sufficient deterrrent as it has 9 different straps and unless careful these can easily get caught in the bikes around handelbars and saddles when removing it - so a good lesson learnt.
Today we have moved on to Yecla and are sitting out a rare rainy day - the last for the foreseeable future - in an almost empty aire as Spain is back to work tomorrow. More VVs await us over the next fortnight as we work our way north through Valencia and then NW to Bilbao from where Mandy heads home in a little over two weeks. As with the van burglary in Milan five years ago (carried out with the full knowledge and cooperation of and by the staff at Parking Suprema Malpensa Airport) the theft is upsetting but fortunately for us we can afford replacements and no one got injured or hurt so as ever onwards, upwards and count our blessings.
Next post somewhere before Bilbao.
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