We had to shop at Mercadona and close by is a picnic area with tarmac parking provided by the town hall of Torredonjimeno.
We spent a quiet night there and the following morning had a lovely 5km walk in the Campo del Torredonjimeno. A little cloudy with 28°. Poppy loved the stroll (she walks slowly), Issy tried to catch a wasp but got stung on her lip instead.
Next up is our secret spot and one of our favourite park ups is just a 40 minute drive from home.
It ticks all the right boxes:
Nature - it's actually in a nature reserve with a lagoon that is currently dry.
Walking - it's right on the Via Verde. It's great if it is wet underfoot as it packed gravel and flat. Not that it rains much (see lagoon above).
Facilities - none, apart from parking PLUS the town hall has recently built a rustic picnic area, so thanks very much for that.
Laguna del Salobral is in Córdoba. It has been protected since 1984 and reclassified as a nature reserve in 1989.
The Via Verde is part of the Subbética Greenway, the old railway line known as the oil route (until the 1970s it was mostly used to transport olive oil) which runs through the Córdoban towns of Lucena, Cabra, Doña Mencía, Zuheros and Luque. We have walked on each of these sections over the years.
400 metres from our park up is a observatory-viewpoint and information about the wildlife. You can follow a track through the olive groves down to the lagoon, it is just 350 metres.
We spent one quiet night here before moving onto Castro del Río via Lidl.
The area de autocaravanas provided by the local town hall is free to use and has all facilities including electricity. Unfortunately the electricity wasn't working and even though I have solar power EHU means I don't have to think about power usage. My Spanish neighbour told me he had informed the town hall that the electricity wasn't working. I said, what did they say? He said, 'OK'... so being a Friday and with the weekend coming up 'OK' means sometime next week.
We moved on quite aimlessly through the provinces of Córdoba/Jaén/Granada to eventually arrive at Noalejo back in Jaén where there is a new campsite, work ongoing, but the toilets, with hot showers, waste disposal, fresh water, EHU, BBQ, etc., are all up and running. They are building four casas rurales that will become part of the complex. At the moment there is no charge to stay and use all the facilities free of charge as they wait for their permits. A voluntary donation is welcome.4g network is great (I watched the football) and this will be our home for the weekend. Pedro, the owner's friend, sorted out our electrics as the owner was out picking tomatoes. And later, Luis the owner turned up with a bucket of organic tomatoes as a gift.
Overall we had very nice weather although you can feel a chill late at night. And as always, I am so impressed with the 4g network even when we are parked up in the sticks. Unfortunately we have to return home tomorrow as I have an appointment.
#vanlife
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