Granada, I'm falling under your spell, and if you could speak what a facinating tale you would tell!!!!!!!, or so the song goes. So now it's the 12th, the story so far :----



Monday 8th, day 15 :
After a quiet day riding around the area we decided that the Algarve was not a place for the 'Oppys, but we did have a wonderful meal down by the water ( at Alvor) which lifted the Portugal experience for us, but overall we were not impressed. The following day we went to Silves, day 16. It is a superb medieval town and after a morning wander around, in the rain, we stopped at a restaurant that had been recommended to us and had a 4 course lunch with a bottle of wine for 15 euros total !!.Then an after lunch walk led us up in to the higher part of the town where there was some wonderful medieval architecture and the ruins of the original fortifications. And because it was Shrove Tuesday, we had crepes at a local caff.

Day 17,10th. Today we had a long drive through in to Spain and arrived at the town of Huelva, a port town with a very large statue of Christopher Collumbus looking out to sea. We spent the night there, a rather wet one too. The rain was bouncing off our roof sounding for all the world like frozen peas being dropped from a great height, we left first thing in the morning.

Our impressions of Portugal as a holiday destination are not great. Whilst some parts of the southern coastal region may be to some folks taste, it didn't suit us. As we came in from the north it was very much like travelling through the Carpathian region of Eastern Europe. The poverty and the subsistance level farming was very similar to that in eastern Hungary and western Romania and it was a little sad to see. But now we are in Spain.

Day 18.  Aiming towards Seville today, after another long drive, we spent the night at the town of Marchena. The aire was at the bottom of the town and together with about half a dozen other vans, we had a peaceful night. The aire was overlooking a sports area and park with lots of orange trees. The town is a right mish mash of buildings. At the bottom of the town are all the 'modern' flats, then as you go up the hill you pass some semi derelict areas and then the town really blossomed with some wonderful old houses, churches (of course) and the remains of the original Roman wall.

Day 19, Feb 12th--------------------Granada !!

After another long drive, 156 miles, and the last for a while, we have arrived at a campsite (with wifi!!) just outside Granada at a place called Suspiro Del Moro. It is raining------again!!! All this liquid sunshine is playing havoc with my joints! We are spending tomorrow doing the tourist thing, Sunday being Valentines Day we will probably spend on site and Monday we have booked to go to the Alhambra for the day. No pictures today, although we passed through miles and miles of olive grove en route.
So that's it, we're sat in our tin 'ut and it's raining. Toodle Pip 'till next time.