2023 Andalucia
Linda likes to connect all the trips we did and there were still some loose ends in the south of Spain. Just after Christmas, we drove to Salamanca to celebrate the Nuevo Año and on January 2, we continued to Granada where we left our car on the airport parking and switched to our bikes. It was the intention to cycle a loop of about 1500 kms, connecting 3 previous trips which we did over the years.
While we achieved our goal to connect the 3 routes, we were not able to finish the complete loop as we had to stop early in Seville due to an emergency situation at home.
Every downside creates an upside, so we look at this as a new opportunity to add another challenge when returning one day to Seville. Options enough, the Via de la Plata from Seville to Santiago de Compostela, The Ruta Iberia from Seville to Lisbon, followed by the Camino Portugues to Santiago.
From Santiago, there are then again a wide variety of possibilities for cycling back home.
Video on DILISTUFF YouTube channel
First stop in Spain : Burgos
Burgos is most famous for it's stunning cathedral, constructed in Gothic style. It's also one of the larger cities on the route of the Camino de Santiago Frances and as such well known for all who walked or cycled the Camino starting in the more northern countries.
Nuevo Año in Salamanca
We drove by Salamanca some 10 years ago when we were still travelling by motorbike. It was around 3pm and we stopped for an inexpensive lunch on a terrace of one of the restaurants at the Plaza Mayor. It was always on our minds that this was a city to visit again and when we planned our trip to Andalucia, Salamanca seemed the perfect place for staying a couple of days.
Salamanca's historical centre is known for its impressive sandstone buildings and is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The university of Salamanca is attracting a lot of Erasmus students and it seems that if you want to learn Spanish, Salamanca seems to be the place where the most correct and purest Spanish is spoken.
Most people know that one of the local specialities of Spain are Churros. They are part of the local breakfast and snack culture and are usually dipped in coffee or a thick chocolate drink.
Linda found this place via a blogpage and we have to admit that the Churros Con Chocolate were delicious.
Valor is a spanisch brand of chocolate and you'll find this coffeeshop at the Plaza del Mercado in Salamanca
Granada, start of the cycle trip
In 2018, we cycled from home to Granada, so this was the right place to start our tour in Andalucia.
The most photographed spot in Granada is certainly the Alhambra, seen from the Mirador de San Nicolas.
As we have been in Granada before, we now only took 1 day for strolling around and enjoying the sights.
Also in January, the city is crowded with tourists. The only difference that this time of the year, it's mainly Spanish tourists.
By now, we were also used not to have lunch before 2 PM and not to have dinner before 8 PM.
We were ready to start cycling.
Granada to Almeria (235 km)
We started with probably the most beautiful part of the trip, unfortunately also the most hilly part and just maybe something we should have done more towards the end of the trip when our muscles were already warmed up a little.
First day, it was still a leisurely trip to Orgiva and the next day, we cycled on the Ruta de las Alpujarras leading towards the Siera Nevada and up to Trevelez, one of the highest villages in Spain. That day, we only did 38 km, all uphill.
As we all know, what goes up also comes down. With this in mind, we did not really worry about the days with only 40 km as it would change when it all became easier.
When travelling outside the summer season, we mainly try to stay in small hotels or B&B's. Booking a room is still usually something we do last minute and if possible, we first check out if we can store the bikes in a safe place overnight.
Standard breakfast for us was Tosta con Tomate and when we stop for a break, the usual drink to warm up a little is hot chocolate milk. In Spain, they serve "chocolate caliente" in 2 variations, the first one is like a thick chocolate pudding and is usually served with Churros. The one we like is ColaCoa and is the local version of what we know as NesQuik.
Almeria
Most big cities in Andalucia have a cathedral an Alcazaba and of course an historic central market.
Almeria has another landmark which you cannot miss, the "Cable Ingles".
This 1 km long railway loading bay was build in 1904 by Scottish engineers to shorten the loading of minerals in ships from an average of 10 days to a maximum of 10 hours.
The pier was used unto 1973.
TIP : For a good coffee, breakfast or some pastries, try "Craft" at Calle San Francisco de Asis 2.
TIP : For lunch, dinner or just some drinks, try "La Favorita" at Parque de Nicolás salmerón 7.
Almeria to Malaga (210 km)
Between Granada and Almeria, we had not done a lot of km's per day and for this stretch, from Almeria to Malaga, it was our intention to do the 210km in 2 days.
Getting up early just before the sun got up, and stopping for the day when the sun was nearly below the horizon.
"Mixed feelings" is the best way to describe this part of the trip.
Previous days, we were cycling in more remote areas and as it is also outside the big touristic season, we did not really meet many other tourists. Even in the big cities, you could only hear people talking Spanish.
Cycling along the coast immediately changed this slightly adventurous feeling as it seemed that all parking spots or small roads along the coast were overcrowded with campers, standing there bumper to bumper.
Suddenly, you feel a little out of place on your bicycle.
An even more drastic change in atmosphere were the massive plastic greenhouses along the coast. In some places, you can hardly see any natural vegetation and everything you see is plastic, plastic and again plastic.
Of course, in this area, they grow a large part of the vegetables for the rest of Europe and the combination of sun and plastic helps reducing the usage of water, energy, etc...
Reading about it on the internet, there are of course other concerns like the bad labour conditions for the many migrant workers, groundwater pollution and all the unused plastic waste being dumped.
So, we are not sure what to think about this. For sure, it has been destroying what used to be a beautiful coastline and is this really all just to feed us or is it to ensure that we can eat strawberries all year long.
End conclusion is that we just do not know what to think.
Nonetheless, it stays a nice ride with moments of beautiful sights. Our recommendation would be to cycle it from west to east so that you are on the roadside next to the sea.
By sundown of day 2, we arrived in Malaga. Photo's of Malaga on our Malaga citytrip page via the menu under Related.
TIP : In Malage, visit "Mala Leche" for a cup of coffee or something to eat at Calle Castillo de Sohail 1, just a few minutes from the central market. Best coffee we had in Malaga.
Malaga to Ronda (125 km)
Leaving Malaga direction Ronda, we were immediately on one of the tracks of "Cycling to and through Andalucia" by Paul Benjaminse. This track leaves Malaga just after the airport and passes by the Caminito del Rey, something which was already on our "to do" list for years.
The history of the Caminito del Rey goes back to 1901 when the original path was build as a service path for a manmade canal supporting the first hydroelectric site in Spain. When the full hydroelectric site was officially inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII, he also walked a very small part of the service path and that's why it was named "The Kings path"
We passed by the Embalse Del Conde de Guacalhorce and continued direction El Burgo following the Rio Túron, to finally arrive in Ronda, also worth staying an additional day.
TIP : Walk the El Tajo Gorge loop, a walk of about 6 km exploring Ronda and the surrounding countryside from bothy the top and bottom of the escarpment.
Ronda to Huelva (250 km)
First stop : Zahara de la Sierra in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park.
It's always a good idea to be prepared for some trouble. Since we have our first Pinion gearbox bike 8 years ago, we are carrying a set of spare gear cables. First time we needed them. One of the threads must have been broken somewhere halfway the cable and the loose ends were all curled up. Linda was not able to shift gears anymore. With the help of the instruction videos on the Pinion website, we have been able to repair it and were on the road again.
Welcome in the Sherry region, situated around Jerez de la Frontera and Sanlucar De Barrameda.
Sherry is made from white grapes, primarily from the Palomino grape. Since 1933, the name Sherry can only be used when produced in this area.
When walking around in Jerez or Sanlucar, the smell of sherry is just everywhere.
From Sanlucar, we took a ferry over the rio Guadalquivir towards the Doñana Natural park where the cycle track is for 30 km's on the beach. As we are now cycling next to the Atlantic, it's important to take the tides in consideration and unfortunately, we were a little overzealous. Thinking we had enough time, we came short to cycle the entire distance and we had to push our bikes for the last 5 to 7 km's.
Best would be to start cycling 2 hours before low tide, which would give you enough time to reach the other side without a problem.
Arriving at Huelva, you will immediately see the Rio Tinto pier, a similar railway pier as in Almeria.
Huelva to Vila Real de Santo António (PT) and back to Seville (185 km)
Our tour in Andalucia would normally take us from Huelva to Seville, but as we wanted to link up our previous cycle trips, we did a detour via Ayamonte and Vila Real de Santo António in Portugal where we had been cycling back in 2009 on our very first bicycle holiday.
On the map, we discovered the Via Verde de Litoral, a cycle path direction Ayamonte via the old train track. While most of the track is really beautiful, we clearly joined the track a little to early and we ended up in the muddiest part of our journey.
Mission accomplished. We've reached Vila Real de Santo António, no orphan trips anymore in the Iberian peninsula.
On our way to Seville, we took again the Ruta Verde de Litoral which was this time just nice. I suppose that on the way up, we just ended up on the worst part.
At this point in time, our plans were still to continue to Seville, Cordoba, Jaen and back to Granada, but unfortunately, 2 days later, we got the message that Linda's youngest daughter was taken to the hospital as she had an accident with hot water.
We hurried to Seville where Linda took a flight back to Belgium.
All is ok now and luckily, no permanent injuries.
On more minor detail. during this January trip, we just had a half day of rain.
All the other days, sunshine only.
