17 May 2010 - Seville Guided Tour

We joined the coach at 9am for the tour. After a short drive through the city centre we arrived at the Maria Louisa Park where we left the coach to continue the tour on foot. We had a local guide for the duration of the tour.

The park was created for the 1929 Sevilla Expo and consists of a large gardens with impressive buildings each built by a nation taking part.

One of the many buildings dotted around the park. Not sure who built this one as the local guide was more interested in her conversation with the coach guide than explaining our surroundings.

One of the many fountains, this one started as we approached it. Either it was activated by sensor, or we timed our arrival just right.

From the park it was a short walk to the Plaza de Espana. This impressive monument is also part of the 1929 Expo, and represents the provinces of Spain. It is currently being renovated, and should have been finished by April this year. Like most building works in Spain is running late, but is almost finished.

This is an example of a regional display. Valencia is still being renovated (of course) so I choose Jaen, because of my interest in Napoleonic history. In the centre of the seating area is a map of the Province, and shelves on each side for literature about the area. The coat of arms is above the seat, and an illustration of an important historical event. This one commerates the battle of Bailen, the only time that a Spanish army won a battle during the Napoleonic Wars.

The centre of the square will have a large lake, with an island in the centre and four bridges decorated in tiles. The bridges are completed, but work is still ongoing in the centre of the square.

Even in its unfinished state the Plaza de Espana is very impressive. Just our luck that the building work has taken longer than expected. Had it been completed on time it would have been even more impressive.

Back on the coach to the oldest part of Seville, the district of Santa Cruz. The metal Cross of the Locksmiths marks the spot where a convent was founded in 1576 which gave its name to the district.

Santa Cruz is famous for its very narrow streets, and its many squares and cafes. We had our own experience of the area on Sunday night trying to find our way through the maze of narrow streets to our hotel.

Our guided tour ended at the Cathedral. Most of our group went off in search of lunch, but Jan and I had a tour of Real Alcazar booked for 3pm, and wanted to have a look at the Cathedral first.

Jan worked in Salisbury Cathedral for eleven years in the visitor department, and particularly wanted to visit Seville Cathedral, which is the third largest in the world. They started building in 1401 and by 1517 it was acknowledged as the largest Gothic church ever built. However work continued until the twentieth century when it was finally completed.

The interior is a huge imposing space, with richly decorated chapels. However the large number of guided tours and masses of tourists taking photographs detracts from any impression of a church. Jan was struck by the difference with Salisbury Cathedral. They also have masses of tourists, but it remains very much a place of worship.

Despite the museum quality of the Cathedral it is hard not to be impressed by the mausoleum of Christopher Columbus. It was built in 1898, but apparently there is some controversy over whether or not it actually contains the remains of the Admiral.

My favourite part of the visit to the Cathedral was The Giralda bell tower. It is reached by climbing a ramp which was designed so that a horse can reach the top. The tower was very crowded, and we had to queue to get to the front for a view such as the above.

It was almost 2pm by the time we finished our visit to The Cathedral. It had been a long morning and we were hot and tired. So we were pleased to find the Gorki café close to the square. It offered a large selection of sandwiches and the coolest beer I have had for a long time. We had a long lunch sitting in the shade and watching the world go by.

16 May 2010 - Coach to Seville

Seville was the first city we planned to visit when we moved to Spain, but it took us four years to get around to doing so.

We arranged to travel with Les and Jen, who had also visited Granada with us in May 2007. We had to rise at 6.30am in order to be in Calpe at 8am to join the Gandia coach for the 410 miles journey to Seville. We have become used to rising with the sun, and 6.30 am is very early for us these days.

We were seven hours into the journey, and well over half way, when the coach started to shudder. We pulled into a service station and discovered that something important had snapped, and the coach was off the road. Fortunately there was an empty Gandia coach at Granada, and a telephone call brought it to our location. The two coaches could take all the passengers from the broken one, and we continued on our way. We were impressed to arrive in Seville no more than an hour late.

We arrived at the Hotel Paco just after 7pm. Time for a quick wash and brush-up, dinner with a well deserved bottle of wine, and then out on foot to explore Seville.

The hotel was in the Old Town – just! Armed with a tourist map, and following directions from the hotel receptionist, we set off to find the river Guadalquivir. The river runs through the city, so pretty well all roads lead there. It took us about half an hour, and we even arrived where we had planned to be.

The river embankment was very popular, with crowds of locals and tourists. It was similar to Paris, with a wide a pedestrian path leading to the cathedral and the centre of the Old Town. It was a lovely warm evening, and very pleasant walking along the river.

As darkness fell, and the city lights came on, we reached the Torre del Oro, or Golden Tower, built by the Arabs in 1220 to keep watch over the access to the old port. We knew from our map that if we turned left here and walked away from the river we would reach the cathedral.

The trams on the Avenue de la Constitucion are an ever present danger. The masses of people spill over the pavements and street and the trams seem to creep up on you. By now it was quite dark, and the whole area a blaze of light.

We walked around the area with ever changing views of the cathedral. Like most cities, Seville looks its best at night with the beautiful buildings lit to show them to advantage. However the route back to our hotel seemed to avoid the well lit and popular avenues, and we made our way along narrow streets which got darker and narrower. Our tourist map did not let us down and we finally arrived back at the hotel Paco just after 11pm. A long day, but an excellent start to our Seville holiday.

10 May 2010 - Tormos to Campell

It hardly seems possible that it has been seven days since we last met in Tormos car park, and abandoned the walk due to heavy rain. Today was warm and sunny, and with a nice cooling breeze. There were nine of us today, and it was nice to see Sue who is on a short visit of just two weeks.

After walking through Tormos we are soon out in the open country again. In the middle distance you can see the wall of the leper hospital at Fontilles, which is our first objective.

We did not stop at Isbert Dam, but climbed uphill to the path leading to the tunnel. Both were built for the train which moved the building materials to build the dam.

The tunnel is quite wide, and high enough to walk comfortably. It is very dark, even though the exit can be seen soon after entering the tunnel. It’s necessary to walk single file as there are lots of obstacles hidden in the dark.

After short water break its uphill again, this time a steep climb to Fontilles

As we reach the road to Fontilles we are all ready for a short break and a chance to recover from the climb. By now the clouds have hidden the sun, which is a great advantage as we have another hill to climb.

We leave the road before we reach the hospital and start climbing again

This is only a short climb and we soon reach another road. Ever since our first walk in this area, we have noticed the decorative cairns. I say decorative, because they serve no purpose other than to adorn the side of the road.

This particular group of cairns are new, and were much admired. Someone must spend a lot of time maintaining and expanding them. I am sure that many people, like our group, appreciate their efforts.

We soon leave the road and enter the woods again. The path is not so steep now, though there are more obstacles in the form of trees which have been blown down a few years ago. Most have been cleared off the path, but it is a shame to see the damage which was caused.

There was some discussion about whether we should have our lunch at the font, particularly as it is well provided with seating. However we were a little early and we had a much better location in mind. You often find locals collecting water from these fonts, and we took the opportunity to fill our water bottles.

It was only a short walk to our lunch spot, and along the road lovely views through the trees down to Campell and the coast

It was not yet 1pm when we arrived at the church where we had planned to stop for lunch. But it was close enough, and we were all more than ready for a break. After so much climbing on a hot day we were all pretty hot and tired.

Since our last visit the area around the church has been tidied up and the trees cut back, so we had an excellent view to enjoy with our sandwiches.

As always Campell was quiet and peaceful. It’s not unusual to walk through the local villages and not see a single person. The main road through the village is very narrow, so care has to be taken to avoid the occasional traffic.

As we leave the village we join a path which leads downhill towards Tormos. This one was very overgrown and rocky, so we had to take care to watch where we put our feet

As we walked beside the dry river back to Tormos we passed a group of lively horses. Jan had one apple left, which they enjoyed. I would not think there is much passing traffic here, but they were seemed quite relaxed with our presence.

Finally a nice walk through the orange groves to Tormos and the end of the walk.

In the past we have found that the bars in Tormos were often closed on Monday’s, so we were relieved to find this one open. The few Spanish customers were all inside, so we had the outside area to ourselves. Perfect end to a perfect walk.



Next Week

A new walk for the group, Castell d’Axia from Pedreguer. This is the walk we did last Friday with David and Rosemary. Meet at 10am at the information board below the church, the same place we met in March for the Font d’Axia walk.