The grand tour of Southern Spain: Western Andalucía 31st January – 6th March 2024 Day 15 - 18 Jerez de la Frontera, Chipiona, Sanlucar

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Day 15 Thursday - Off to Jerez La Frontera

Starting mileage 16535

We don’t make the mistake of oversleeping. Learned that lesson yesterday. Away by 0840 and we get a clear run to Jerez. The aires we contacted yesterday didn’t get back to us but we arrive at 0915 at an aire in the middle of a huge shopping complex. You can’t book this one – you turn up and queue. We are first in the queue by accident and as motorhomes depart, the automated system allows us in. You go to the gate, get a ticket and then you pay on day of exit.

A small site and crowded pitches but clean facilities and great location next to the bus stops. And an added bonus, serious retail therapy right next door – if that’s your kind of thing! Only three showers and toilets per sex. Good water and waste services. Some road noise at night!

We catch the No. 8 bus from the bus stop thirty metres up the road and twenty minutes later disembark at the water fountain roundabout at the back of the Alcazar. 1.10 euros each one way. Bus fares are cheap in this part of Spain!

Between rain showers we stroll the streets, do some window shopping, grab a coffee and explore the narrow, windy barrios districts. Lots of hidden little plazas, it is a beautiful little city, known for its wine, port, horses and Flamenco. Home to the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, the centre of the city has been designated an artistic site. Low rise architecture and tree lined streets give it a distinct colonial feel but in reality it was founded by the Phoenicians during the Middle Ages and fought over several times between Christians and Muslims.

I was surprised to learn that a very specific horse breed – the Cartujana – belongs to the city; first bred during the Middle Ages; named in honour of the Carthusian monastery of Santa Maria de la Defension in Jerez. This culture can be explored in institutions like the Cartuja Stud, the Military Stud and the Centre for Equine Reproduction.

The city’s Arab past can be seen in its walls, the fortress and the Mosque; the Christian influence in its cathedral and various churches of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles.  But, if you really want to know Jerez, then visit the numerous wine cellars where the wines of the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry y Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda Denomination of Origin are made.

Later on, back at the site, we stroll the huge shopping complex area and buy a new green plastic mat for outside so that we can clean our shoes before stepping into the motorhome. Our last one disappeared overnight! And I book a Bodagas tour for Maggie. She so loves her port!

With the prospect of a few days of sunshine we decide we will head back to Chipiona tomorrow after the tour. A weekend of beaches and cycling – sounds great! 

Costs: aire 16 euros

Route: N480

 

Day 16 Friday

Opps, I get it wrong! Again!

A lazy start to the day as our tour starts at 1030 and its only four miles up the road. Whilst filling up the water tank at the services point, a Spanish lady confuses me by trying to tell me in Spanish something about the water tap I am using. She won’t use google translate and there is lots of gesticulating involved. Meanwhile I’m none the wiser. Am I using the wrong tap? Is it non potable water? There are two identical taps on one side of a wall and then at each end – a tap above the black waste disposal points. I’m using one of the side wall taps along the middle of the wall – surely these must be the potable ones. There is no one around to help or translate and I am left with self- doubts!

The Luis Perez tour is great. We are the only people on it. There might be a reason for that. It’s a winery vineyard not a sherry place! I’ve made a big booboo! I watch Mag’s face but she seems very happy! If she has spotted my error she’s not saying anything. Yet!

 I was surprised to learn that a very specific horse breed – the Cartujana – belongs to the city; first bred during the Middle Ages; named in honour of the Carthusian monastery of Santa Maria de la Defension in Jerez. This culture can be explored in institutions like the Cartuja Stud, the Military Stud and the Centre for Equine Reproduction.

The city’s Arab past can be seen in its walls, the fortress and the Mosque; the Christian influence in its cathedral and various churches of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles.  But, if you really want to know Jerez, then visit the numerous wine cellars where the wines of the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry y Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda Denomination of Origin are made.

Later on, back at the site, we stroll the huge shopping complex area and buy a new green plastic mat for outside so that we can clean our shoes before stepping into the motorhome. Our last one disappeared overnight! And I book a Bodagas tour for Maggie. She so loves her port!

With the prospect of a few days of sunshine we decide we will head back to Chipiona tomorrow after the tour. A weekend of beaches and cycling – sounds great! 

Costs: aire 16 euros

Route: N480

 

Day 16 Friday

Opps, I get it wrong! Again!

A lazy start to the day as our tour starts at 1030 and its only four miles up the road. Whilst filling up the water tank at the services point, a Spanish lady confuses me by trying to tell me in Spanish something about the water tap I am using. She won’t use google translate and there is lots of gesticulating involved. Meanwhile I’m none the wiser. Am I using the wrong tap? Is it non potable water? There are two identical taps on one side of a wall and then at each end – a tap above the black waste disposal points. I’m using one of the side wall taps along the middle of the wall – surely these must be the potable ones. There is no one around to help or translate and I am left with self- doubts!

The Luis Perez tour is great. We are the only people on it. There might be a reason for that. It’s a winery vineyard not a sherry place! I’ve made a big booboo! I watch Mag’s face but she seems very happy! If she has spotted my error she’s not saying anything. Yet! 

The vineyard does have a sherry corner! It's small, around forty huge barrels, each over 60 years old. Again, all gained  from businesses that have close down. 

Our guide is friendly and informative. She explains the family history and what they aspire to as a family.  Quality, authenticity, small, family and friends, community. There is pride in her voice almost reverence. The original owner is a Professor of Wine at Cadiz university. His son is now running the business. They built the house and cellars from scratch.

The later wine tasting session is fun, even for me, a tea totaler. Some hams and cheeses as well. We discuss colours and aromas, palates, and tastes. We try four wines. They produce for a niche market, targeting high end restaurants locally and abroad.  

The vineyard occupies an enviable position four miles outside the centre of Jerez, a stone thrown from the IKEA centre shopping complex where we stayed last night. You turn off the little country road and drive along a hard packed track of yellowish clay and gravel, until you reach a hill where it turns to a tarmac lane. Above you behind some tall cypress trees, on the hilltop, the home and little conference centre the family have built are just visible. One hundred hectares in total are owned by the family but split across several districts of Andalusia. All the harvests from the different plots of land are transported to this place, the nerve centre of the entire operation. The hacienda style house is stunning with a huge courtyard protected by tall palm trees and an orange grove at its centre. Beautifully shaped, heavily laden orange trees and a terrace floor that mimics Roman mosaics, only pebbles not Tessari. The owner and his son are history buffs!

You can see the bridges to Cadiz, rolling hills of vines, arable crops and olive plantations, and Jerez to the east with its cathedral and Alcazar.  Below the terrace, in an open stable, horses stomp and kick buckets around; they are keen to be out in the field. This part of Andalusia is horse country and the horses here are well cared for, lean and elegant, prancing with a delicate high leg gait. 

Maggie is beginning to feel the effects of drinking the wine! We drive back to Chipiona where we come to rest in a gravelled rough car park plot/aire on the sea front just behind the beach. We get the last spot facing over the promenade with its gorgeous sea view. The entrance is through the no entry sign barrier gate...the one without the height restriction bar! And its free for the night.

We stroll into town to discover that carnival is in full swing! It’s party time. It’s going to be an awesome weekend! When we arrive back at the site, it is rammed! Over 100 motorhomes have now filled every available space!

Still, we have our sea view. We are off grid. The new batteries and solar panels set up is working well. We are happy!

Costs: none – off grid for night

Route: N480

Distance: 30 miles approx..

Day 17 Saturday

The forecast sunshine arrives as promised. We cycle the Via Verde to Sanlucar, along an old railway line for most of the way and then some roads into the town centre.

Sanlucar proves delightful with a lovely promenade with golden beaches along the river estuary. Old narrow streets, hidden plazas, a market and a beach train! It is rather windy but the sunshine is warm and welcome.

 Back in Chipiona for the afternoon, we discover carnival is in full swing. Crowded narrow streets and lots of groups in fancy dress costumes.

We slowly work out that each costumed group is a band or choir and they rotate around the town, taking a turn to perform at different sites throughout the day. Excited children, all in fancy dress. Lots of smiling faces, lots of singing. And the beers just keep flowing! Pirates, aliens, fish monsters, tomato ketchup plastic bottle people, foresters, golden masks, fluorescent wigs! A Kaleidoscope of colour and sound.

Back along the promenade, the tide is out and we get a better view of the walls. They are in fact enormous walled pools. Each pool is hundreds of metres square and the fish get trapped in them as the tide falls. They are how the locals catch their fish!

We exit the Aire parking lot and head back to the marina site. The gravel lot has become too crowded. A van squeezed in between us and our neighbour leaving only a foot between them and us. Too claustrophobic for us.

Back at the marina Aire, I decide to empty the water tank and flush it out before refilling. The Spanish lady from yesterday at Jerez left me worried as to what we’d filled up with. So, better safe than sorry!  After that, we set off to find the marina toilet/shower block which is free for those staying on the marina Aire. It is the silver building 300m away by the café with the coloured umbrellas, in case you are wondering!

Cost: aire 15 euro

 

Day 18 Sunday 

In no rush to be anywhere, we decide to stay another night. So, another day to cycle somewhere. We head off on the Via Verde in the opposite direction from yesterday – we are aiming for Rota.

The Via Verde to Rota is tricky. It starts well for a few miles through agricultural land and plastic green houses, where a variety of crops, flowers, beans, onions, small cherry and almond trees are grown. Grit and tarmac mostly but gravelly in a few places, half way along, diversions begin on the route. The road crossing bridge is closed and so you are diverted up some country lanes. No signage so it's a Google maps job! So, five miles of country roads down into Rota where more chaos ensues. Their cycle lanes ... blue green and red ... appear and suddenly end; abruptly switch sides of the road and then peter out when you need them most near the town centre. Very frustrating!

Also frustrating is the lack of cafes near the beach front. We give up going to the centre and on the way back, by pure luck, we pass a lovely little restaurant called ‘Sedona's’. Like a sort of Mexican or Arizona desert vibe building with smooth background jazz music, a chilled laid-back feeling and English speaking staff. Great food menu, the French toasted cheese and ham sandwich with fresh fruit and maple syrup was to die for. A lovely spot! 

And, very popular with lots of young American twenty-somethings.  We ask the waitress why there are so many Americans and she grins. Yes, they hang out here; no, she doesn’t know why! We leave none the wiser. We didn’t feel we could ask the Americans themselves as they were in large animated groups. We feel it would be rude to interrupt their banter and conversations. So British aren’t we!  

Costs: 15 euros per night with EHU so 30 euros for two nights

Postscript: when we returned to the UK, our neighbour pointed out that Rota is a huge NATO/American naval base town! That explains why there were so many Americans around!