Middle Spain - definitely not all flat!

Sat 25th

As we drove south through Castilla La Mancha the landscape became very arid with huge plantations of olives and almond trees. We passed one hill which had a castle had 12 windmills on it. We stopped for lunch in a closed petrol station which provided welcome shade as it was 29 C. 

handy shade

Lagunas de Ruidera was our destination, this is a chain of 14 lagoons  and of similar kaste rock formation as Plitvice in Croatia. It really is a blue water oasis in an arid area. The lagoons are connected by a series of waterfalls which are much smaller than Plitvice but still impressive. Los Batanes campsite was open so we parked up. We were now starting to encounter a common problem – we are happy to have an open, sunny pitch but most sites only have very shady, heavily tree covered areas. The second area was almost devoid of daylight, far too gloomy for us but probably desirable in the oppressive summer heat they have here. We opted for a pitch under very tall pines.

amazing banks

Sun 26th

Cold first thing but it soon warmed up. We cycled along the lagoons to Ruidera, stopping off to walk about the waterfalls. The road was good and the cars very polite. The info centre was in the old gunpowder store and positively cold inside. The lady had winter clothes on and an electric fire glowing whilst we were in shorts and short sleeves outside.

mini Plitvice (Croatia)

Next challenge was the steep cycle up to a viewpoint – Tina puffed a bit but made it no problem. It was worth it for the views.

worth it for the views

Late afternoon I got my road bike out and cycled up to the top of the valley. Lots of people fishing in the lagoons. I also spotted lots of tv aerials on the top of the valley sides with very long cables coming back down to the house below!

Mon 27^th

Sunny, yet again so bikes out and we cycled up to the end of the road and continued on the cycle / walking trail. It was lovely with the trees looking very autumnal and the bulrush fringed upper lagoons very peaceful and still. An old pumping station now in ruins was visible across the valley – wonder what they use now?

autumn in Spain - very hot

After lunch we headed south into Andalucía our destination was Siles in the Sierra de Alacaraz. The rock colour changed to a very warm terracotta and the amount of olive trees increased seeming to take over the landscape. They reached all the way up the sierra slopes only stopping when the rock was vertical, or so it appeared! 

lots and lots of olive trees

We found the campsite just off the main road and as we have come to expect we were the only people on it. The entrance was very tight and the branches very low. So low the owner had to hold one up with a rake to allow us to squeeze under. When we stop for branches they always seem surprised that we don’t just scrape under them. I hate scratching the roof and across the roof lights – especially when it is me that has to polish them out! I like to look after our investment and “house”. Yet again the tree cover was almost complete cutting out the remaining sunshine and any view of the mountains. We found a space lower down with some light and a view of sorts. I could not believe what I was seeing when I walked up to the toilets – season long caravans with awnings cowering under the most hideous awnings/ canopys / tents ! What a horrible looking shanty town. Yuk.

sunlight optional? 

Tues 28^th

After a very quiet (and dark as the lights all went out at 9pm!) night we drove to near Segura de la Sierra and parked outside the Bomberos (fire) station. Scoot out, we rode up the steep and beautifully twisty road to the most spectacular village at the top of a 1100m tall hill crowned by a castle. It looks very Disney as you drive up the valley towards it.

The castle has Islamic origins and dominates the skyline. Unfortunately it was closed – open weds & weekends only!

beautiful castle above Segura

The village was deserted so we rode up to the rectangular bullring and parked up. Nice place to wander about but I would not want to live there, as it is just too remote and the houses were very small with very low doors.

The campsite we planned to stop at proved unsuitable when we got there, the entrance was very narrow, incredibly steep and worst of all was made of cobbles, which were very smooth and polished. The sign also said caravans only allowed if towed by a 4X4! Said it all.

Yet again plan B. We elected to continue south, the route took us through a huge area of olive tree plantations. All you could see as far as you looked were olive trees. It just did not look natural due to the regular spacing to allow mechanical harvesting.

Thankfully the scenery from Quesada to Pozo Alcon made up for it. What a fantastic drive along this valley. The mountains and rock colours / formations changed dramatically in the space of just 20km.  From red to grey to dirty white back to red. Brilliant.

yet more Olive trees!

We crossed the bridge over the dam at Embalse del Negratin – a huge reservoir and I spotted a small camping sign. The reservoir looked very dramatic with sheer red rock sides and blue water as we bumped our way down to its shores and camping Freila. We passed by the unfinished shells of at least 12 houses – why?

unfinished houses

€12 incl elec and very good wifi – bargain. Again we were the only people on the site. It had a very neglected, past its best look to it, but it suited us fine.

Weds 29^th

Hot and sunny again!  We walked down to the reservoir shore and the beach.  What a disappointment – it was grubby and had incredible amounts of litter strewn on the pebbly beach, under the trees around the carpark, piled up by the very few overflowing litterbins. Glass bottles, plastic bottles, tins, cans, wrappers and huge amounts of paper tissues. Some of it looked as if it had been there for years! Are we being unkind / oversensitive? We are just gobsmacked at the quantity of litter we are seeing in the southern half of Spain. Parts of the UK are hardly litter free but are by comparison squeaky clean. There are lots of wheelie bins at these places but the public seems to be too lazy to use them. Sorry, rant over – for a moment.

Unfinished houses - guy on campsite told me that there are 125 of them in the area. The locals went mad and built them hoping to sell to the Brits who were flocking to the area. Problem was that none of them had the legal papers so were told to stop. An all too common problem in Spain due to greed and corruption in the early 2000's. The government estimates that there are 1.25 million empty / unfinished houses in Spain!

pedalos

you can't see the litter from here!

looks idylic 

Onto Velez Rubio at the foot of the Sierra Maria Los Velez national park. The aire was tricky to find but eventually we parked up on one of the well laid out slots. Yet more litter around the water tap area, so I picked it all up and put it in a bin. Made me feel a bit better! The aire was at the back of a huge parking area with floodlights and seats around a dusty central area. Another unfinished community project?

autocaravanas spot - behind huge parking space

We walked into town which was at first glance very uninspiring. The lovely lady in the Tourist Office was however very inspiring. She gave us lots of local things to see and maps of walks in the park. She was very passionate about the area and we talked to her about all sorts of things regards Spain and the culture. Great to talk to a local and get their opinions.

At dusk we heard the sound of bells – a mixed flock of sheep and goats tinkled past us on their way to their nearby pasture for the night. It turned out they were being kept on a fenced building plot that was for sale – right in amongst the town houses! 

sheep & goats homeward bound at dusk