Across the border to Portugal and The Algarve

We decided to give Sonny (the motorhome) a change of scenery for a few days and have popped across the border into Portugal, to Manta Rota on the Algarve (only 72kms /45 miles from Punta Umbría).  We are parked up right next to the sea on an aire - Praia de Manta Rota (N37°09’54”, W7°31’15”).  It takes 100 motorhomes and costs only €4.50 a night for the facilities.  We got here at 11:30 and it was nearly full, with motorhomes from Germany, France, Hungary, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and the UK – a lot from the UK!!   A lot of motorhomers come here for the winter, to get away from the snow and cold weather and just to chill for a few months, and who can blame them.  Most have motorbikes, scooters and bicycles to get around whilst their motorhome is parked up, and the odd crazy ones have towed a car behind them, not sure why they don't have a caravan if they want a car!

Sonny, the motorhome parked up in his new overnight spot by the beach

After putting out our table and chairs and organising for the barbecue for later, it was a short walk over the wooden walkway and onto the beach. 

We were that busy admiring the views in the distance that we nearly tripped up over this jellyfish, that had been washed up by the tide.

Jellyfish, washed up on the beach at Manta Rota

After a brisk stroll along the beach we walked back into Manta Rota.  It’s a very small seaside town and apparently in summer you can’t move for tourists, but there’s not a lot in the town other than a few café/bars, restaurants and one supermarket.  So it was back to the aire to watch the French do what the French like to do – play boules!

The French playing boules

Then it was time to settle down for a nice glass of wine and a barbecue, and to ponder where we will be tomorrow!

Sally x 

In the Heart of the Mountains

A visit to Aracena, Alájar and La Nava (known as the heart of the mountains).
First stop Aracena -120km north of Punta Umbría.  It is the largest of the towns in the Natural Park Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche.

Here we visited the Museo del Jamon (The Ham Museum), which was opened to provide information about the Iberian pig and how it is grown in the region of Aracena.  The small film and information given by the tour guide is all in Spanish but with the help of an information leaflet in English and plenty of pictures you get the gist of it!

Outside the Museo del Jamon

Aracena is also famous for its spectacular limestone caves – the Gruta de Las Maravillas (the Cave of Marvels).  Opened in 1914, the circular 1km tour of the underground streams and caverns takes about 45 minutes.  It is well worth a visit!

Inside Gruta de Las Maravillas

Aracena is dominated on a hilltop by a ruined castle and church.  A walk up to the castle provided a great view of the town and the beautiful surrounding mountain scenery. 

View from the castle

The Castle was built in 13^th century on the base of a Moorish fortress and the church nearby has been converted from a mosque. Unfortunately, all the commentary was in Spanish and although Adam did a bit of translating there is not a great deal to see of this ruined castle.

The Castle and Church, Aracena

With lunch time approaching we headed to the next village – Alájar.  A pretty village overlooked by Peña de Arias Montano.  

Peña de Arias Montana

We had lunch in Meson El Corcho - a restaurant decked out in medieval style, with ornate cork ceilings and a large open fire.  Underneath our table was a small fire pot to keep you warm - after all we were in the mountains and it was a bit chilly!

Me, Mel, Adam and Melissa enjoying lunch at Meson El Corcho

Meson El Corcho

We then went slightly north to La Nava, a small village with only a couple of hundred inhabitants but it is known as the heart of the mountains.

La Nava

The village only has one shop and a bar/café, and was deserted apart from us and some Iberico Pigs - mum, dad and babies!  Seen in the short video below.

Sally x

Botanical Gardens and Secret Beaches

We borrowed Adam’s car and visited the José Celestino Mutis Botanical Park in Huelva.  The Park contains the most representative plant species of the five continents, such as:  Cuban Palm Trees, Indian Laurels, Argentine Coral Trees, Spanish Olive Trees, Australian Pines, African Atlas Cedar, all sorts of Cacti, Yuccas, Conifers, fruit trees and medicinal plants.
It covers an area of 12 hectares and is criss-crossed by paths, canals and little bridges.

From here we drove passed the statue of the Franciscan Friar, he represents a friar from the monastery that hosted Christopher Columbus whilst he was planning his first voyage.  Built in 1929 and standing 37m high, it looks out to the west and is dedicated to the sailors who helped Columbus in his discovery of America.

We then went on to the replicas of Christopher Columbus ships: The Santa Maria, The Nina and The Pinta.  Unfortunately, they were closed while some renovation work is carried out, but hopefully they will be back open before we move on at the end of February so we can visit.

Replicas of Christopher Columbus' Ships

From here we drove along the coast to a couple of beautiful beaches, with high sea facing cliffs, in the middle of the Doñana National Park.  Between Mazagón and Matalascañas lies a 14 mile stretch of unspoilt beaches, with massive dunes, some are over 100m high!
Playa de El Parador and Cuesta Maneli.

Playa de El Parador

Cuesta Maneli - A mile long wooden walkway leads you over the dunes to this beach from the nearest car park, but is well worth the walk to this natural unspoilt beach!

Cuesta Maneli

 Huelva's coastline has  been named the Secret Coast.  It is one of the quieter parts of the Spanish coast and remains relatively undiscovered – fingers crossed it remains unspoilt by tourists!


Sally x

Food Glorious Food!

Since arriving in Punta Umbría, we have been lucky enough to enjoy some delicious Andalusian food and Spanish wines.  From Tapas to Swordfish, from Iberian Ham (Jambón Ibérico) to Paella.  Punta Umbría is a small fishing village and the choice of fish is vast.  However, nothing compares to the amount and quality of fish found at the market in Huelva.

Huelva Fish Market - A small sample of the fish they sell above and below:

Swordfish, Tuna, Squid, Octopus, Prawns, Langoustines, Lubina (Seabass)

Fruit and Vegetables
In Spain these come in all shapes and sizes, including this tasty tomato, which is the size of an adult's hand!

We haven't tried the large white vegetable below but it is supposed to be similar to butternut squash.  Again, an interesting shape!

Jambón Ibérico (Iberian Ham)
This is a dry-cured ham from acorn-fed black, Iberian pigs. It can be served alone or with a drizzle of olive oil and small breadsticks (picos) and is Andalucía’s and Spain’s pride and joy.  They range in price according to size and can cost up to 2,000 Euros!

Jambón Ibérico

Angulas

Angulas are baby eels. We weren't quite sure if we wanted to eat these, but once tasted we absolutely loved them!

Angulas

Tapas
Served in most Spanish bars - yummy!

Octopus, Prawns, Pork with Jambón Ibérico,
Salmorejo (tri-coloured), Bacalao with tomatoes, and Ham, Vegetables and Goats Cheese

Salmorejo
Is thicker than gazpacho and is typically eaten during the summer and served cold.
We love this soup and making it is really easy.  I have put the recipe below - hope you try it and enjoy!

Salmorejo

Ingredients

8 Medium Tomatoes (good quality is important for the taste)

1 Medium Baguette

A Splash of Sherry Vinegar

A Pinch of Salt

1 Medium Clove of Garlic

1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (again, good quality is important)

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

Chopped Iberico/Serrano Ham

Method

1.   Cut a small cross in the bottom of each tomato. Place them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds.  Remove and place in cold water, the skin should peel right off.

2.     Remove the cores from the tomatoes, then place tomatoes in a blender for approx. 30 seconds.

3.     Remove the soft dough bread from the inside of the baguette (you will need approx. 3 cups).  Just add 2 cups to the blender at first and let the bread soak into the tomato juice for about 5 minutes. The amount of bread will dictate the texture, so you may need to add the other cup at ‘stage 6’

4.     Add the splash of vinegar, salt and garlic and blend until the soup is an even texture and the bread is completely broken down.

5.     Gradually add the oil as you are blending (at a moderate speed).

6.     Add one hard boiled egg.  If the soup isn’t thick/creamy enough add the remainder of the bread.

7.     Serve in small bowls, with the ham and diced hard boiled eggs as condiments.  Serve cold - enjoy!

Wine
The Spanish like to drink wine with every meal, except breakfast!  We found this stall in Huelva, selling some lovely wines and spirits.

Paella
And lastly Spain's most famous dish!

Hope I have got your taste buds going!

Sally x

A Bit of British History

We had another trip out on the scooter, this time into Huelva to visit Nuestra Senora de la Soledad Cemetery, where Major William Martin is buried.  I know it sounds a bit morbid but for those who have seen the film ‘The Man Who Never Was’ or read the book ‘Operation Mincemeat’ you will be familiar with what was probably the most successful, and certainly the oddest deception operation of the Second World War - possibly of any war, and William Martin (Glyndwr Michael) played a key role.

Nuestra Senora de la Soleda Cemetery

In Brief: In 1943, British Naval Intelligence and MI5 devised a cunning plan to fool the German forces into thinking the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia instead of the actual objective -  to invade Sicily.  It involved obtaining a dead body, dressing it up as a British Officer, equipping it with false documents and leaving it somewhere where the Nazis would find it. If it all sounds a little ‘James Bond’ then that’s because it was partly inspired by Ian Fleming, a young officer in naval intelligence at the time.  The body of Major Martin was fished out of the sea off Punta Umbría, he was wearing a British officer’s uniform and carrying top-secret plans for an Allied invasion of German-held Greece and Sardinia.  He was assumed to be a British military courier who’d perished in a plane crash. The plans were passed to German intelligence, who then changed their strategy accordingly, reinforcing Greek and Sardinian defences in expectation of an attack.  It was, however, an elaborate hoax designed to cover up the invasion of Italy (Sicily) from North Africa.  Thus, allowing the Allies to invade Sicily from North Africa and helping win a crucial battle in July 1943, opening the way for capturing Italy and changing the course of the war and leading to eventual victory.

The story does have a sad side to it though.  The body was a Welsh Vagrant with no family who had killed himself with rat poison in a disused warehouse.  It wasn’t until 1996 when a key document was declassified that it formally identified the ‘man who never was’ as Glyndwr Michael.  He was eventually buried with full military honours but later when his identity revealed, his gravestone was amended to reflect his true name.

Glyndwr Michael, who served as Major William Martin

Continuing with the English theme in Huelva, we went down to the Río Tinto Pier, a huge 19^th century ironwork structure formerly used to ship out minerals that arrived by train from the Río Tinto mines and restored in 2003.

Rio Tinto Pier

The British workers employed in the mines were also responsible for the importation of football into Spain, helping set up Huelva’s league club ‘Recreativo’ in 1889, the oldest football club in the world.  Huelva is a natural estuary port and we enjoyed a lovely walk along the tree-lined path.

In between Huelva and Punta Umbría is the Odiel Nature reserve - Las Marismas Del Odiel, a large estuary and marshland of the Odiel and Tinto rivers, and a protected water area for birds, including pink flamingos, herons and storks.

Pink Flamingos

Well, that's enough history for one day - time to head back home on the scooter!

but not before stopping for a quick beer on the beach!

Playa De La Bota

Sally x

A Jaunt out on the Scooter to the border of Portugal

It was such a nice day that we decided to take the scooter out for a ride along the coastal road.  The scooter’s first ride out in Spain and first since mid-autumn in the UK due to it being so cold!  From Punta Umbría you can follow the coast by road most of the way to Portugal.

Punta Umbría to Ayamonte Map

First stop El Rompido, a small fishing village that sits on the Rio Piedras river estuary.  A really tranquil and un-crowded spot that remains unspoilt by tourist development.  The waters are crystal clear and are sheltered from the open sea by a spit – Flecha del Rompido, and white sand dunes as far as the eye can see.  Remains of materials have been found around the area date from the ninth to the third millennium B.C.

El Rompido

El Rompido

The town is full of lovely white-washed buildings and we stopped here a while for some lunch in the plazza near to the church - Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen built in 1956 and made with the leftover bricks from the Real de la Almadraba.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen

From here we went on to Cartaya, a small historical town dating back to the time of the Phoenicians.

Cartaya

We then went through Lepe and on to Ayamonte.  Along the road are lots and lots of orange groves.  Oranges are big business in Spain and are picked late winter through to early spring.

Orange Grove

Ayamonte is situated on the estuary of the Rio Guadiana, second longest river in Europe and sits next to the border with Portugal.  The Guadiana International Bridge that crosses the Guadiana River, connecting southern Spain and Portugal was completed in 1991.  Up until then the ferry port in Ayamonte was the only connections between Spain and Portugal. Regular Ferries, carrying cars and passengers, are just a short journey across the river and only cost €1.75.  We would have liked to of gone across but it was getting late and we wanted to have a good look around Ayamonte.

Ferry to Villa Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal

We walked through the Plaza de la Coronacion, Ayamonte, an area decorated with typical Andalusian tiles and ornate figures.

Plaza de la Coronacion

We then went to Plaza de la Laguna, and like the other plaza it's surrounded by palm trees and mosaics.  We sat here outside a small jazz bar enjoying the music and a nice cold beer before heading back.

Plaza de la Laguna

We followed a different route back and went via Isla Cristina and Las Antillas.  In summer Las Antillas is full of tourists but this time of year it is nice and quiet and we were able to sit on the prominade and watch the fisherman digging for Coquinas (small clams).

Las Antillas Prominade

Fisherman digging for Coquinas (clams)

We got back just as the sun was going down - 120km round trip - a fantastic day out!

Sally x