The weather was finally getting warmer so we decided to head to Santa Maria, a campsite on a gorgeous sandy beach, just across the bay from Cadiz.
The pitch we were given even had sun on it during the day! Although we did have to squeeze in behind a tree. The campsite was quite large with a variety of different vans, and lots more English people than we had seen anywhere so far.
The showers were hot and the service point clean and easy to access.
There was a restaurant just outside the gate opposite a lovely beach. There was a swimming pool but it was only open in July and August which does seem a bit strange as the campsite was full in January.
We headed to the beach with our chairs and the bottle of sparkling wine we had been given from the campsite in Mazarrón at Christmas. When we tasted it we both said it tastes like cider, on closer inspection of the bottle we discovered it was indeed cider! It was still very nice and just what we needed on our first really warm day. I even put my toes in the sea.
We had heard about a town called El Rocio from a few people as a ‘must see’ place to go on our trip. The town has all sandy roads and people arrive by horse to party away the weekend. This we had to see.
We turned off the main road into the campsite to find ourselves on a sandy road, having been on a few roads like this on this trip I felt more confidant that we could drive on it without getting stuck!
The campsite was a bit like a desert with very little greenery, but this meant that we had loads of sunshine. They also had really good showers and a pool that was closed out of season.
The town was a short walk away so we went straight there. What an incredible place. All the roads were sand. It made you wonder who had right of way as there were no road signs or road markings.
We headed into the main square to have some lunch. It was quiet as it was a Friday, we had been told that all the action happened at the weekend but even so there were people on horseback wandering around. The houses all had tie up posts outside the front for people to tie up their horses. There was a lake that had lots of storks or flamingo in it.
We went back the following day when it was much busier. We stopped off for a coffee at a very busy bar, sitting outside watching people getting out of the horse carriages to go to the café whilst others arrived in cars to do their shopping at the supermarket.
The town square was a hive of activity with horses, donkeys and mules. There were even ponies you could rent for the children.
We walked along the lake to a restaurant for lunch. It was the most surreal experience with a mixture of people sitting eating and drinking, some still sitting on their horses, some with their horse and carriage parked at the bar.
On the way back to the campsite we stopped at a bar where there was live Spanish music and people dancing. All in all, a great experience.
Jerez de la Frontera to Santa Maria, Cádiz
Mileage 12.5
Route A-491
Camping Playa Las Dunas – €22pn
Cádiz to El Rocío
Mileage 120
Route E-5
Camping La Aldea – €22pn
