Zafra and the Parque Natural Sierra Norte

After the challenges of Mérida, Zafra was a breeze. As expected the night was peaceful and we woke to the bustle of Zafra at around 6am. After showering in the middle of a car park just off the ring road (things we do!) a slow start saw us walking into town at around nine to look for a town map and breakfast. The map and a suggested itinerary was available at the information centre and breakfast at the Café Sevilla. Suitably fed and watered we spent a couple hours taking in the sights in (more) warm sunshine. Advertised as a Pueblo Blanco, Zafra has some Andalusian characteristics but was, perhaps, not the real thing but certainly worth a brief visit.

We set off towards the South-East, Cordoba and the Parque Natural Sierra Norte with the aim of spending a few days walking. We had no campsites listed in any of our books and so decided to head for part of the Parque where a few sites were listed on the road map. As we climbed off the plain and into the hills we chose smaller and smaller roads but the traffic was light and so no real problem. We lunched near Cazalle de la Sierra just above the Seville-Mérida railway line and then headed deeper into the country on what was at times a single track road. This was also close to a Via Verde which ran for 18Km up the valley beside the river – ideal walking.

The hills are full of olive groves and cork oak woods with the occasional open fields and are sparsely populated and have few villages. A little outside San Nicolas del Puerto we came across a couple sites but these were closed. Eventually we saw a sign for a site but access would involve crossing a ford of the fast flowing river. Shall we shan’t we, shall we shan’t we? We decide to give it a go and take the ford at a reasonable pace to avoid stalling in the middle.

Unfortunately the surge of the water is too strong and the van is turned sideways into the stream bed. Fortunately John has the presence of mind to steer into the current so at least we are facing down stream. The seals on the doors prove pretty good and as we are carried down stream little water seeps in. The force of the water is so great that we half float and half drive down the stream bed for 10km or so until we meet a larger river at the bottom of the valley. The van is ejected into this and miraculously floats. The flow slows and we can start to enjoy the voyage. We are fed from one river to the next and as they get wider the flow slows until we find ourselves floating through Seville and, eventually, into the North Atlantic. Things could be worse but we have plenty of food and water and Margaret has just managed to erect a sail on the roof using the spare bedding. With a following wind we expect to make Plymouth by next Thursday – if you can make it we would love to see you!!

As you can guess, Margaret’s worse fears were not realised and we crossed the ford without incident. A kilometre or so along a farm track we arrive at a site sitting in the valley bottom. Abierto? Si! Bueno! As usual we have a wide choice of pitches – we are the only occupants – and select a spot close by the river where we can catch the sun.

The temperatures have risen and we bar-b-que on an (almost) warm evening and do not need any heating in the van. The only sounds are the river and bird song in the trees and it seems a perfect location for the next few days.

The van gets its face washed, we get our walking trousers washed and the shower block’s solar panels ensure we get washed in piping hot water.