In search of Griffon Vultures in the hills of Andalucía

Sonny’s (the motorhome) wheels are back in motion.  Having stood still in Punta Umbría for 34 days, it was time to move on and find some new places to stop and see. We intended moving on sooner but with Storm Emma (the Beast from the East) and then Storm Felix (the Pest from the West) battering most of Spain we thought it sensible to stay put until things settled down.

We have had a fantastic time here and will miss this little family but plan to see them again sometime in May.

Adam & Melissa and Julie & Chico (the dogs) outside their EnglishAcademy

We have eaten well and drunk some fantastic wines since being here.  

These, though, have to be the most unusual things we have eaten here, but very tasty - Sea Snails.

Now it is time to get fit and healthy and do some walking in the hills and mountains of Andalucía. 

We filled Sonny full of diesel and LPG, gave him a quick ‘spring clean’ and a check over to make sure all was in working order and set off.  Leaving Punta Umbría we headed towards Seville, it is a lovely city but having been here a few times we decided not to stop this time.  So, we took a right turn out of the city and headed south to a place called Puerto Serrano.  The Aire (N36.92444 W5.55556) is at the top of the village and at the edge of a disused railway line – Via Verde de la Sierra.  It’s fairly remote and we were surprised to find another motorhome (French) on the Aire when we arrived around 5ish.  The Aire is free, and you can get fresh water, plus there’s a bar/café that is open a few metres away from the Aire in what looks like the former station. 

Our first night back in the motorhome was a peaceful one and we were up early and full of energy for a walk to find the Griffon Vultures. A quick check of the weather on the internet said there was a 40% chance of rain but temperatures of around 18°C.  So, we made sure we had our walking boots on and wet weather gear.

The old railway line is 36.5kms long, with 30 tunnels and 4 viaducts. 

There are more than 6,000kms of abandoned railway lines across Spain, with most never having been completed.  The plan was to connect all the villages by rail, but these plans fell apart during the Civil War.  For over 40 years the lines lay in disrepair with most being overgrown by the surrounding countryside.  In 1993 the Vias Verde Programme was launched, with the aim of introducing environmental friendly tourism into rural areas, primarily developing upon the railway infrastructure already in place, providing traffic free walking and cycling tracks through areas of natural beauty.
We were surprised how pretty the walk was, following the river most of the way and around Olive Groves and a couple of farms.

The Pueblos Blancos (white village) of Puerto Serrano in the distance

Olive groves

Into our first tunnel

and 5kms into the walk we spotted the vultures! 

At one point we saw a total of 10 together, although they were quite far away

An unusual sight of snails clinging to a metal post!

The sun came out as we spotted this old ruin in the distance.

We walked to the first viaduct, which is about 7kms down the line before turning around as the rain started to come in again.

We plan to move on tomorrow to do more walking around the Sierra de Grazalema, in search of mountains, Pueblos Blancos, unusual birds and hopefully sun!

Sally x