Spain, January / February 2017 - 3. Gibraltar to Santander via Seville and Cacares.

Gibraltar

We stayed for 3 nights at the Alcaidesa Marina in La Linea with great views of Gibraltar. We were able to walk to the border, and once through (very quick) took a bus to the town centre. One afternoon we just wandered around the streets, the next day we took a taxi tour of some of the Rock tourist attractions.

Grand Casemates Square in the town centre.

The Pillars of Hercules - the coast of Africa in the distance.

St Mark's Caves have some huge stalagmites and stalagmites. The large hall is used for concerts.

We saw a couple of Barbary Ape families. They get close to the tourists but are generally not aggressive.

We had some great views from the top of the Rock. This photo is looking back towards mainland Spain with Gibraltar airport next to the border and the Alcaidesa Marina beyond it.

Tunnels were excavated on the north face of The Rock in the late 18th century during the siege of Gibraltar by the Spanish and guns were placed there overlooking Spain.

We took our time travelling to Santander from Gibraltar, enjoying the changing countryside. The south-western part of Spain was much greener with more trees and agricultural farmland compared to the East and South coastal areas.

Seville

We would have liked to had a couple of days to explore the town but the weather was very changeable so we only had 1 afternoon Seville, between showers, taking the bus from the Aire where we were staying on the outskirts of the town.

One of the rivers near the town centre.

We passed some interesting buildings as we walked through the town.

A flamenco dancer and horse carriages.

Seville cathedral is one of the largest in the world.

The interior of the Cathedral has huge vaulted ceilings, lots of chapels and rooms.

It's said to be the burial place of Christopher Columbus (see right) - but that fact is disputed by many.

Cacares

We'd not heard of this town and only stopped because there was an ACSI campsite on the outskirts of the town which was a convenient day's drive from Santander. At reception we were told about the old walled town and informed that there was a bus stop nearby so the following day we went into the town and then walked to the old town.

You enter the old town through archways in the wall where most of the narrow streets are cobbled or paved. There were several churches and some squares. We went into one of the churches where we were able to climb up into the towers which gave a good view over the rooftops.

The view from one of the church towers.

The tower opposite had platforms for storks' nests. The one on the left does have a stork on a nest.

As we drove north we saw several storks nesting on posts.

Farmland near Salamanca.

After our last night's stop in Burgos we took the back road to Santander as we had plenty of time. It was a lovely route with several places where you could park-up.

We passed several villages.

We saw several large groups of vultures cruising over the limestone cliffs.

We spotted this large monument near the road and were able to park near it. We couldn't make out what it was commemorating.

As we stopped down towards Santander the houses looked similar to ones that we've seen in the Alps.

1. East Coast: Ebre Delta, Sagunto, the Albufera Natural Park and Valencia

2. SE Spain: L'Albir,/Altea, Cartagena and Granada

3. Gibraltar to Santander via Seville and Cacares.

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Santander harbour.