We camped at a coastal town of Puerto de Santa Maria just across the bay from Cadiz. The campground is just across the road from the beach. The beach is beautiful with clean fine sand and crystal clear water. The waves are tiny though due to it being on the northern side of the bay but it faces the Atlantic and the sea breezes are cool and bracing especially as the days are hot, around 30ºC with mostly cloudless skies.
We cycled around town and sat and had a cool drink at one of the bars on the quayside. It was relaxing after the drive across the plains from Seville to just kick back and let everything just pass us by. The next day we caught the Catamaran to Cadiz and were once again pleasantly surprised to find one of the places we missed when we were here so long ago was still relatively unspoilt.Cadiz is one of the oldest settled places in the world and at least as old as what historians mistakenly call Jericho. There were sailors in this port when they were building Babylon and it probably the longest continuously inhabited port in the world.
When Odysseus lived here the Bay stretched as far north as Seville and even today the triangle of land that encompasses Huelva/Seville/Cadiz is barely three metres above sea level with random knolls marking out where former islands dotted this once shallow sea. In fact Cadiz and all the surrounding towns were all once islands that have since been joined by the natural silting of the bay and humans draining and filling to create arable land just as has happened in the Fenlands of Norfolk and most of the Netherlands – same guys, same technology just different time frames.
No Odysseus wasn't Greek nor Macedonian nor any race that came from the Eastern end on the Mediterranean. He was an Iberian Celt and one of the worlds greatest navigators. The Odyssey recounts his travels from the battlefield of Troy in ancient Britain to West Africa and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and back to Northern Europe via what we now call Cuba.
Don't believe me then read the book – Where Troy Once Stood.
From Cadiz we headed south across the wide flat former flood plains then over the coastal hills to the entrance to the Mediterranean. Gibraltar has had many rulers and when you see it in the flesh you can understand why. Nothing passes through its straits without it being noticed by whoever controlled this 'rock'. The view from the top is spectacular. A 360º view of Sea, Ocean, Africa and Europe. When the Celts controlled it they kept the Mediterraneans out of the Atlantic for 500 years and when the Phoenicians (just Celts by another name) controlled it they controlled the Sea and Ocean. Masters of their Universe.
It may be owned by Britain and disputed by Spain but the dominant language on the Rock is Spanish. It is the cheapest place to buy fuel, booze and ciggies but nothing else. It may be a tax haven but don't expect to get a bargain if you don't smoke, drink or own a vehicle. The prices are no different to the UK and the food is dreadful just like the UK. And the discount stores are all run by Indians and Chinese just like the UK. Spain is cheaper and better value for everything else. We spent two night there and then headed inland.
We left the flatlands of the Atlantic coast and headed for the mountains and the ancient town of Ronda. The town sits astride a gorge that drops sheer for over 300 feet and a narrow bridge connects the two halves of the town. The area around Ronda has been inhabited since the Stone Age but is was the Celts (that would be Odysseus' Celts) who first established a city here. It was subsequently ruled by Phoenicians, Romans, Suebi (Celts again), Christians, Visigoths (another bunch of Celts), Moors, Berbers, (the source of the word 'barbarian'), Christians, the list goes on. It has had a turbulent history and in more modern times was the setting for Hemingway's “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. It appears to have been one of the most strategic pieces of real estate in South Spain for a very very long time.
The city is a patchwork of ancient and colonial styles with Roman wall perched atop older Phoenician foundations underlying the boundary of a Christian church. Most of the city though is of classic Spanish colonial design, with hints of its ancient past down the narrow shaded side alleys.
We only spent the day here wandering then headed off back down the 35 kilometres of spaghetti that keeps getting dropped on our route. It is a motorcyclists heaven and they were passing us in both direction. Their acceleration and change downs echoed up the valleys. There was no sound of babbling brooks or mountain streams though. Most of the water courses are dry or just pools of stagnant water. The only green on the hillsides are the forests of spanish Fir trees, the only things that seem immune to the drought they are having here in Andalusia.
We are now camped in Torremolinos. A short bus ride from Malaga. We spent the winter here in Malaga 39 years ago and have very fond memories of this place. The campground we stayed at then has gone now, turned into a beachside park. But the city is much like we remember it. The good burghers of Malaga have taken a lead from Seville's design plan and have modernised the city centre without destroying its soul and character. The old streets have been turned into pedestrian walkways and everywhere there are trees and a colourful riot of beautiful flowers. The squares and plazas are shaded by orange trees and the familiar jacarandas. And everywhere along the highways, byway and parks the good old Aussie gum trees provide shade and hints of home.
So far we haven't found anywhere we want to stay for more than 3-4 days. Most of the coast here is unrecognisable. It's like one big suburb only they are apartments and hotels. It's like Surfer's that stretches for a hundred kilometres. But many are empty and there are dozens of half built apartment blocks and townhouse enclaves that look like they just downed tools and walked away. The fencing still around the perimeter with grass and weeds growing up through the mesh. We have passed at least a hundred abandoned bars/restaurants/petrol stations/factories/offices, as well as holiday and domestic real estate.
A British couple we met had just sold their townhouse and managed to break even after owning it for 5 years. They know of others that weren't so lucky. Most of the abandoned apartments and townhouse estates were built for foreign investors not domestic ones.
There is a thin veneer of affluence and prosperity here but scratch the surface and you find that Europe in general and Spain in particular is hanging on to the precipice for dear life. I have seen Australia's future and it's not a pretty sight. If you think the Green Dream is the future then come and spend some time here. Europe is now living with the consequences of its own arrogant environmental stupidity.
We head further East from here towards Almeria. The weather has been brilliant – hot days with cooling sea breezes and cool nights. Hope the winter there isn't too cold and wet.
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