Velez Rubio, Maria & Cazorla - Days 116 to 120

Lunchtime wedding entertainment at the church in Velez Rubio

Still don’t know if we were right to stay in Archena that extra day, yes, the walk was fab, but we’d decided on Tapas for dinner, so we pottered off into town again, hoping to find it, now we have a map! Sadly it seems to be a town without a heart. We found the tapas bar we were looking for, though a bit more expensive than our norm we were there.... decided to only have the one though as the local nutter was in, who, despite our best efforts, and the barmans best efforts, and the efforts of two young girls with a smart phone, wouldn’t stop talking even though we had no idea what he was talking about. 

What a wedding car they chose

We’ll go back for some more pork cheeks with yesterday’s little man then. We walked in and ordered before realised the kids party was about to start..... they were harmless enough, but very loud. Our selection arrived amongst platefuls of crisps and pizza for the kids, and mummies, all credit to him, but they finished and went back out to football about the same time we finished! If only we’d gone in half an hour later, never mind, have to laugh. Brian however reached the end of his tether as we looked out the window about 21.30 to find a BBQ being set up next to us! Discretion being the better part of valour we decided to move, so silverscreen off, stabilisers up and down to the other end we went. We hadn’t been aware of the road noise before, but it was soon drowned out by the music that started by the BBQ....!

Managed to get a sneak into the church before they locked it up after the wedding

A herd of goats came to visit on our campsite

It may be a Saturday, but definitely time to move, so, off to Vélez Rubio, a small town not far from Totana where we’d first gone to, and recommended by the same guy who had recommended Ricote. Not a bad journey, but just at the eleventh hour Doris (sat nav) let us down and tried to take us a very convoluted route to the Aire, through the street market, and then progressively narrower streets as we kept having to ignore her! Oh well, gave us something to do once we’d finally parked up! (Campsite location: 37°39'08.4"N 2°04'25.5"W) (Campsite amenities and photos: click here and then item 47 in list)

Found and English bar serving Sunday breakfast in Velez Rubio - fabulous!

So walked the market, where finally, a friendly Spanish cat wanted fuss, didn’t know if it would get it but pounded its little paws in anticipation, found the tourist info, and walked back to the church where a wedding was going on. We assumed everyone was waiting for the bride, to follow her in, but it actually seems that the wedding was part of the mass, and the assembled crowd were actually waiting for them to come out to go on to the reception. Still we’d got a table in the sunshine at the bar, had ordered a beer, calamari and chips (€9.50 for chips?!) and watched the band, flamenco dancers, and bride and groom. What better way to spend a Saturday lunchtime?

A a fabulous cake shop next door!

One of the cats that came to visit in Maria

Vélez Rubio wasn’t quite the hub of cycling and walking we’d been expecting, so we thought we’d move up, through Vélez Blanco to Maria, and stay at the campsite in the Natural Park. On Sunday morning after a full English breakfast at the local British run cafe (La Bomba) we had a chat on with our British neighbours as they had come and then gone and returned the previous day, where did they go? Did they go to the Botanical gardens? Did they know if there was parking? They hadn’t, they’d been for a guided walk around Los Cuerva de Los Letros which is what they’d come from the coast to see. 

Walking up to the cave with our guide 

As a cave they were slightly underwhelmed, but the paintings were there, the view was stunning and it cost €2 so despite their guide having no English, because they’d come specifically to see the cave paintings and done their homework they’d enjoyed it. We’d sort of discounted it, but the views were so stunning, and there was meant to be a trip at 13.00 so we rang up and signed on. We definitely got the better deal, there were just four of us, us and another English couple with a guide who did speak English! 

For 7000 year old painting they were pretty clear

Our guide holding a picture and pointing out the Indalo man on the wall

It was a very worthwhile hour, she’d got all sort of flint tools, knew her stuff, and had the key to the fence! Apparently the image here was the inspiration for the local artist who created Indalo man (didn’t mean anything to me, I confess, but apparently it’s famous). We did have to pay €3 each, as a tour is €12 seemingly, but well worth it.

Maite, our guide, did know about the botanical gardens, she used to work there, we could park by the church, so off we went. Interesting enough walk, and at least our questions had been answered.

It was pretty difficult to see, here I filtered my photo to get the best contrast and you might just be able to see the image shown on her drawing above. Apparently its not very clear now as, before it was fenced off in 2015, people could visit unsupervised and many people squirted water onto it in an attempt to make it clearer, Unsurprisingly, its worn it away 

Lovely views around. The mountain name translates as molar - like a tooth

Carry on up to Maria then, it’ll be cold, she’d warned, well we were about 500m higher than we’d started that morning and the day had already been colder than the previous t-shirt one. She was not wrong, fortunately we had electricity at the campsite so the heating was on, all night, not for us, just for Ted... kept us about 11 degrees which was grand as outside was -2! Doesn’t sound that warm, but the floor was warm, which made all the difference to the coffee fairy! (campsite location: 37°42'35.2"N 2°14'14.8"W) (campsite amenities and photos: click here then item 48 on list)

Almond blossom coming out in Velez Rubio. 

The fabulous restored castle in Velez Blanco

I went to rinse the cafetière, penalty for getting coffee in bed only to have a tabby and white cat run up to me wanting fuss, which I obviously gave. She then followed me all the way back to Ted. She wasn’t that bothered by cat biscuits, they do feed them at reception, but she really wanted milk, and more milk. Cat number two appeared outside the toilet block as I had an emergency wee before our walk. 

On our walk in Maria NP

She also followed me back to Ted, had a few biscuits and some milk, but we were off, out, wrapped up. A pleasant enough circular walk, with the Griffon vultures circling overhead, but glad it wasn’t too long as it was very cold. Cat number two was obviously also cold, waiting for us to return, straight into Ted, mewing at the fridge! We decided not to stay another night, but to take advantage of the facilities, shower, wash some pants and get the boeuf bourguignon started on the electric ring before putting it in the thermal cooker. I’d also exchanged two books at the book exchange, we’d charged everything and watched a movie off the laptop (very power hungry), and had lots of cat love, so all in all a good little stop.

Griffon vultures circling overhead. Don't think they were waiting for us

Plaza de Conedera in Cazorla

We returned to Vélez Rubio, via a quick stop in Vélez Blanca to look at the castle and even got our prime spot back.

Tuesday we set off to Cazorla where according to the Aires book we might spot Lynx. (campsite location: 37°55'17.0"N 2°59'54.3"W) (campsite amenities with photos: click here and then item 49 in list). Parked by a busy road overlooking olive trees as far as the eye can see, I don’t think it’s likely, but who knows? It was a long 2 3/4 hour drive on windy motorway and then wiggly country roads. Again Doris brought us to the site via a suspect route, up a 15% hill, bit scary, but all ok. We walked into town to find the tourist information, to ask about walks, arriving at 16.55 a tour had just left. Do we want to go? He asked. Where? Under the plaza, like that picture, €2. OK. He knocked the window and we rushed off. 

Saw this in Cazorla, a bicycle house!

It was a 20 minute tour down to the river and through a locked gate into an amazing tunnel under the plaza that they had decided to build over the river. All very odd, particularly when accompanied with the legend of the Moorish King who locked his daughter in there to protect her from the marauding Christians. When he died, she was still locked in and eventually had to resort to eating spiders and rats to keep herself alive, eventually turning into a creature half woman, half snake. One night a year she makes her way out of the tunnel and sings a sirens song that puts all children to sleep, so they are kept indoors on that night. It was perfect timing as it was a great little trip we could never have done on our own and knew nothing about anyway.

In the tunnel under the ruined cathedral and the half woman half snake sculpture

Walks from Cazorla itself into the natural park seem quite difficult and we were recommended two, a forty five minute wiggly drive, in the opposite direction to where we are heading, so we will reserve judgement on whether that’s worthwhile when we see the weather tomorrow, the forecast is not very good.

Today we walked through town by the river, up to the castle where you have to be shown round, on the hour. They have put a lot into restoring it, but Mr. Grumpy did not sell it well. We then set off on a Cross walk, started off well, though was all up hill. Got to a point where we could see people high above us at a view point and a path heading uphill, I should know better, but off we went, soon the path ran out and the base of the cliff up to the viewpoint was pretty impregnable. Not happy we blundered back through the underground, scrambling over rocks. Disturbing the mummy wild boar and her five teenagers, at least they ran in the opposite direction.

The entrance to the tunnel is along that walkway

Finally back on the path Brian admitted we weren’t actually following a route anyone else had done on his app, but he was sure it would be fine! It wasn’t, the sign on the gate saying no exit for walkers into someone’s garden was the clue, so we had to turn round and walk back the way we’d come. Ho hum

The ruined Santa Maria cathedral. It was built in the sixteenth century, but never completed. It was then badly damaged in a flood some years later, but repaired. It was then destroyed and burnt by Napoleons troops in the early nineteenth century after he invaded Spain. It is now used for entertainment and is a natural amphitheatre 

This is the Plaza Santa Maria from one of the towers of the ruined cathedral. Bizarrely this was a deep gorge with a river flowing through it and it was decided to build the plaza and cathedral on top of it. You have to wonder why! 

This photo was taken a little further up the valley. The castle is on the left and the ruined cathedral is down there at the bottom. It's a lovely old town and has been there a long time, but the terrain seems very steep and hostile and you wonder why it was ever built here. The castle, incidentally was used by Christian troops during the war to liberate Spain from the Muslim Moors in the fourteenth century 

Snoopy dog on rocks surrounding the castle

On our blunder through the mountains. That would be a very nice waterfall in the wet season

Wild boar running away from us in the mountains

Cazorla from the highest point we reached before being defeated by a sheer cliff (with no climbing gear)

This is the view we have from our campsite in Cazorla, endless olive groves