Don Feidner

Southwest Iberian Coast

Last Update:   17 March 2013

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Southwest Iberian Coast Tour - Spain to Portugal

Part 3 - Coria del Rio to the Portuguese Border

Coria del Rio to Ayamonte 3
0231 P1190001 Coria Del Rio

Ferry to Coria del Rio

0238 P1190008 fishing Coria Del Rio

Fisherman on the Rio Guadalquivil with a Carp

Sometimes it is difficult to find a place to camp. From the camping place at Dos Hermanas near Seville to El Rocio Camping, it was over 100 kilometers. Therefore, we had to improvise and find a place somewhere in the wilderness. After many miles of swamps and canals with only wet ground and small brush, we finally saw a small forest at an intersection. We pushed our bikes into the forest and finally found a flat spot next to a cactus fence under the eucalyptus trees. Of course, we named it Camp Cactalyptus.

We said, “nobody will ever find us here.” 10 minutes after we pitched the tent, the owner found us while walking through the woods with his wife. He appeared nervous when he saw us, so I walked up to him with a big smile and greeted him. “Buenos Tardes” I said and continued to explain to him that we were tired and needed a place to sleep for the night. “Solo una noche?” (“Just one night?”) he asked. “Si” I confirmed it and he was happy. We exchanged a bit more friendly chatter and said good night.

I have yet to meet someone who wanted me to leave when I slept on their property. If I had known where to ask, I would have asked. There was no “keep out” sign, so I had assumed it was public property.

After Seville, we rode the bikes about 15 miles to Coria del Rio. We took the ferry across to the town, rode south out of the city into the Doñana National Park, to Isla Mayor, El Rocio, Matalascanas, Huelva, Isla Christina and finally to Ayamonte on the Spanish-Portuguese border.

Coria del Río is a small town near Seville, on the shores of Guadalquivir River.
It is popularly known because there are some descendants of the first-ever Japanese official envoy to Spain. Early in the 17th Century Daimyo Date Masamune of Sendai sent a delegation led by Hasekura Tsunenaga to Europe.
An embassy was then set up and six samurai stayed on. Approximately 700 of Coria's 25,000 residents use the surname Japón (originally Hasekura de Japón), identifying them as their descendants. The name first appeared on an official document in 1646. Some babies born within the town are known to display the mongolian spot which is common in Asians.

A statue of Hasekura Tsunenaga was donated to the city by Japan in 1992 and stands watch over the river.

0233 DSCN0155 Ferry Coria del Rio

First Possibility to Cross the River -
70 Miles from its Mouth in the Atlantic

0242 DSCN0161 Camp Cactalyptus

Happy to Arrive in Camp Cactalyptus

Ermita de El Rocio

0248 DSCN0164 El Rocio Spain2

A most impressive building, the Hermitage of El Rocío (Ermita de El Rocío) is a hermitage at El Rocío in the countryside of Almonte, Province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. The hermitage is home to the Virgin of El Rocío, a small, much-venerated carved wood statue, and is the destination of an annual procession/pilgrimage on the second day of the Pentecost, known as the Romería de El Rocío, connected to the veneration of the Virgin of El Rocío; in recent years the Romería has brought together roughly a million pilgrims each year.

Although there has been a hermitage on this site for centuries, the present hermitage building was designed by architects Antonio Delgado y Roig and Alberto Balbontín de Orta, designed in 1961 and built in stages over the next two decades.

When you arrive in El Rocio, you feel like you have landed in a wild west town. There are no paved roads in the entire city and horses abound.

0259 P1190024 El Rocio Santa Maria Cathedral
0254 P1190020 El Rocio
0270 P1190033 El Rocio

The Virgin of El Rocio (in the white lace circle

0253 P1190019 El Rocio

Square with Statue of the Virgin of El Rocio

0260 P1190025 El Rocio
0255 P1190021 El Rocio
0262 P1190026 El Rocio

At a Small Street Restaurant in El Rocio - CLICK the PICTURE

0264 P1190027 El Rocio

Flamenco Dress Shop in El Rocio

0266 P1190029 El Rocio

Local Resident

0267 P1190030 El Rocio

Chapel in El Rocio

0268 P1190031 El Rocio olive tree

Cars are allowed to drive here, but in front of the restaurants, a hitching post is always reserved for the horses.

0273 P1190034 El Rocio

Ancient Olive Tree

0275 P1190036 El Rocio

Statue of a Priest Riding with the Virgin of El Rocio.

0283 P1190044 Beach at Matalascañas

Spotted just Outside of El Rocio

0281 P1190041 Temperature in Matalascañas

Matalascañas - One Hour on a Bike from El Rocio

0284 P1190045 Beach at Matalascañas

Matalascañas - Temperature 28°C (82°F)

0285 P1190046 Beach at Matalascañas

Matalascañas - Time for a Swim?

0288 P1190049 Beach at Matalascañas

Hmmm... Looks Cold!

0290a 20130204_155633 Duna del Asperillo

That’s My Limit for the Day

0299 P1190057 Duna del Asperillo

A Few Miles Down the Road at the Dunes

0300 P1190059 Duna del Asperillo

Duna del Asperillo

0304 P1190062 Duna del Asperillo

Flowers on the Asperillo Sand Dune

304a 20130204_185321 Camp Huelva

The Atlantic in One Direction
and Millions of Trees in the Other Direction

0305 DSCN0181 Piñeros Lake Camp Huelva

Perfect Place to Camp just South of Huelva

0312 DSCN0182 Camp Huelva

View from Camp Huelva

0316 P1190075 Huelva

View from Camp Huelva

Wikipedia: Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The city has been inhabited since 3000 BC. It is home to Recreativo de Huelva, the oldest football club in Spain.

The city may be the site of Tartessus; it was called Onoba by the Phoenicians . The Greeks kept the name and rendered it Ὄνοβα.” It was in the hands of the Turdetani at the time of conquest by Rome, and before the conquest it issued silver coins with Iberian legends. It was called both Onoba Aestuaria or Onuba (used on coinage) during Roman times, or, simply, Onoba. The city was incorporated into the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. The Arabs then called it Walbah and ruled between 712-1250.

This huge statue at the end of the long bridge that crosses the Tinto River to the south of the city is dedicated to war heroes who lost their lives in battles past.

0317 P1190076 Huelva

War Monument in Huelva

0320 P1190078 Huelva

Bridge Across the Rio Tinto in Huelva

0322 P1190082 Huelva

Birds on the Rio Odio in Huelva

0324 P1190084 Huelva

Birds on the Rio Odio in Huelva

0327 DSCN0189 Camp Rudi

City Square in Huelva

0329 P1190085 Camp Rudi

Camp Rudi on the Way to Portugal
Click the picture and roll to the bottom to see Rudi

0331 P1190088 Camp Rudi morning

Sunset at Camp Rudi

0334 DSCN0192 Cristina Island Beach

The Next Morning at Camp Rudi

0335 P1190090 Cristina trail

Cristina Island - I’m sure this is busy in the summer.

0340 P1190095 Ferry to Portugal

Trail from Cristina to Ayamonte - Good Place for Lunch

0336 P1190091 Ayamonte Spain

On the Ferry to Portugal

Part 1 - Jerez de la Frontera to Seville

Part 2 - Seville, Andalucia - Plaza of Spain

Part 4 - Portugal - Castro Marim - Armação de Pêra

Part 5 - Portugal - Ferragudo - Portimao - Alvor

Part 6 - Portugal - Sagres - Lagos - Tavira - Faro

Goodby Spain - Hello Portugal

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