2nd day of trip and apologies for missing yesterday but Dieter I now understand will only move at his own pace. A couple of things needed sorting out with Herman's water works - these were thought to be major until Dieter remembered some shut off valve had not been shut off once this was engaged the tanks filled easily. At long last we set off - I cannot explain the feelings of exhileration - at last I was fulfilling a life long dream of exploring Europe in a motorhome with the very best of partners. !st night we stopped on a disused layby surrounded b y mountains - the sun was hot on our backs until almost 9.00 p.m., when we cleared the dishes from our first meal of frikadellen - cooked on the superb gas BBQ purchased by Dieter from where else but the internet - a great success. We retired after a couple of malts (whisky) before escaping into the arms of Morpheus for a wonderful night's sleep in the blissful quiet of the mountains and the sweet fresh air. Morning we were greeted by birdsong and bright, bright sunshine - we set off toward the Sierra Segura and Socovos, through Elche de la Segura and finally through Riopar before turning towards Siles and the Sierra Segura proper, heading towards Tranco and the dam for our overnight stop, tomorrow we will drive the full length of the lake, about 74 K in total. Fantastic view of the lake from Herman. Had a nice walk to the dam. What a place, come on you people Spain is wonderful EXPLORE.
13th May 2011
Missed another day on the blog – due to being unable to connect to the internet via the dongle – another spine tingling drive through the Sierra Segura, travelling on unmarked roads, with fantastic views of the imposing sierras. Absolutely wonderful sights – Dieter spotted a fox by the side of the road, he just stood there and allowed us to take some great photographs, then a wild boar, who wasn’t so sociable, scampered past, Dieter then spotted what he thought was a wolf, this assumption seemed to be born out when we heard barking noises through the night, bear in mind we were 2,500 metres high up in the sierras so it was hardly likely to be dogs!!Getting there owed much to the skill of Dieter’s expert driving and Herman’s engineering – Hymer would be pleased at the road handling of Herman over terrain even most 4 x 4’s would be loathed to drive on. We found the ideal parking place in dense woodland on top of the sierra. We feasted on Brockworst, tomatoes, onions and noodles, all washed down with a very nice red wine, before retiring after a really exhausting drive both for the drive and me, the nervous passenger, sometimes with 1000 feet sheer drop at the side of the mountain, still all in all we have seen sights, that not many have in their travels. Spain is such an exciting and beautiful country.
Morning broke, not such a bright morning but after the fierce sunshine of previous days this was a welcome change and we set off once again down this donkey track, travelling through the mountains. After about 2 hours of driving (all in first gear!!!) the track deteriorated further and at one point, without the driving skills of Dieter, we would have been well and truly stuck, but he got us through and after a further 2 hours of driving we both heaved a sigh of relief as we reached a tarmac road once again. We both vowed never again to travel on unmarked roads. We rewarded ourselves with a restaurant meal and had a very late lunch in a town called Puebla de Don Fadrique. Suitably refreshed we headed towards Cullar, we stopped at a filling station and there met a group of Romanians. They were washing everything, shoes, bottles etc. They were a group of about 6-8 people all travelling in a people carrier of sorts and had been on the road for 4 days, heading for Sevilla. Dieter being Dieter gave them some money to help them on their way and set off with more gusto than they had when they arrived. We then set off in search for a parking spot for the night through the Sierra Baza, not quite a donkey track but almost. We eventually parked with beautiful views of the Sierras. Our first disagreement, I think that we had both had 2 really exhausting days of hard driving and frustration boiled over, all over whether to use a fresh lemon in our G&T’s or frozen. This quickly blew over and we had laughed over how stupid we had been, needless to say the G&T did help with cooling the situation. Just writing the blog now at 8.00 p.m. and finishing to join Dieter soaking up the last rays of the sun and another G&T
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