Day Eight

Southwards - Ever Southwards 2

From Caceres we headed due south to Sevilla, non-stop on the motorway. From San Sebastian to Sevilla we only noticed two short stretches with motorway tolls. The north and western routes through Spain seem to be more or less toll-free. A stop at Zafra for coffee and refill petrol: a nice village but not picture postcard. A good break after a couple of hours´ driving.

Heading east at Sevilla towards Cordoba we stopped first at Carmona and then across country, leaving motorways behind us to visit Olvera and Setenil.

Carmona is a lovely town and has an old quarter as good as any other but lacks two things: areas where tourists can sit and enjoy a good beer or a good meal and car-civility to tourists. The side streets are full of old buildings and, of course, beautiful churches. There are three "Mirador" or view points where one sees the bare fields (most harvests are in) of Seville / northern Andalusia stretching out in front of you. But the town is full of cars and almost no pavements.

On to Olvera, stopping for a selfie for the mini - amongst the olive groves!

Olvera is beautiful. One can drive almost to the top of the town, as it is situated on a steep hillside. Parking just before the street turns around we walked to the small town square. Very simple and undergoing repairs. But a further short walk through amazingly clean, well-cared for, side streets to the church where you catch the first panoramic views, then upwards to the castle (€3 but worth every cent!).

Only a few kilometers away - our next lodgings. Setenil de las Bodegas is situated on, in and under a canyon. The dry canyon splits the town into two and the lower streets are many meters below the town centre. Our lodgings were in the middle, not actually in the cliff, as many of the houses are, but our roof was an overhanging piece of cliff! Obviously a place for day trippers, the town was fairly quiet in the evening; but perfect for our needs. We found a quiet bar with food, had three plates of food (small but not quite tapas) and a couple of beers for €11. Then another bar with friendly owner and a sangria and a beer to round off the day!

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