Vanlife in Andalucía is not always sunshine and olive trees. Things have been disrupted lately. Here are my excuses.

Vanlife Andalucía: The Torn Tendon

After several visits to the physiotherapist, I discovered that the problem with my arm was a torn tendon. The injury was sustained in May 2023 at Zafarraya in Granada — you can read the full story here, though I warn you it involves a 50kg Mastiff, a French woman in flip flops, and a considerable amount of my DNA on a concrete road.

The tendon still plays up on some days. That is the reality of vanlife when you are not thirty — injuries take longer to heal, enthusiasm takes longer to return, and the physiotherapist starts to recognise you. I bumped into mine in town yesterday on my way to the vet. He spotted me from across the street. Hola Phil.

The Other Excuses

Not content with a torn tendon, I then had a rather serious infection which required a twelve-week course of weapons-grade antibiotics. I am much better now and slowly piling on the kilos I had previously dropped.

I didn't drink alcohol for four months — a personal record — but that has changed now. Cheers.

And I haven't even mentioned two bouts of Covid and root canal treatment, twice, on a tooth with a dying nerve.

Enough excuses?

Vanlife in Andalucía has a way of testing your patience — and your body — in ways the brochures never mention.

Back on the Road: Campervan Andalucía

During this period my website had a long overdue makeover and a complete software update, which I am still getting to grips with. As I hadn't been very active, there hadn't been much to post.

I am, however, writing this from my campervan — this is campervan Andalucía at its most real. We are at the área de autocaravanas in Cabra, Córdoba — a well-positioned stopover on the route of the Vía Verde, which makes for excellent walking with the dogs. We stayed three nights. For vanlife in Andalucía, it is exactly the kind of stopover worth bookmarking.

The weather was glorious, but unsettled weather was arriving, and we were due a lot of much needed rain. Time to move on.

The Vía Verde de la Subbética

The Vía Verde de la Subbética is a 57km largely flat, well-maintained trail that follows the old "Oil Train" railway route through Córdoba province — so called because it was originally used to transport olive oil. It runs through Cabra, Doña Mencía, Luque, Lucena and beyond, connecting villages through the Sierras Subbéticas Natural Park.

We stop regularly along this stretch — Cabra, Lucena, Doña Mencía, Luque and Alcaudete (Jaén) all make good park-ups with easy access to the route. The surface is excellent underfoot and mostly paved — good for dogs, cyclists, hikers, and apparently the occasional campervan owner with a torn tendon.

The scenery is genuinely worth the detour — olive groves, limestone mountains, old viaducts, and converted station buildings. It gets busy at dog walking time but otherwise you have it largely to yourself. For campervan Andalucía adventures, the Vía Verde de la Subbética is one of the better reasons to slow down and stay a few nights rather than passing through.

Área de Autocaravanas, Cabra — What to Expect

For campervan Andalucía travellers, the Cabra área de autocaravanas is free, well-positioned, and does exactly what it says. Here are the practical details:

Location: A paved, fairly level area in a residential zone, about 2km from the town centre. Coordinates: 37.4665, -4.4234.

Stay: Free, 72 hours maximum. Camping behaviour is prohibited — no awning, tables, chairs, barbecue, stabiliser feet, or laundry drying. It is a park-up, not a campsite.

Services: Fresh water, grey and black waste disposal, bins.

Nearby: Lidl, Mercadona and a laundromat are all within 1km. There is a municipal indoor swimming pool within walking distance — outdoor in summer — where you can shower for a nominal fee. Useful if you have been walking the Vía Verde.

Access: Direct access to the Vía Verde del Aceite from the área — no need to move the van.

Note on the supermarkets — both Lidl and Mercadona have height barriers in their car parks. Street parking only with a full-size campervan.

The Leaking Roof — and How It Was Fixed

Before we left, there was the small matter of the leaking van roof.

Drip, drip onto my head when trying to sleep. I had watched a couple of YouTube videos on how to fix the problem, but with a sore arm and no desire to clamber onto the roof, I needed professional help.

If you are travelling vanlife in Andalucía and need campervan repairs or servicing, Mi Tortuga in Cabra is worth knowing about.

No more dripping. No more stars visible through the ceiling.

If you are in the Córdoba area and need campervan repairs or servicing, Mi Tortuga is worth knowing about.

Footnote: The original diagnosis from my van converters pointed to the awning bracket (circled in red) as the likely source of the leak. Mi Tortuga investigated further and found the actual culprit was the silicone fixing on the solar panel. Worth getting a proper diagnosis before any work begins.

Wonky repairs, proper adventures, genuine vanlife — read more vanlife adventures from The Flexible Chef.