Spanish Road Trip 2022
Spanish Road Trip 2022 - Please note this page is under construction.
When you live in Benidorm a question you often get asked is where do you go on holiday? Well we enjoy discovering Spain and this will be our 4th road trip.
The idea of these road trips is to discover the real Spain, therefore, we always set the Sat Nav to avoid ALL Motorways and Toll Roads, by doing this you never quite know what you are going to come across and we have found so many wonderful surprises on our previous journeys.
Road Trip 2018
Road Trip 2019, Spain, France and Andorra.
Road Trip 2020, Spain and Portugal
Only our first nights accommodation is booked before hand, after that, decisions are made on where the next stop will be, decided by price of accommodation and driving distance, one of the joys of this type of holiday is you are never sure where you will end up, which makes ever day the start of a new holiday.
This year we travelled a total of 2299km and stayed in 10 different places.
Total Diesel cost - in the region of 200€
Let the journey begin....
*Note maps posted here are just a guide, km quoted are the distances actually travelled.
Day 1 - 25th July Benidorm to Murcia. Journey time 2hrs 30 mins 144km
Leaving Benidorm behind, where the temperature was a hot 32ºc we headed towards Murcia and the temperature began to steadily rise until reaching a whopping 46.5ºc, now it is hard to explain just how hot that feels but imagine stepping into a furnace, that just about sums it up, you can almost feel yourself sizzle.
Feeling peckish we stopped for a bite to eat at what must be one of the most expensive service stations in Spain (Cafestore), normally we enjoy the road side cafes and service stations as they are good value, but this was the exception to the rule, 2 cans of drink, one Russian salad, 1 tomato and cheese salad and 1 Flamenquín (which is an is an Andalusian dish made with slices of serrano jamon wrapped in pieces of pork loin, coated in batter, and deep-fried) which was served with a few potatoes cost 31€, in Benidorm we could have had a gourmet meal for that.
Murcia is a city situated in the South East of Spain and has been the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community in the Region of Murcia since 1833, the city itself dates back to 825AD Having lived in Benidorm for quite a few years and visited many places in this region, we have never actually visited the city itself.
The main things to see here seem to be the Cathedral de Santa Maria, the medieval bridge and the bull ring, although it was really too hot to wander around to much, we did manage to visit all of the above, but I am sure there is a lot more places to visit.
Venturing out in the evening, it was surprising how quiet everywhere was and even at 20.00, many places still seemed to be closed, we are not sure if this is normal or just that most sensible people choose not to venture out in the heat.
Cathedral de Santa Maria - Construction for this Baroque style cathedral began in 1394 over the remains of an old Arabic mosque. The construction of the tower was started in 1511 and continued until 1793, this is divided into five parts and stands 93 meters high and has twenty-five church bells all having their own names. The cathedral was declared a National Monument in in 1931.
Los Peligros Medieval Bridge - The first stone laid for this bridge was in 1718, and this is an important part of the city and is still used by many even after construction of the new iron bridge, its a great spot to enjoy views of the city and the famous "La Sardina"
La Sardina
Accommodation - Pacoche Murcia 3 star, 57.34€ including breakfast for 2, parking was available at the hotel for 12.50€
This hotel was described as a modern hotel, and it did look that from the outside, but once inside I am not quite sure what they class as modern, but the room was far from that, although it did have all we needed for our one night stay, and most importantly good working air conditioning. The accommodation was situated 100 m from the Floridablanca Gardens and Just 5 minutes’ walk from the city’s old bridge over the River Segura and the Cathedral was about 10 minutes’ walk away, so a good location to see the local sights.
Back to the heat Murcia made Spanish news headlines for "topping the list for the hottest place in Spain on Monday 25th July, with official weather stations registered 46ºc, although some official recordings registered temperatures in excess of 50ºc, the rear windscreen wiper on our car warped in the heat.
Dereks' Input: Wow, what heat. To use a Northern Ireland expression. "Me shorts were sticking to the shucks of me arse"
Spanish Road Trip 2022
Day 2 - 26th July Murcia to Riopar, 208km
Travelling across country to our next destination, Riopar, we spotted a sign for a sanctuary which looked quite interesting, not knowing just how beautiful and well known this place was, we were surprised to find the wonderful Santurario de Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza (Sanctuary of the Virgin of Hope).
The sanctuary is located in a cave carved into the rock 6 km from Calasparra, and dates from the seventeenth century.
The sanctuary houses two images of the Virgin of Hope known as La Pequeñica and La Grande. The small image is said to have been found by a shepherd who kept his cattle in the cave eroded by the water of the Segura River, neighbours of the town tried to move it to the municipality of Calasparra but due to its weight they understood that the Virgin wanted to remain in the grotto and new rooms and were added.
The Sanctuary is among the top five in Spain, with about one million visitors a year, although it was very quiet when we visited.
The surrounding area is very picturesque with the Segura River nearby, and there are plenty of walks signposted, picnic areas and a lovely restaurant with stunning views.
Riopar
Riópar is a municipality located in the province of Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in the region of the Sierra de Alcaraz. It is located 118 km from the provincial capital, Albacete.
The main tourist attractions here are the mountain landscapes in the natural park of the Calares del Río Mundo and the Sima.
There are quite a few bars and restaurants in the town itself and a good municipal swimming pool. We had a wonderful mixed meat platter in one of the local restaurants which included, red and black sausages, chicken, pork, lamb chops with chips, bread and two drinks for 25€ which was great value for money.
Night 2 - Accommodation Hotel Riopar Spa , 3 star, 50€ including Breakfast and FREE parking
With views of the Segura and Alcaraz Mountains from the balcony, this air-conditioned room had simple, traditional décor, adequate for our one night stay, the only strange thing was that there was no tourist information available and the two vending machines remained empty, which was annoying when you required a bottle of water once the restaurant had closed and all the reception staff had left for the night.
Day 3, July 27th - Riopar, Mundo River
We visited the source of the Mundo River which was a pleasant, uphill walk through pretty forest paths, until reaching the waterfall, which at certain times of year "bursts" (El Chorro) in a spectacular jet, unfortunately for us at this time of year, water is scarce so the jet was nowhere to be seen, just the pretty waterfall.
As much as we enjoyed our visit, this was slightly disappointing and not a patch on our own Algar Falls as there were no swimming areas, but it was quiet busy and obviously a popular tourist attraction.
Would we visit again? No doubtful.
Day 3 Journey from Riopar to Jaén - 189km
A very pleasant journey across mountains and through acres and acres of olive groves.
We stopped for lunch in a lovely town called Baeza, enjoying some of their traditional tapas, and this town certainly looked a good place to stay on another road trip.
Jaén - Pronounced Xa´en, this is the urban capital city of the province of Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The city is also known as the World Capital of Olive Oil, because it is the biggest producer of the oil, known by locals as liquid gold.
To be honest there did not seem to be a great deal here other than the famous cathedral which is considered one of the most important Renaissance-style cathedrals in Spain. Construction began in 1570 and was completed in 1802, due to the lengthy construction, different artistic styles could be see, the most prominent being Renaissance, the cathedral is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
We were lucky enough to have a small square right outside our hotel, and we enjoyed some time soaking up the atmosphere and listing to the live music provided, no idea what they were singing, but the crowd seemed to be enjoying it.
There were plenty of steep, narrow streets, in the historical centre, which made finding our accommodation slightly stressful.
Night 3 accommodation - Hotel Xauen, 3 Star, 75.00€ including breakfast, parking could be organised by the hotel but we found a nearby car park which coast 17.25€ and was easier than trying to find the hotel car park.
The hotel was situated in Jaén's historic and commercial centre, the added bonus was the rooftop sun terrace with loungers, and panoramic views of the cathedral, old town and mountains, unfortunately during our stay this was never staffed.
The hotel was in a good location with the cathedral just 300m away and quite a few bars and restaurants nearby.
Unfortunately this was one of our more expensive overnight stays and although the hotel looked great upon arrival, the air conditioning unit did not work properly and I was up and down all night trying to get it to stay on, but on the plus with it being my birthday they did upgrade us to a room with a king size bed. The plumbing also seemed to have some problems with a nasty smell every time the toilet was flushed.
Would we stay here again? probably not.
Day 4, July 28th - Jaen to Antequera, 153km
The original plan was to head to Seville which we love, but with it being known as the "Frying Pan of Europe" and the temperature in Jaen holding steady at around 38ºc, the thought of going to somewhere ven hotter was not appealing, so plans were changed and we decided to visit Antequera.
On our journey we found the wonderful town of Iznájar (Cordoba) with its Moorish Castle and Church which sit high above the reservoir (Embalse de Iznájar) which is the largest reservoir in the whole of Andalucía. Entrance into the castle was only 1€ and it was well worth the visit for the views alone.
The village itself is situated on top of a huge rocky outcrop 539 metres above sea level. The whole village was very picturesque with many colourful courtyards to explore and we found a wonderful cafe, 1 coke, 1 water and 2 tapas was only 3€, one tip on a road trip is always eat where they locals do.
Antequera (anteˈkeɾa) is a city and municipality located in the north of the province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia, and is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (el corazón de Andalucía) because of its central location to Málaga.
There is a lot to see here, but obviously with only one day here we just enjoyed our time in the town itself.
As with most places in Spain (Benidorm being the exception to the rule) it can be difficult to find places to eat when you are hungry, most restaurants do not even open until 21.00, but we did find a nice little restaurant a short walk from the hotel to enjoy an evening meal.
As it was cooling down slightly it was the perfect time to have a walk round the town and enjoy the cobbled streets which wound their way up to the castle, (Alcazaba of Antequera) which is a restored Moorish fortress, constructed over Roman ruins in the 14th century.
Arco de los Gigantes - The Arco de los Gigantes (arch of the giants), is situated at the entrance to the Alcazaba, and near the Royal Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor in Plaza Escritores beneath the fort. The Arco was built in the late 16th century to replace a Moorish gate. The Arch has a two meter thick wall, and is seven meters in height
Church of San Sebastian - Building on the church began in the mid 16th century, and it was not completed until the 18th century, resulting in a combination of artistic styles.
Night 4 - Accommodation Coso Viejo, 3 star, 41.40€
The Coso Viejo hotel was a typical 18th-century Andalusian house, situated in the historic centre of Antequera, situated opposite one of the towns squares with bars and restaurants nearby.
The hotel did offer parking at an additional cost, but we were lucky to find a parking space right outside.
The room was quite small and the furniture old fashioned, but that did fit in with the house itself and we had a pleasant stay.
Breakfast was not included but we found a wonderful coffee shop for our morning Tostada con Tomate, orange juice and coffee.
Would we stay here again? Yes if in the area.
Day 5 29th July - Antequera to Guadex 236km
I have always wanted to stay in a cave house, and now was my chance as Guadix is a well know area for them.
On our journey from Antequera I spotted a sign for Pinar Castle and Caves, the only problem with these signs is it never states how far away they are, they could be just round the corner, or in this instance over 50km off our route, but that is just part of the enjoyment of our road trip, the never quite knowing what you will discover along the way, and this was worth the detour, even though the cueva de las Ventanas were closed.
Moorish Castle of Píñar (Granada) - Situated just outside the town of Pinar, through many twisting and narrow streets, 1121 meters above sea level on a limestone outcrop sits the remains of this once imposing castle, from the Nasrid period (XIII-XV centuries) which was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1931.
Compared to some places we have visited, access was quite easy, as the first section was a track suitable for vehicles, which lead us to a parking lot at the base of the fortress, from there the climb to the interior of the castle was done on foot along a dirt track, not easy when it was 38ºc, but as we were the only people there it was well worth the effort for the piece and quiet and amazing views.
Guadix - The name Guadix itself from the Arabic Wadi Ash, which means ‘river of life’.
Barrio de Santiago or Barrio de las Cuevas and is situated in the province of Granada and is one of the oldest know human settlements in Spain, this area is famous for its troglodyte houses (cave houses) carved in the rocks. At present there are around 2000 caves, inhabited by around 3000 people, making it the largest cave complex in Europe, so crossing another item of my bucket list, staying in a cave house was looking very promising.
The reason there are many cave houses in this area is believed to be due to the taking of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 when the Moors fled the city to the mountains, where they dug into the clay of the hills, building the cave houses, many of which can be seen today.
The best views of the area are from the Mirador Cerro de la Bala.
The town of Guadix sits at an altitude of 913 metres, a high plain at the northern foothills of the Sierra Nevada and was once famous for its cutlery, but today is more well known for its earthenware, hemp goods, and hats.
The main sights to see in the town itself are the Guadix Cathedral (16th-18th centuries), which was built over a Moorish mosque in Gothic-Renaissance style, with its in Baroque style, and the Alcazaba, a Moorish fortress commanding the town, but after a lot of driving and the heat we just fancied a quiet night, and for a change opted for a kebab whilst it was available.
The town itself was very busy and seemed a popular location, and one we may return to on a future road trip.
Night 5 - Cueva El Jaraiz, 3 Star 54.00€
This was a 3 bedroom (2 double, 1 twin) cave house, with a fully fitted kitchen, bathroom, great Wifi signal and, its own private patio with BBQ. This was a wonderful place and I loved it, although the lounge area was still quite hot, the bedrooms were a comfortable temperature as they stay at a constant temperature of between 18-20ºc all year round, and were pitch black once the lights were out, making for a great nights sleep. For me just the experience and being able to say I have at last stayed overnight in a cave house was enough to keep me happy.
Unfortunately the only downside which did slightly ruin the experience for us was the very, VERY, VERY, persistent flies in the area, I blame these flies for Derek only wanting to stay one night.
Would we return? That would be a BIG yes from me.
Day 6 - July 30th - Guadix to El Ejido 106km
To be continued......
