Day 1: Arrival in Ronda
On the day of your arrival you will find in the hotel your rented bikes with the bike accessories such as helmet, puncture repair kit, water bottle, etc. Also on your arrival there will be your documentation (maps and descriptions, vouchers etc).
 Depending on your arrival time you can visit the bullring (Spain’s oldest) with its small but very interesting bullfighting museum. There are spectacular views as you cross the bridge over Ronda’s famous gorge to take a stroll round Ronda’s old quarter. You can head down to the river to visit the 13th Century Arab Baths, some of the best conserved in Spain and Europe.
Day 2: Round trip from Ronda, 11 or 22 miles (18 or 35km)
A gentle introduction to get your cycling legs warmed up and to try out the bikes and enjoy Ronda’s beautiful surroundings. You will cycle to the Cueva de Gato, a beautiful spot to have a picnic, and continue to the train station of the small village Benaoján where you can take a drink in the bar STOP before taking the train back to Ronda. Or you can cycle back.
Day 3: Ronda to Olvera, 23 miles (37km) (Highest point 840 metres, lowest point 480 metres.)
You leave Ronda heading northwards and make for Setenil de las Bodegas, one of Andalusia’s most surprising villages, a focal point of the Cádiz mountains white villages route. The people here made use of the gorge to build their houses. It is one of the finest examples of this type of architecture, which instead of excavating into the rock, simply makes use of the natural overhang, with the houses developed laterally along the rock face. Lose yourself in the villages intimate corners and tapas bars… You then follow the Trejo River and soon see the village of Olvera in the distance, with its typical church and 12th Century castle atop a hill.
Day 4: Olvera to Villamartín, 33 miles (53km) (Highest point 464 metres, lowest point 40 metres)
Olvera was originally to have been a stop on the Jerez-Malaga train line, but the line was never completed and the village went back to its business of producing olive oil. Eventually, new roads  removed the need for a railway; now the railway has been given a new lease of life as one of the first Vías Verdes, or greenways (old reconditioned railway lines), in Spain. You cycle for 22 miles along this greenway (no cars), passing the Peñon de Zaframagón - a nature reserve with Andalusia’s – and one of Europe’s - largest colonies of vultures. You pass through many tunnels (up to 30) – some just over half a mile in length – where lights come on automatically as soon as you enter! You follow the Guadalete River as far as Puerto Serrano, where the greenway finishes and from there you take quiet country roads through sunflower fields to the white village of Villamartín. There you sleep in an old railway station, now a nice 3-star hotel, just outside Villamartín.
Day 5: Villamartín to Arcos de la Frontera, 24 miles (38km) (Highest point 145 metres, lowest point 46 metres)
You leave the hotel and follow a narrow country lane, almost a cycle lane, surrounded by gentle rolling hills covered in sunflowers to get to the village of Bornos, nestled beside the reservoir that shares its name. You might like to make a stop in this village to try some of its local wines and recover strength as you now have a bit of a climb. Then you continue along a country lane beside a canal (prohibited to cars, so no traffic) to get to Arcos de la Frontera. This town is situated on cliffs high above a meander in the River Guadalete. This is a typical defensive hill village with cobbled streets leading up to a castle, built in the 15th Century on Moorish foundations. The view from the castle and village is staggering.
Day 6: Arcos to Jerez by taxi. Jerez to Puerto de Santa María, 17 miles (27km)
Today a taxi will take you and your bikes to Jerez (the taxi continues with your luggage to the hotel in El Puerto de Santa María) and then you will cycle to Puerto de Santa María. Jerez is a beautiful town well worth spending some time to visit, for example the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art to see the training of the beautiful andalusian horses for their “ballet” (Daily visits on Monday, Wednesday and Friday - except for Fridays in August - from 10am to 2.00pm but closed on bank holidays. Ask for the thematic visit, it will cost 8€). And of course you can visit one of the many sherry bodegas: Sandeman, Gonzales Byass and Osborne
Puerto de Santa María has been a favorite spot throughout history: Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans and Moors all chose it as a haven for their boats. The name Santa María was given to it because it was here that the Santa María was built – one of the three ships that would first set eyes on America. This was also the place chosen by Christopher Columbus as his residence from 1483-1486. El Puerto de Santa María used to be called “the city of the hundred palaces” and here you will be able discover an authentic Andalusia, enjoy its beaches and promenades, taste its wines, tapas and famous seafood...
Day 7: Rest day or Circular route from El Puerto de Santa María
Today is a day of choices. You can start with a visit to a brandy maker, for example Terry, dating from 1865 and founded by Mr. Fernando A. De Terry (only in the morning, 10 or 12 o’clock). It is a beautiful architectural ensemble of patios, gardens and wine cellars from the 19th Century. During the guided visit you can enjoy an instructive trip in the three wine cellars (Bodega del Carmen, Bodega La Tribuna and Bodega Maruja) Besides the wine cellars you will visit a carriage and stable museum.
Or take the little steamboat to Cádiz to visit this delightful city, which is so different to other Andalusian cities. (Ask for the timetable in the hotel; normally the steamboat goes from El Puerto de Santa María to Cádiz: 9-11-13-15.30 and from Cádiz to El Puerto de Santa María: 10-12-14-16.30-18.30).
If you want to cycle then there is the circular route of the Bay of Cádiz, a beautiful ride of 18 miles, completely on the flat, passing marshes, salt-flats and Mediterranean pine forests. It was a circular route, but the wooden bridge over the river has been burnt, so you will have to return on the same route, but nevertheless it’s worth riding it twice!
In the evening you can have a farewell dinner in a typical restaurant such as the restaurant “La Abuela María” next to the castle, to say goodbye to Andalusia.
Day 8: Transfer to Malaga or Seville
Time to leave and make your way home. Train or bus to Cadiz and then a bus to Malaga. Or train to Seville. |
Freedom Holiday
