On The Banks of the River Guadalquivir

Navigating the Guadalquivir. The Belle de Cadix, a mini

cruise liner that plies between Seville and Cádiz makes

its way upriver  on the tide from Cádiz. On the far side we

can see the Doñana Nature Park.

The river Guadalquivir runs almost the whole length of Andalusia and is navigable as far as the inland port of Seville where, in the 16th century, the gold from the Americas was offloaded from Spanish galleons and then straight onto waiting Genoese boats to service the debts that the profligate Spanish crown ran up with the Italian moneylenders.

Another of La Belle de Cadix with tourists lining the 
upper deck.

For years I lived in Seville and had often wondered if there was a road that ran the length of the river from Seville to its debouchement in the Atlantic at Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where I now live. Last Friday I found out that there was. This road is known as el Camino del Plástico the Plastic Road. My friend, Joaquín, told me that the name was a corruption of el Camino del Práctico - literally the river pilot's road.

I was also told that, although the road was in a bad state, it was driveable in a normal car so, on Sunday, my Dark Lady and I set off, taking the road from Trebujena as far as La Señuela, an abandoned village. For a satellite image of the journey, click here. If you want to see images from another blogger, click here.

The Mighty Focus, proud of a job well done,
poses in front of a building housing machinery 
that operates the sluice gates that control the 
surrounding marshy farmland's 

water levels.  

The day before, we had got as far as Lebrija through the salt pans of Sanlúcar and the pinewoods of La Algaida, passing flocks of flamingos and various other waders (grist for another blog) before having to turn back due to potholes that the Dark Lady's car did not have the necessary clearance to negotiate. Today, therefore, it was the trusty Ford Focus' turn. 



It performed the job manfully (carfully?) and only bottomed out on a couple of occasions. 

The Guadalquivir plain with the Sierra de Cádiz in the
background.

When we arrived at our starting point for the day - a landing stage for pleasure craft - we could see quite a large cargo ship in the distance, so we waited a while to see it pass but, unfortunately, as the tide was going out, the ship was waiting for the next rising tide. We pressed on, but not before taking a photo of the river plain on t'other side of the road. 

I would not go so far as to say that such flat, riverine, agricultural countryside is beautiful, but interesting it certainly is. Somehow, it reminded me of the Dee estuary on the Wirral Peninsula and the Severn estuary, as well as the plains of Lincolnshire. I suppose it was the salty tang in the air, coupled with the smell of fresh mud and the loneliness of the area.

Cows. Grazing, creating life, harming no-one. Creatures
of beauty. Photo courtesy of Vanesa CR

Here and there, we also saw beef cattle living out their tranquil  lives next to the river, as well as sheep grazing the aromatic herbs that grow on the salt marshes. As a carnivore who has had the privilege of eating lamb raised on a farm on the banks of the Severn, thanks to my cousin in Dursley, I immediately started to feel hungry. Not having any lamb chops on us, we stopped in a meadow and feasted on coffee from a flask and cakes instead.

Coffee, chocolate and egg
custard palmiers and a very
consistent Spanish custard. 

Then it was onwards and up(river)wards again. The next point of interest was a long avenue of eucaplyptus trees leading to La Señuela. Eucalyptus trees were originally planted in the Doñana area, replacing the native stone pines, in order to supply the paper industry with a cheap, replaceable, rapidly-growing source of cellulose. These trees impoverish the soil and are now slowly being removed in favour of the autocthonous pines. 

A view through the eucalyptus trees onto a stream
running parallel to the road and the river. The water, in 

contrast to the turbid Guadalquivir, is crystal clear

And so we motored on. Now however, the scenery became more industrialised as we entered the rice-growing part of the marshlands, so it was time to turn back and say hello to the placid cows again. 


On the way back we were also fortunate enough to witness the cargo ship we had seen that morning chunter past the landing stage where we had been waiting to watch it .

A nice, circular way to cap off our Sunday adventure