Andalucia (Spain)

...goes……

Mention Andalucia to a lot of people and their immediate reaction is 'well, I know it's in Spain, but don't ask me where'.

Mention the Costa del Sol instead and then they'll say,' OH!! THERE!'

To be fair, I have done the 'beach thing' on the Costa del Sol myself, having stayed in Nerja a few times several years ago. Even then, it doesn't take long for somewhere like Nerja's admittedly pleasant ...
...be, then this area of Andalucia has a lot else to offer, particularly for the jaded city motorist. Spain seems to have had a lot of EC money lately to update and improve its transport infrastructure, much of which has been spent on a nice new tarmac makeover for many of its mountain roads. Many of these are so smooth now that you can be forgiven for approaching hairpin bends a trifle fast - oh yes, they've also spent a lot on crash barrier! I love ... more

I'm getting my travel knickers all in a twist - I've already posted about my autumn break in Crete, and here I am writing about my two week holiday in August in inland Andalucia, and I haven't even written about Prague yet, having been there 12 weeks prior to that

Oh well, here goes……

Mention Andalucia to a lot of people and their immediate reaction is 'well, I know it's in Spain, but don't ask me where'.

Mention the Costa del Sol instead and then they'll say,' OH!! THERE!'

To be fair, I have done the 'beach thing' on the Costa del Sol myself, having stayed in Nerja a few times several years ago. Even then, it doesn't take long for somewhere like Nerja's admittedly pleasant attractions to wear thin, leaving me with itchy feet, so my seaside resort then becomes a base for some forays inland. On such previous holidays, I've used this principle to visit both Sevilla and Granada, so my appetite was whetted for a bit more inland touring.

So, where better to start than by being inland already, and in my most recent case, up t'other of Andalucia?

This year we hired a villa with two good friends in the hill town of Jimena De La Frontera, which lies I guess about 30 miles north of the port of Algeciras and within shopping distance (if you MUST) of Gibraltar.

Jimena is also only about 1 hour's drive from Malaga airport, but beware the road tolls on the Autopista del Mediterraneo - you won't be thanked for proffering a 50 € note, but they do take Tarjetas (credit cards) too. Just get in the correct lane at the toll plaza.

Our directions for the villa were quite emphatic - 'DO NOT go to Estepona', although they really only meant 'stay on the right road'. However, we never did go to Estepona - sorry.

Incidentally, I remain quite impressed with the procedure for picking up a hire car at Malaga airport. You go down one floor from arrivals to the desks, queue up (less impressive in August) and then go down one more floor to the basement car park where you simply get in your car and drive it away. No shuttle buses to off-airport parking, nada. Our car, a brand new model Focus estate, was hired through Carjet.com with Europa Goldcar, all insurances included for a total of 300 € for two whole weeks which I felt was very reasonable, given what the big names charge in high season. The only fly in the ointment was the old 'we've charged extra for a full tank, bring it back empty' routine. Yeah, like I'm going to trust the fuel gauge in a car that I don't know too well, just when I'm trying to check in early from 60 miles away.

These guys probably get a freebie quarter of a tank every time, and then charge the next renter for it.

Anyway, back to the plot.

WHERE WE STAYED

Jimena is a picturesque town, once you get to the traditional bits, all hills, cobbles and whitewash. 'Tis pity the post office is at the very top, as I acquired a parking fine which, it transpires, can be paid at post offices. 150 € (!) with a 30% discount if you pay early without appealing. Using my reasonably fluent Spanish, I asked if I was going the right way for the post office, only to find that it was closed when I got there. Still, never mind I needed the exercise. Must remember to tack on 'and is it open now?' next time.

You will need Spanish here, in some shape or form, despite the allegedly large Brit ex-pat population (according to the Rough Guide anyway). Just speaking English LOUDER gets nowhere, and why should it?

Jimena is topped off by an impressive fortress, built firstly by the Romans, extended by the Moors and then by the Spanish as the Moors were pushed back over to North Africa. From here, you can see the Rock of Gibraltar and a large variety of bird life taking advantage of the air currents and thermals. I'm not a bird watcher but my friends who were, were becoming almost blasé on seeing yet another Griffon Vulture or Short-Toed Eagle. Climbing the fortress hill brings them to within 50 or 60 feet of your head - just don't play dead up there!

Jimena is no diner's hot spot, although one or two good local restaurants were to be found. More impressive was our villa's 'resident' chef, who could be pre-booked to rustle up tapas or a full meal, with enough left over for the following day all for the price of a single good meal out.

With such a nice patio as we had, it would have been tempting to take advantage of the service all the time.

Like most of southern Spain this year, there was a severe drought, and Jimena's water pressure was practically zero. Fortunately, the Villa Fuente Vieja (the old well or source) had its own water supply although this involved much electrical pumping by the owner. However, this did enable our home for the fortnight to look like an oasis in a sea of golden burned grass. According to the owner, your own well is worth about 600 €/month when it comes to keeping gardens green and swimming pools filled and I can well (ouch) believe it.

This was no villa-built-for-rent. The owner moves back in from the 'casita' next door whenever it's not booked, and so it was more like a house-swap without the hassle of strangers living at your place.

You can be nosey at www.villarentalsjimena.com, which is the villa's own web-site. Speaking of being nosey, the swimming pool is so seclude that 'clothes are optional' is that's your wont, although we did make sure that the owner's car had gone first!

THINGS TO DO

For a start, the villa itself is on the edge of the Rio Hozgarganta and Los Alcornales nature parks, and so is a perfect place to start a hike into the wilderness.

If the coast isn't for you in August, and there are plenty of reasons why it shouldn't be, then this area of Andalucia has a lot else to offer, particularly for the jaded city motorist. Spain seems to have had a lot of EC money lately to update and improve its transport infrastructure, much of which has been spent on a nice new tarmac makeover for many of its mountain roads. Many of these are so smooth now that you can be forgiven for approaching hairpin bends a trifle fast - oh yes, they've also spent a lot on crash barrier! I love the way that road signs warn of bends for the next four kilometres when you've been wrestling with them for the last four without any warning.

Within striking distance would come Jerez De La Frontera (yes, THAT Jerez) and the port of Cadiz. I'm not scared of city driving, but it's hardly a holiday for me, so we stuck to visiting small towns like the charming Medina Sidonia, perched yet again on a hill - there's a pattern forming here, eh?

The bustling square here strikes just the right balance between peaceful and noisy. A modest tapas lunch in the shade cost us about 9 € for two including beer, coffee and a tip. The view out over the golden plains towards the coast is breathtaking, if a little barren at the moment.

I guess the high spot of our visits was a day in the beautiful hill city of Ronda, some 40 km more inland from Jimena. Warnings in the visitor's book at the villa, admittedly 5 years old, counselled using the train as the road was 'awful'. Well, it wasn't. Apart from two temporary sections still being surfaced, it was amazingly smooth, and I'm certainly not going to let a road that twists and turns like a twisty-turny thing put me off. After all, bends equal scenery usually.

Ronda really is a sight to behold, especially from the last 'mirador' picnic area before you get there. The whole place seems to be perched on the edge of two cliffs, with a ravine running right through the centre. Round the north side of the city, it's protected by man-made ramparts, but no such need on the south face. Linking the two halves together is the Puente Nueve (The New Bridge). When you walk over it, it seems like any other masonry bridge, say at Henley for example, but a view over the parapet gives you an insight to this marvel as you look at the 300 foot drop beneath.

Another good place to gawp at the drop is from the iron railings that stand between you and manned flight on the edge of the Mirador De La Alameda, a shady park giving welcome relief from the unrelenting sunshine. If you look closely, you'll find yourself looking DOWN on eagles and other large birds of prey taking advantage of the thermals.

Ronda is also famed for its links with Ernest Hemingway who based 'Death In The Afternoon' around the bull ring here, which remains Spain's oldest operating Plaza De Toros. Despite an abhorrence of such 'sport' I did pay the 3.50 € to go in to gain an insight into this tradition. Standing in the lunchtime sun in the middle of the arena, even without the two tons of angry pot-roast* trying to shish-kebab me made me feel very alone. The pinkish tinge to some of the sand didn't really need explaining.

*Thank you Tom Lehrer for the line!

James Joyce also came here to finish off Ulysses, although not in the gladiatorial sense.

I'd love to stay in Ronda, maybe at the state-run Parador (when my ship comes in, that is). The newly-built but traditional building looked palatial, and even had its swimming pool perched near the edge of that drop.

Parking wasn't too much of a chore, nor, surprisingly, was it expensive, but some of the underground garage facilities are rather tight, even for a Ford Focus. I managed to reverse into a concrete pillar on the way out - thank goodness for plastic bumpers, T-Cut and CDW-waiver.

We did however get to take the train too, this time for a lunchtime at El Molino Del Santo (hotel and restaurant) in the village of Benoaján, which lies some 50 minutes by train from Jimena, and a couple of stops short of Ronda on the Algeciras-Bobadilla regional line of the RENFE state railway. Return fares for four of us? 18.60 € - yes that's for four of us, you did read it right.

This line is particularly scenic, taking a somewhat different route than the road to Ronda and beyond, ducking and diving into rocky tunnels to reappear giving sudden views of the torrents below (well, they would be in Spring - now there were trickles if we were lucky). Trains are basic but air-conditioned, with those damned under-floor diesel engines so favoured by our own privatised railway operators. They are not at all wheel-chair friendly though as platforms are at rail level, the stairs to get in are practically a vertical ladder. They are also prone to late running as it's a single line - we had to wait 20 minutes at one stop for a delayed Granada-Algeciras 'Talgo' express coming the other way.

Benoaján also distinguishes itself as being the station for Montejaque - these stations frequently double up on locations served, as they tend to be in valleys whilst the towns are on hills! Montejaque, a peaceful hill town, is the scene of probably my most frightening experience with a hire car in years of driving abroad.

Picture this - we enter the town at siesta time, not a soul looks up. It becomes apparent that the main square has been closed off for the construction of some staging, a bandstand perhaps.

So I dutifully follow all the diversion signs to pass through the place, but somewhere along the line, someone has forgotten to figure the width of a car into the equation. I gradually edge forward, thinking how glad I am that I won't have to reverse. The streets get so narrow that neither of us could get out and walk on ahead even if we wanted to.

Then it happens.

I round a corner to be confronted with what looks like a downhill staircase where 'la calle' should be. I just manage to edge forward enough for my wife to open a door into someone's open porch, and get out and check. Thank the Lord, it's not stairs, just a very lumpy road with a 30 degree slope, but even then, I'm not out of the woods, nor indeed the side streets. The final entrance onto the other end of the square that I'd so dutifully skirted round is so narrow, that with even both mirrors pulled in I scrape them on the houses either side. No body damage though, which is a relief. I didn't dare get out and check for at least an hour!
Imagine my end of the conversation with the hire company.

"Hallo, I'm stuck in Montejaque - the street is too narrow to move forward or back"

"No, there's no point in sending a tow truck unless it's a lot narrower than a Ford Focus".

"Errrr….. do you know anyone with one of those big Russian sky-crane helicopters?"

"How about I strip it for spares now, starting with the door handles?"

Needless to say that I don't remember much about Montejaque, except that one day later I found myself driving through it again, sans diversion.

Another drive worth the effort is to cruise the coastline west of Gibraltar, as Spain heads off in the direction of Portugal. The coast here is very different, taking on, not surprisingly, an Algarvean appearance of sand dunes and quite windy beaches - this is the Atlantic we're looking at now remember. As we pass the town of Tarifa, the closest one in Spain to Africa, the Straits look like you could reach out and pull the two continents together. I fact, I did recently see the plans for a bridge, although it would have to be the biggest of its type in the world, and a rail tunnel to Morocco is also mooted.

A yet more impressive sight is that of literally hundreds or thousands even of migratory birds wheeling, like Mods & Rockers before making a run, this time to Africa, not Brighton. Curiously, it's almost as if they have reservations, storks one day, eagles the next. The road here winds in an out of some very impressive cliffs, with a huge expanse of wind farms on the slopes.

Driving back to Jimena on the road from Algeciras we noticed that even the railway freight marshalling yard had safe nesting environments built into the top of each lighting gantry, most of which were actually in use by mating pairs of storks, and a very strange sight they make. At first you think they're dummies like those plastic herons in fish ponds, and then one of them moves!

CONCLUSION

If this all sounds a bit disjointed, then that's how our holiday panned out, with a lot of time spent relaxing around the pool 'au naturel', so, no, we didn't go to Granada, Sevilla, Jerez de la Frontera or Cadiz, although I have visited the first two before. Neither did we visit a beach per se, other than to look at the sea. When you've got your own pool, who needs sandwiches that live up to their name?

Besides which, we set out to explore bits of inland western Andalusia, not all of it - it's a big place, so there'd be no point in trying.

Strangely enough, eating out wasn't the Jimena area's strong point, although what we did eat was good value - just not particularly exciting, but then if you don't like driving after dark (see my Crete opinion), then you tend to be stuck with where you stay.

I like Andalucia, and I anticipate going again………soon.

 

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