To conclude our Andalucian road trip, we shunned the motorway in favour of the Sierra de Segura mountain pass. Whilst not on the scale of the roads in Switzerland — especially so as were we in a nippy Seat Leon [when compared with our camper van] — the drive was still very worthwhile, even if […]

After an unsuccessful couchsurfing attempt (i.e. nobody responded to our messages) we found ourselves in Cordoba without a place to stay. Rather than rough-up another hire car on the narrow streets of an old Spanish city whilst trying to find a hostel, we checked into a cheap (read: gnarly) hotel on the outskirts of the […]

“Only those with a heart of stone will not fall in love with Seville”, so our guide book says. On this basis, Dave has a heart of stone. I, on the other hand, really did get a good vibe from the home of flamenco. During the day we made the most of the hot winter […]

Lent is the time for carnivals in Spain, and we planned our trip to coincide with the carnaval in Cadiz, apparently the biggest in Spain and the third biggest in the world (after Rio and ??). Most of the budget accommodation was booked up so we treated ourselves to a 4 star hotel near the […]

After the caos that was Granada, we headed west to a cortijo, high in the hills near to Arcos, for some relaxation. The farm had it’s own 2km private road, ensuring a certain level of isolation and tranquility which I really appreciated. There was little to do but sit on the courtyard patio, reading and […]

In Granada, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’re in another part of the world. Somewhere altogether more exotic. After getting our car unstuck we managed to find somewhere to park-up (a total non-bargain at €20/day…) and set about the city with our packs on our backs. Our hostel was slap-bang in the heart of […]

Build a mental image for me here: The Italian Job. Car chase. Small cobbled streets. Only one car, none chasing. Streets become thinner. Wing-mirrors folded-in. Cobbled street becomes cobbled steps. Downwards. Well, grab me a chicken drumstick because that’s exactly the humiliation that we suffered in our Ford Focus hire-car whilst trying to locate our […]

I’m typing to you from a inside a cave. Our own personal cave with roaring log fire, thanks to Dave’s great boy scout skills. It’s great. This morning we left Los Alcazares and drove south-west towards Granada, on day one of our Andalucian road trip. As is usual for Southern Spain, we had the road […]

This is entry is dedicated to our mums: just some pics so that they rest assured we are fine, eating well and enjoying the sun! Please admire my cakes and first attempt at a veggie lasagne and enjoy the view from Dave’s favourite beach bar. Cheers!

This is just a quick note to say thanks to Ray, Pepa and Joe for a lovely evening at their place recently. Ray (my boss at the school) cooked us a fantastic vegetarian-stlye-christmas-dinner of homemade nut roast and vegetables from his garden. Yum. Dave and I were very surprised to find that our hosts had […]