After our beautiful tour across the Caminito de ReyWe spent the night a few kilometres away from the Caminito at the Embalse Conde de Guadalhorce. Like almost all reservoirs in Andalusia, this one was also filled with very little water, so that there were huge pools of water at the edge. There was no water far and wide, so there was enough space to find a nice and secluded place to spend the night. According to official reports, there is currently a great danger of Water shortageThis meant that restrictions were already imposed on certain areas of life in Andalusia last summer.

Drought in Andalusia in 2023

At the time of our tour through Andalusia, many Reservoirs only a quarter full. According to news reports, this meant that pools could no longer be filled and showers on the beach were turned off. Allegedly, individual municipalities had already turned off the water to citizens at night. Current figures for winter in early 2023, using the example of the Embalse de Barbatewhere we stood for a few days two weeks later, do not offer any hope. At its lowest level in 2022, it was only 14% full, now it was just 20%, so hardly any more. Let's hope for the best that this situation changes in the future, but the forecasts remain bleak. Incidentally, here at the reservoir we saw the Spanish iris for the first time this spring. Spanish iris called. A very pretty plant.

But let's stay with the topic of rain. The weather gradually changed the following night. After many days of sunshine, there were signs of a change in the weather. So the next day we quickly set off in the direction of Rondathe white city on the rocks. We set off in the dry, but it soon started to drizzle and a little later we found ourselves in thick fog and rain. But apparently this was just a short episode and we arrived in Ronda in the dry again.

Lidl, ALDI & co. in Spain

To quickly replenish our supplies we visited, as we almost always do, a Lidl on the route. In our experience and taste, the best choice among the markets in Spain. Lidl has a good selection of products here in Spain. It also has probably the best selection of bread, especially if you don't want white bread. The branch network is large and there is a branch somewhere in almost every small town on our route in the east and south of Spain. In the larger towns there are also the big Carrefours. Otherwise there are the branches of Mercadona, ALDI and Slide on. Rarer, and only available in the east of Spain, is the chain Consumption. In general, the selection has become Vegetarian and Vegan greatly improved. Such products are available in almost every supermarket.

Ronda, the white village on the rocky plateau

Well, calling Ronda a white village is perhaps an exaggeration. Because Ronda, with its 34,000 inhabitants, which sits impressively on a rocky plateau, would be better described as a white "town", but it is part of the list of white villages in Andalusia. In summer, when the Spaniards go on their summer holidays, numerous day-trippers push through the town, but in the off-season it is rather tranquil here. So we had the old town almost to ourselves.

The Puente Nuevo in Ronda

Ronda is divided into two parts. The old town (La Ciudad) is located on one rocky plateau and the new town (El Mercadillo) on the other. Both parts of the city are connected by the impressive bridge Puente Nuevo which connects the gorge of the El Tajo overcomes. It is the main attraction in Ronda and a selfie from one of the viewpoints with the bridge in the background seems to be a must. Its construction began in 1751, but was only completed a full 50 years later. According to legend, the architect José Martín de Aldehuela was so enthusiastic about his construction that he threw himself off the bridge, as he believed he would never have been able to build anything more magnificent. The only thing that is certain is that he died in Ronda in the year it was completed.

Incidentally, Ronda is also the cradle of the Spanish Bullfighting. The variant on foot, as it exists today, only became popular here in Ronda in the 18th century. The bullring Plaza de Toros holds 5,000 visitors and can be visited. However, as we are not interested in bullfighting at all, we saved ourselves the entrance fee. Judging by the photos, it is certainly impressive.

The old town of Ronda

Of course, you shouldn't miss out on a visit to the old town. It is not really big, but the small alleyways with the white buildings are tranquil in the low season. You have time and peace for a short stroll and the one or other small shop with souvenirs invites you to shop, but as soon as you cross the Puente Nuevo to get to the new town, the peace and quiet is suddenly over. This is where the shopping streets, cafés and restaurants are located. It is also worth taking a short walk along the Puerta de la Cijarathe old city walls of the historic centre. Here you also have beautiful views of Ronda and there is the opportunity to visit the Arab baths from the 13th century. However, these were closed during our visit.

Overnight stay with the camper in Ronda

There were two alternatives for us to spend the night. A pitch for our campervan in the north-east of the city, centrally located, but cramped and rather unsuitable for dogs. At least that was the impression we got on a short drive past. So we drove on to the south of Ronda, a little way out of the city. The one at the campsite Camping El Sur The adjacent motorhome site is quiet, clean and the dogs have plenty of room to run around outside on the quiet road. Contrary to many bad reviews, we had no problems with the Wi-Fi on the pitch. So points in our favour and the opportunity to work on a few things for our blog.

Sierra de Grazalema and the vultures of Andalusia

After two pleasant nights in Ronda, our next destination was the Sierra de Grazalema. There are also many pretty, white mountain villages here. One of the most famous is Zahara de la Sierra and so we set off on the winding route there. The Sierra de Grazalema was one of the first regions in Spain to be declared a biosphere reserve in 1977 and was subsequently converted into a nature park in 1984. The Sierra lies at altitudes between 600 and 1600 metres and is one of the rainiest regions in Spain with up to 2000 litres of rainfall per year.

We were meandering comfortably up the mountains on the way to Zahara de la Sierra when suddenly Griffon vulture appeared in the sky. Luckily, there was a car park just around the next bend so we could watch the spectacle in the sky. We had already encountered a few specimens in Andalusia, for example at El Chorro, but here masses of vultures suddenly appeared just above us. We quickly counted 50-100 griffon vultures gliding in the sky, not counting the animals that were just behind the slopes. So we quickly grabbed the camera and telephoto lens and took some nice close-ups of the impressive animals.

Zahara de la Sierra

Zahara de la Sierra was a small, sleepy village when we visited. It has just 1,400 inhabitants and only a few narrow streets running along the ridge. There are a few bars and restaurants in the centre by the church, so we treated ourselves to a drink in the beautiful winter sun in the Bar Nuevo for lunch. The menu was quite clear, which is not to say anything, and we were very sceptical about what to expect, but it was actually really good. Apart from that, the village seemed rather deserted, probably because we were here on a Sunday. A very pretty photo motif is the Torre del Reloj. The bell tower from the 16th century impresses with its simple and clear form with rounded corners.

With a full stomach, we now made our way round countless bends towards Grazalema. Once again, as always, we chose the steep and narrow, but extremely scenic route. This runs high up over the 1357 metre high pass Puerto de las Palomas with great views. We were lucky and saw a huge herd right by the roadside Capricorns graze.

We arrived in Grazalema in the late afternoon, parked our Dexter in a car park above the village and we had company. Just below the pass, we drove past a green Vario (MB711) waving nicely. It now joined our Vario and we got to know Christiane and Alex. The two of them are travelling with their green Minna had already travelled all over Asia, including Russia, Mongolia, China and India. We spontaneously set off together to have a coffee and a beer in the village. The two of them had really great stories to tell. Best wishes to you at this point. It was a lovely evening and we hope that our paths will cross again soon for a nice get-together. We would have loved to spend more time with you.

Our route in this article