On the roads of Spain

Barcelona

One-hour ride in a cool ❄️ subway to the hotel, some time to rest and to refresh ourselves after the road, and we went out for a walk. The main destination for the rest of the day is the old city center or Ciutat Vella in Catalan language. Barcelona is located in Catalonia region of Spain. They have their own language that differs from Spanish, so on the streets you often can see signs and text in both.

20 minutes after we left, it started to rain, and we found a cover in a small nice vegan cafe (with small nice portions as well).

After the rain, we continued. But do you know the coolest thing about rain? I'll tell you. There are much fewer people on the streets, and the most important - puddles are good for photography! 😃

New day, new adventures. Now off the tourist routes. We took a subway and headed to the north-east of the city. A short walk through an industrial zone (yes, we know how to spend our vacation) and here we are.

The place is called Les Tres Xemeneies that means “the three chimneys” (quite original, yeah) because the almost 200-meter-tall chimneys are a part of a former thermal power station constructed in the 1970s and closed in 2011 and thanks to the locals were saved from demolition.

But honestly, the story of the plant is quite controversial. Back then in the 70s the locals were against of its construction, actually, disliking its appearance 🙃 as much as the environmental implications. But through all the years they attached to it, the chimneys became a kind of dominant of the skyline for miles around, and that's why they saved it from demolition in the end.

Back to the hotel for a few hours, to wait until the heat gone and then to the famous La Sagrada Família. But it was too crowded there and also it's quite hard to see the whole building from the ground. So we decided to not waste time and to go directly to the best view of the city!

We headed to a hill called Turó de la Rovira. There is an old bunker on the top remaining from the Spanish Civil War with the perfect overlook of the whole city.

The views were really breathtaking, so we spent the rest of the day up there.

As it became completely dark, we decided to climb down the hill and to return back to the hotel. Tomorrow is a big day, the first day of the road trip, we were a bit excited about that and a bit hungry, so a late pizza wouldn't be a bad idea at all. 🍕

What is the first thing to do before hitting the road? Right, supplies. Water, snacks and tourist gas (yeah, this time we were traveling with a stove, no more shitty gas station coffee). So the first stop was Decathlon and a supermercado.

I was getting used to the car and trying to build a perfect route at the same time. Yeah, I should have planned it in advance, but I always do these things at the last minute. But no worries, I'll save your time and give you a hint. So let's dive a bit deeper into the Spanish road system. It won't only let you avoid toll roads (lucky me, I hadn't known that before the trip, so goodbye 12€) but will also improve impression from your trip.

So the main types of roads in Spain:

1. Autopistas / Autovías de peaje – freeways, usually they are toll roads, identified with the letters AP followed by the road number. The sign is white letters on a blue background. Autopistas built to specific standards for the most efficient and safe high-speed travel. This type of roads always avoids going through cities, towns or villages. Maximum speed on autopistas is 120 km/h.

   AP-7

2. Autovías – quite similar to autopistas, but they are free to use. They have similar signs, but with the letter A followed by the road number, local autovías tend to have provincial abbreviations instead of the A letter. Maximum speed is 120 km/h.

   A-66

   C-32

3. Carreteras nacionales – national roads. They are identified with the letter N followed by the road number. White letters on a red background. National roads are free to use and might have two lanes of traffic or just the single one. They might go through cities, towns or villages. The core of the national roads is 6 roads which radiate in clockwise order from the Plaza Puerta del Sol in Madrid. They divide Spain into 6 zones, and each of these zones has the number of the road bounding it upon the left. Every other road beginning in a particular zone is given a number of that zone, and keeps this number throughout its entire length. Maximum speed is 90 km/h. These roads are the best choice for a road trip.

   N-VI

   N-630

4. Carreteras comarcales – local roads belonging to a region (an autonomous community / una comunidad). They are identified with the first letter of the community they belong to followed by the road number, e.g. CL for Castilla y León or AS for Asturias. Colors are black letters on an orange background for main routes and white on green for secondary. There are exceptions to the color code in some regions, but don't bother with it. Maximum speed is 90 km/h, but more often, you will have to drive at a much slower speed.

   CL-624

   AS-260

5. Carreteras provinciales – they are almost the same as the previous type, but belong to smaller administrative divisions (a province / una provincia). The sign is black letters on a yellow background. Usually these are very small local roads.

   GR-3201

6. Carreteras europeas – these E-roads are not part of the Spanish road system, but belong to a network of cross-national roads in Europe. In Spain, only autopistas, autovías and national roads can be an E-road.

   E-15

Pretty much everything about the road network, now let's go back to the road.

It was late afternoon already, so we had to hurry up. We'd decided to spend the night in a campground but it was still more than 300 km away from us. So we took the fastest road. Everything was new to us anyway and we were enjoying the scenery even from a freeway.

Okay, we got a bit bored, so we turned onto the smaller N-340 and then made a coffee stop. Thanks to the Primus stove, we could do it with any view in this trip.

After the short break we continued on N-340 for another half hour or so. Then we decided to take a faster road again and merged onto AP-7.

The reason for this was that the sun was going down already, but it was still quite a long way ahead, and we didn't want to arrive at the campsite too late. We'd never stayed in campgrounds yet, so it would be better to get there before sunset to avoid being in a complete unknown in complete darkness.

After another turn, a coastal town appeared on the horizon. But we didn't stop by, maybe next time.

Almost there. We turned onto a small local road. The sun just set, but the campground was only a few kilometers away. Just in time!

Valencia

As the campsite was only a few kilometers away from Valencia, this city became our first destination for that day.

We found a free park lot close to the city center and went out for a walk.

Driving south

We left Valencia and continued moving further south.

Nothing was happening (except for amazing scenery around us, of course) for the first few tens of kilometers. We were just driving, talking, listening to music and drinking coffee.

We also made an attempt to go swimming. We turned from the highway onto a small, steep road leading to the beach. But once there, we discovered that it was not just our idea. It was extremely crowded over there, so we weren't even able to park the car. So unfortunately, no swimming.

Anyway, we continued on our journey. We made a stop for lunch and then returned on the freeway. It was still a long way ahead.

We passed a city called Benidorm. It was quite a strange view – a sea, mountains and numerous high-rises on the shore. Initially, I wanted to stop by there but unfortunately we were pressed for time on that day.

After Alicante we turned inland. It's one of the most popular tourist areas in Spain, and it was quite challenging to find a decent hotel for a reasonable price on the coast. Thus, we decided to spend the night in Murcia, a city that is a little away from the sea.

Murcia

Murcia welcomed us with a giant statue of Jesus, just like in Rio. A bit smaller tho, but who cares? For two exhausted travelers, it looked exactly the same.

Barrens 🌵

We got up early the next morning and after a hearty breakfast hit the road again.

The very first viewpoint (Spanish word "mirador") was not so far from the city. Located off the main freeway, along a steep, twisty road in the hills, it provides a great view of a large reservoir with turquoise water and pale sandy dunes.

Although the views were really amazing, it was extremely hot that morning. So, after admiring the scenery and taking photos, we headed back to the car.

It felt cool to sit with an AC again and just drive. The lands outside seemed extremely dry and empty though, real barrens.

We returned to the car and headed to the day's final destination, a campground in the natural park Cabo de Gata.

Farm lands

The scenery outside was quite typical for this part of Spain, with hilly deserted lands and sparse vegetation.

But once we entered the province of Almería, a lot of white tents began to show up on the fields along the road.

We initially thought that they were animal farms, but we were wrong, they were greenhouses for fruits and vegetables as we found out a bit later.

The next morning, we got up early and quickly left the campground. This time, we decided to breakfast near an old lighthouse right on the shore.

Through Sierra Nevada

Then we swung by to a road cafe for a coffee and to make plans for the current day. We were pretty close to the Sierra Nevada, Spain's highest mountain range. So we decided to drive through it and then spend the night in Granada, a town at the base of the mountains.

It was getting really hot, and we thought that it would be a good idea to take a swim before going inland. Fortunately, there were some really nice beaches in Almeria.

After a short drive along the A-7 and we entered an area called Campo de Dalías or how locals call it "Mar de plástico" (Sea of plastic). And there is a good reason why it is called like that. Almost the entire area (around 390 square kilometers) is covered by plastic greenhouses. Just check out the satellite image below.

There are a lot of interesting facts about this phenomenon. Like, they cover so much area that it even causes a cooling effect because the white roofs reflect a large amount of sunlight, or, for example, a plastic pollution of the surrounding sea and many other things.

Being there is also surreal. Endless walls of white tents and among them are roads, houses, supermarkets and gas stations. The place looks so futuristic that it was even used in the movie "Blade Runner 2049", it's shown from above for a few seconds at the very beginning.

But let's go further. From A-7 we turned aside onto A-358, then A-347 and finally onto A-337, the road that would take us through the mountains. The further we drove, the road became steeper and narrower.

Then it became a complete zigzag road. Driving there was more like cornering exercises, and we were slowly making our way through the ridge. As a reward, there were absolutely breathtaking views almost around every corner.

Right before descending, we made a quick stop at an observation desk.

The views were amazing. With almost a panoramic view of the surroundings, we could see really far away - a large plateau beneath with many small towns or villages, roads, wind and solar farms, canyons and hills in the distance.

So we stayed up there for a while, drinking coffee and enjoying the scenery. Then we continued our descent, and soon we came back to a freeway. Finally, some ease after the twisty mountain road.

We were driving to our final destination for the day already, but then decided to make a short detour.

It was a small dam off the main road. Nothing spectacular, but it was good to see water again after spending so many hours in deserts and mountains 🥵.

Then we continued. We drove the final stretch and finally arrived to Granada.

We were driving back to the coast from the mountains, so the entire stretch of the road was just a really long descent. Somewhere in the middle of it, we made a quick coffee stop near a dam and a big water reservoir.

When we almost made it to the coast, we noticed a cool-looking town with a castle on the hill in the distance. And we decided that it would be a good place for lunch and swimming, since it was right on the shore.

When preparing for the trip, I googled the most beautiful roads in Spain and found a cool guide from BMW with the most scenic Spanish drives. So we just started one of these drives. It's a part of the N-340 road. N-340 is a very long road that runs from Barcelona and all the way down to the south of the country, but this section is especially beautiful because here it goes along the coast line.

And it was true—the scenery was absolutely stunning. We passed a lot of bays and small towns, massive cliffs and sandy beaches on the way. It was a really enjoyable drive.

After Málaga it was time to say goodbye to the Mediterranean Sea, and we headed inland.

The landscape quickly changed, and now we were driving through fields, hills, and huge rocks. And after some time, we arrived at our final destination of the day, the town of Ronda.

But we had to move on. Our next destination was only in 130km away, quite close. So it was supposed to be an easy day.

The first section of the road went through hills.

But then the landscape changed, the hills were replaced by endless fields, the road straightened and became wider. We increased our speed and soon arrived in Seville.

Ruta de la Plata 🏛️

The next morning, after a good breakfast with freshly brewed coffee, we hit the road again. But this time it was a special road.

Officially it is called N-630, but behind this number hides a historical road called Via de la Plata or Ruta de la Plata (The Silver Road in English).

It is an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path that crosses the west of Spain from north to south. N-630 (as well as the A-66 freeway) follows the path except for some stretches and large sections are more or less the same as they were two thousand years ago. The road is very popular among travelers, pilgrims, and cyclists.

The road starts in Seville and goes among plains and hills. There are a lot of old rest areas with trees along the way, to save exhausted travelers from the cruel summer Spanish sun under their shadows.

An hour later after traveling Andalusia for so many days we finally left the region and entered Extremadura.

We also decided on our plans for the night. We found a very nice place for a tent on the bank of a large reservoir. And set it as our goal for that day.

That was how we drove. Fields and plains were replaced by hills, then hills by plains again, and so on. It can sound boring, but from time to time the road after another turn gave us such an amazing view, and at such moments we understood it was worth it.

At some point, we noticed a big bull silhouette on the horizon. It's called Osborne Bull or El Toro de Osborne in Spanish. There are many of them in Spain. Usually, they are erected along roads and on hilltops. Once it was just a promotion for a Spanish company the Osborne Group, but then it became a cultural phenomenon and an icon of the country.

As we continued along the N-630 road, our eyes were drawn to an odd road sign: a scallop shell. It was an emblem of the Camino de Santiago, a network of pilgrims' ways. This iconic symbol represents the enduring spirit of pilgrimage, guiding travelers from all corners of the world towards self-discovery, cultural immersion, and the sacred destination of Santiago de Compostela.

Then our adventure took us to an intriguing site near Cáceres‎: the abandoned Mina de la Esmeralda, once a bustling emerald mine. There wasn't so much to see about the mine itself, only a few buildings were left there and most of them were almost completely destroyed. But from its vantage point, we were treated to really breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding area.

We were not so far from our final destination of that day, probably only one hour of driving from the mines.

Alcantara Reservoir 🏕️

As the sun began its descent towards the horizon, our journey along the N-630 road led us to the beautiful Alcántara reservoir. We found a really quiet and secluded place there where we could set up a tent and from where we could observe the scenery. It was the perfect spot to witness the sunset and take some rest after that memorable day of our road trip.

After breakfast with coffee, we set off on our journey again. The sun was just rising over the horizon, and the road was still completely empty.

Just a few kilometers from our stop, we came across the ruins of an old Roman bridge.

After a short break, we continued our journey.

After crossing the border between regions again, we entered the province of Castile and León, the largest in Spain by area.

The next morning, we continued our journey.

Zamora

Just about an hour's drive from Salamanca, still on the N-630, we reached the small town of Zamora, which became our first stop.

Then, we took a short detour to visit the old Roman ruins, located off the main road.

After a few more kilometers, we encountered the first genuine Spanish forest!

Enthralled by the scenic beauty, we decided to have a coffee break and found a lovely viewpoint with a bench that had the words "The most beautiful bench" written on it.

Continuing on, we reached the city of Leon, where we stopped for lunch, and soon we were approaching the mountains.

Cantabrian Mountains ⛰️

Driving along the winding serpentine road to the highest point of the pass, we finally caught sight of the sharp peaks of the surrounding summits. Interestingly, I thought we were passing through the Pyrenees at that moment, but in reality, this was a separate mountain range, as the Pyrenees are located further east, closer to France. And also, there was a border with the region of Asturias.

Beyond the border, we began a long descent towards the ocean.

Gijón

Finally, we arrived at the city of Gijon. Here, the N-630 road ended, concluding a significant portion of our journey.

Through the mountains

Waking up the next morning, we packed up our tent, had our final breakfast by the ocean, and hit the road.

We had to once again drive through the mountains, but this time in the opposite direction.

This time, we decided to take only the smaller roads. And, of course, the most memorable part was the N-625 road, particularly the section that passes through the Los Beyos gorge. The road on this stretch was incredibly narrow and winding, with cliffs hanging over you in some places.

After a brief pause, we continued our journey. The winding mountain roads gradually gave way to a straight road, and the scenery outside our window transformed from mountains to endless fields.

We spent almost the entire rest of the day in the car, only occasionally stopping at gas stations and rest areas.

At certain points, vast fields gave way to rolling hills, and on the horizon, large mountains came into view - the Pyrenees.

Almost by sunset, we arrived in Logroño, La Rioja. Here, we stopped only for the night and didn't really explore the city. The next morning, we intentionally set out early, and within a couple of hours, we were in Pamplona.

Back to Barcelona

After having lunch in Pamplona, we continued our journey.

Leaving the city on the highway, just about an hour later, we turned onto the small N-240 road once again.

In that area, the road runs alongside the main Pyrenees ridge for quite some time, and along the way, you encounter absolutely incredible views.

Finally, we returned to the highway and headed to our hotel in the city of Lleida.

Lleida

Lleida was the last city in this journey where we stopped for the night.

After taking a short stroll through the city in the evening, we headed back to our hotel to celebrate our final full day on the road.

The next morning, after packing our things and having breakfast, we quickly made our way to Barcelona Airport.

For the first time in a long while, it was raining, and as we sat in the airplane, waiting for takeoff, the sky turned pitch black, and a real storm began...

3522 kilometers through deserts, fields, and mountains, 10 autonomous communities, 7 hotels, and 4 nights in a tent.