Border Arches

For a few seconds I've been thinking about a cool phrase to welcome you all. Unfortunately I can't think of anyone, so I'll just say: Hello.

A few days have now passed and I noticed that I've been on the road for 5 days and haven't given you any more updates on my experiences. That's why I'm taking a few extra hours today and looked for a Starbucks in Portugal where I can have a coffee and blog a little.

This first post is about the onward journey through Andalusia and into the Cádiz region. I have already visited Andalusia twice in the last 2 years and was already quite busy with sightseeing there, so I went straight to the Cadiz region. And I have to honestly say that the region certainly surprised me. Pretty sure I've discovered cotton fields in Spain, I've seen Spanish dairy cows for the first time and I've been generally surprised at how green the region is here. I think I will pay this region another visit in the future - we'll see.

In any case, I drove to Arcos de la Frontera and stopped here at a campsite where I met an English family. I mention this so explicitly because the mother of this family in particular had such a positive and supportive nature and really celebrated and encouraged me on my journey alone. In general, I have to say that it is usually the women who encourage me and wish me another great trip. This English lady, who currently lives in Malaga with her family, was particularly friendly and really celebrated me for undertaking this trip in this way.

After a great stay at the campsite where the owls disturbed my sleep with their calls at night, but unfortunately I couldn’t see them in the trees, I set off towards Portugal the next day and took a look at the city myself.

And how could it be otherwise - the city is on a mountain and I once again have a few meters of altitude ahead of me. But that didn't really bother me, because I'd rather walk these few meters than stall my car (in the truest sense of the word) and end up stuck in some dead end. And with these streets I was twice as happy to be on foot. Most people know that I like driving and, without praising myself, I have some experience with it, but what the locals in this city do with their cars is a circus act. Super narrow streets, only 30% of which feel passable, and inclines that make me dizzy even on foot are totally normal for the residents here. In addition, the obligatory honking of horns in front of hidden corners and alleys is a common practice here, which has often left me incredibly frightened. But at least I put a smile on my own face and also those who were honking.

Unfortunately, apart from a few churches and tourist shops, there isn't much to discover in the city itself. A special feature is the Palacio, which houses several art exhibitions by artists from the region, which can be viewed free of charge. The palace itself is also worth seeing and I found some of the pictures really good.

The courtyard of the palace definitely reminded me a lot of the Game of Thrones series.

I still have to translate the saying of this watch. I'm curious what it means.

I've now seen what feels like twelve different churches but I still can't explain to you the difference between what a basilica is or a cathedral or a church.

In any case, it becomes clear that the Spaniards are much more ecclesiastical, which is what I'm used to in Germany and Austria. Or I just visit too many churches.

This gate - the Tor de Matrera - is one of the Hupspots and therefore not my favorite route.

Overall it was a relatively quick visit of around 1.5 hours. But it was still interesting to see.

Since I realized when I returned to the car that the drive to Cádiz would take me about 2.5 hours from my next accommodation because I would have to drive around the entire national park, I spontaneously decided to visit Cádiz that day too visit.

However, since this city is a bit larger, I will describe it to you in the next post.

See you then,
Your Britta