11 June – We skirted around Benidorm where there must have been at least 50 high rise hotels/apartment buildings along the water front. We drove along the rugged coast line. It reminded us of the coastline north of Kaikoura with the sea and bays on one side and barren hills on the other. Whenever we left the coast there were acres and acres of shade cloth covered vegetable gardens.
We stopped at a lovely little village/beach for lunch at a Tapas Bar. This area seemed to be full of old people. We felt quite good!!
The “Aires” we were planning on for the night was closed. (first time the book had let us down) so we stopped with about 7 other campers on a beach at Calnegre at the start of the Costa Almeria, where we had a nice quiet night.

12 June – We decide to follow the Costa Almeria and tried to book a camp site at Mojacar but the guy wanted a minimum of 2 nights even though his camp was virtually empty!! We parked at the beach and spent the rest of the day in the sun. The weather is slightly cooler and the water temperature was much colder. So much for being further south. The architecture in this area is very North African with lots of white cube shaped apartment blocks. Just around the corner we found a very nice cheap camp with a great swimming pool.

13 June – We have headed inland to Granada (made famous by the Howard Morrison Quartet or was it the other way around).
The roads in Spain are great. You often drive down a beautiful smooth 2 laned road with heaps of passing bays (better than most NZ roads) and out to the side is a 4 laned highway going to the same place.
The road inland was a typical 4 laned road winding into the Sierra Navada Mountains. Huge sweeping corners carved thru any obstacles. At one stage we flew passed a sign at 100km/hour that told us our altitude was 1380m!! (4500 odd feet)
The camp we had sorted out for Granada was closed but the friendly owner spent some time drawing maps to 2 other possibilities. We are at a camp close to the middle of Granada. After diner we hopped on the bikes for a ride and ended up in the centre of Granada. As the weather had improved, many people were out for a walk along the wide avenues. We got slightly lost coming home despite having a map. With help from some locals we arrived back to “Lefty” just after dark!! No lights on the bikes!

14 June – On the bikes again and we rode to the Alhambra. This is a fort, Palace, and Gardens all build by the Muslim rulers between 1100 and 1500. The whole complex is built on two hills over looking Granada and was well worth the 16 euros each. The Palace was particularly spectacular. The intricate plaster work was amazing.
Back down to the town for a beer and a sandwich, before back to “Lefty” and off into the hills and the olive groves for the night. Our first “Aires” did not feel safe (first time we have felt that) so we moved on to a great “Aires” in a small village overlooking the olive groves.

15 June – Down to the coast today at Malaga and the Costa de Sol. Back to the concrete jungles populated by poms. After a shop up we found a quiet camp out of Malaga with a nice beach and a good pool. A lazy day on the beach. The water is still chilly here. Walking passed the pub (full of poms) we realised the NZ v Slovakia world cup game was on. We debated if we would stop and watch it but the beach won. Called in on the way back to discover that NZ had snatched a draw. We watched the goal on the internet.

16 June – We decide to spend an extra night here as the beach is good and we need to catch up on the washing. We had decided to replace the front tyres on “Lefty” at the first opportunity. Coincidentally a lady was walking thru the camp selling tyres which they fit on site. After some haggling we have purchased 2 tyres and they will be fitted in Seville on Saturday morning. A young German couple (both over 6ft) on their honeymoon have been camping beside us. They had an immaculate red Fiat 500 and had driven all the way from Germany and were returning over the next 5 days. Watching them squeeze chairs, a table, tent, and everything else into the Fiat was interesting. They could only drive at night as the wee air cool motor overheated during the day!!

17 June – Left the camp and drove down the Costa del Sol to Gibraltar. We parked on the Spanish side of the border and biked across the border with passports in our hands into Gibraltar. We decide to take a guided tour up the windy narrow roads of the rock. The tour included a visit to the St Michael’s cave, the top of the rock, and the tunnels.
St Michael’s caves were fascinating. A walk thru limestone formations with huge stalactites and stalagmites and then into a huge cavern where an auditorium was set up for concerts. The caves had been used as a hospital during the war.
The top of the rock had great views and plenty of cheeky monkeys.
The tunnels thru the rock were great. First built in 1729 during the Spanish siege of the British garrison, the tunnels have many cannons. They have been expanded over time and there are now 52 km of tunnels in the rock. There are more tunnels than roads on Gibraltar!
Lunch in the town and onto our bikes and back to “Lefty”. The peninsular is so small that the main (only) road bisects the airport runway.
We drove west past Tarifa where we had a great view of the African continent, being the mountains of Morocco. We stopped at a beach camp and had our first swim in the Atlantic Ocean.

18 June – A great drive thru Cadiz and up to Seville. Lovely farm land with crops of sunflowers, wheat and corn. We arrived at our proposed camping site at about 1430 which was closed. Bugger! We spent the next 2 hours driving around Seville trying to find a camp and eventually found one. When we checked in the guy said “and your tyres will be fitted tomorrow at 1030”. What a surprise. How they knew that we would end up in this camp is anyone’s guess!!! We cooled off in another great camp swimming pool.

19 June – Carlos arrived with tyres on time and had them fitted and balanced in an hour. An efficient service. A young couple from NZ camped next to us. They were the first people we had seen on our trip. We caught the bus into Seville and wandered around the city. Many beautiful buildings again with a North African influence. We went to the cathedral which is the largest in the world. We climbed the 35 levels to the bell tower for a great view of the city. The population of Seville is 720,000 but, because everyone lives in apartments, you could easily see countryside all around. No sprawling suburbs in European cities like NZ.
We also visited the oldest Bull Ring in Spain. We don’t think we have the stomach to go to a Bull Fight. They kill 6 bulls a night! There have only been 3 Matadors killed in the 20th Century. Bulls don’t get much of a chance!
When we arrived back at camp we meet another couple from NZ. Never rains but it pours.

20 June – A leisurely drive back down to the coast where we are in a huge camp with another great beach. On our way back from the beach we watched the last half hour of the Italy v NZ game in the bar. The locals must have thought Val and I were mad.
The camps in Spain are a bit different then NZ. There no kitchens. Only an area to do dishes. Every camp has a restaurant and bar. Most people seem to eat all there meals there. The toilet and shower areas are great. Usually beautifully tiled but no paper in the toilets.

21 June -We have decided to spend two nights here relaxing. Our internet is a problem. We have not been able to connect for the last couple of camps. It may be something we have done. We will try and upload this blog tomorrow before we cross into Portugal.