The real real Spain
Last month I recounted life aboard the ferry, 'Pride of Bilbao', on our trip to Spain.
So now here's a taste of me and my partner Flora's ensuing tour of southern Spain and an explanation of why I believe it is a grand destination for motorcaravanners.
When I first went to Spain it was in a 1960 Bedford CA Dormobile, and General Franco was still 'Numero Uno'. Since then, the country has changed out of all recognition. Liberalisation, democracy and lots of EU financial help have transformed Spain into a modern, vibrant country with an excellent infra-structure.
That said, one of its principal advantages as a holiday destination has proved to be a bit of a double-edged sword. The hot summers and warm winters have acted as a powerful magnet to holiday-
makers and unscrupulous tower-block developers cashing in on this influx of people. As a result, there was a period, around a decade ago, when some of the popular coastal resorts felt more like Manhattan than the fishing villages they once were.
Recently, stronger planning regulations and improved enforcement of existing ones have kept such developments in check. In any case, many miles of Spanish coastline – especially the Costa Brava
– is dramatically rugged and likely to remain undeveloped for future generations to enjoy its natural beauty.
This time around, in Spain,
we took off for some of the most popular destinations
for motorcaravanners, including the Costa del Sol and Andalucia.
Some of you may remember that 1960s and 1970s criminals (especially British ones) on the run from justice made the area around Marbella their home, and
so the area came to be disparagingly referred to as the 'Costa del Crime'. Not any more! Spain is now party to EU extradition treaties.
Today, all the major towns and cities of the sunshine coast have made tremendous progress in raising their game. A programme combining pedestrianisation, along with sympathetic restoration of historical buildings and street furniture, accurately reflects the (re-ignited) pride of
the residents.
San Pedro de Alcántara, Marbella and Estepona
have all been following a comprehensive programme, creating and restoring parks and green spaces, and this year were awash with hanging baskets and planters.
Many potential travellers to Spain seem to be unaware of the vast size the country and how under-populated 95 per cent of it is. Even along the more densely developed coastal strips, fisherfolk, olive and citrus fruit farmers, shepherds and goatherds can all still be found carrying on their life much as their forefathers did 100 or more years ago.
I am not going to present
a mini 'Snail Trail' of our tour, rather just give a flavour
of what is available for motorcaravanners to enjoy. Some of the captions to the photos here are deliberately vague because I am leaving it up to you to have fun exploring in your motorhome and finding the exact locations yourself.
Perhaps our views on Spain as a motorcaravanning destination are best summed up by the photograph of the fishing boats (opposite page). Here, a family caught fish in
a brace of small traditional boats. Every other day they would row out early in the morning and return late in
the evening with their share
of the ocean's bounty. They would then sell some of their catch direct to restaurants and smoke the remaining fish right there on the beach, to sell later at a weekly market.
All this was not taking place in some wild, uninhabited area of coastline as one might have expected, but just a few hundred metres from our campsite and less than a kilometre from one of the busiest resorts on the Costa del Sol.
What is often, rather pompously, referred to by the chattering classes as "the real Spain" is alive and well. 'Real' does not necessarily mean 'rural' (though it often does) because a traditional way of life sometimes exists cheek-by-jowl with those high-rise developments.
Spain remains one of our favourite continental European motorcaravanning destinations because it offers so much more than 'sun, sea and sangria' though, of course, we enjoy all of those as well!
I recommend that you go.
The full ramblings can be found in the December 06 issue of Practical Motorhome
Happy motorhoming!
Jack Bancroft |
