The Road from Santiago

  I suspect it is going to be one of those days when we manage to not meet an awful lot. We will come through January 25 in the streetview - it is just abit Cantabrian in feel, and we will get onto the C-440a, which has all the vibes of the old road north before the motorway came along - including encroaching vegetation. We have a service station and a cafe to do but what first. Time for a filler and that is what kings are for.  Felipe VI is, at the time of writing, 58 years old. He has been king since 2014, after Juan Carlos I abdicated ahead of things getting just a little too hot, what with one thing and another.  Felipe was made Prince of Asturias in 1977 and sworn in as heir in 1986.  He was educated at Santa María de los Rosales School in Madrid and then attended Lakefield College School in Canada.  He also studied law at the Autonomous University of Madrid and earned a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. ...

  We are heading west, along the CA-9207. There is nothing to appreciate other than the views of green and rolling countryside - which is nice - but we crave more. We are heading for Cadiz - pronounced Cardiff.  We are leaving the the Med and heading for the Atlantic. The weather will change and as we are heading for Cordoba some time, let's see the difference. In May Cadiz averages 19oc, ranging from 16-22oC. You get 12 hours of sunshine and 26.9mm rain over 3 days. Cordoba offers us 19oC on average as well, but ranges from 12-16oC and gets 30mm of rain over 6 days.   In terms of rain , Cadiz is the wetter.  Come October Cadiz will get 67.3mm of rain a month.  This rises to 97.7mm in November, almost the same in December, before falling back to 69mm in January, 58.5mm in February and then down to 27mm in May, 6.7mm in June and 0.2mm in July before very gradually picking up till September, after which it increases notably. Cordoban rain falls in 60mm amount...

  We are heading north, mostly because the only way across the river is the A-7 and we can’t go there. So, it is around the straight roads, ready for development, and under the motorway and into Taraguilla.  Taraguilla is  place in need of some love. English wiki notes its population in 2009 [3057] and the description is almost entirely based on the roads around it.  They do get the chance to write ‘eponymous railway station’ - which is something. To be honest the Spanish page is not much better. We are about to follow the railway, with the somewhat harassed looking buildings you get in these locations.  Asador Tanger offers us a welcome break.  102 people felt 4 stars was the rating this needed.  Four years ago Peter said ‘ Squeezed between shops sits this food establishment. Not a lot of english spoken but friendly and you get your order in the end. The important thing to note is that this is the only roast chicken shop I have found , here or in Gibr...

  When I were a lad we would would head off to Swansea and there was that bit where you would pass the oil refinery, built on land that was near enough to be convenient but far away enough not to be needed.  We are going to do a lot of that today - but first, a bridge. Wandering across the car park we come to bridges ancient and modern. The Puente Mayorga is best summed up by our old chum pablompsy.  Historic 18th-century bridge that gives the neighborhood its name. It connects the neighborhood to Guadarranque, crossing over the Cachón River. It is very steep and, due to its narrowness, has a traffic light for vehicles. A pedestrian crossing has been created alongside it. We are walking alongside ‘Repsol Central Térmica Ciclo Combinado Bahía de Algeciras.  It gets 2 reviews.  Pedro gave five stars six years ago. Juan gave a star three years ago. Neither said why. You know, that’s it really.  What shall we talk about.  Apparently the stapler was invente...