CADIZ Roadbook - TransAndalus

TRANSANDALUS ROAD BOOK
PROVINCE OF CÁDIZ
Sanlúcar de Barrameda – El Colmenar
Section 1
Sanlúcar de Barrameda – El Puerto de Santa
María
40 kms
Section 2 El Puerto de Santa María – Puerto Real 11.50 kms
Section 3 Puerto Real – Chiclana 23.30 kms
Section 4 Chiclana - Conil 26.80 kms
Section 5 Conil - Barbate 26.30 kms
Section 6 Barbate – Zahara de los Atunes 9.55 kms
Section 7 Zahara de los Atunes – Tarifa 34 kms
Section 8 Tarifa – Puerto de El Bujeo 29.85 kms
Section 9 Puerto de El Bujeo – Algeciras 26.30 kms
Section 10 Algeciras – Castellar Viejo 43.60 kms.
Section 11 Castellar Viejo – Jimena de la Frontera 21.20 Kms.
Section 12 Jimena de la Frontera – El Colmenar 40.10 Kms.
Total distance travelled through the province of Cádiz 332.50 kms
� DESCRIPTION
Crossing the Guadalquivir, the river that provides Andalucía’s
backbone, you enter its southernmost province. Cádiz represents a
meeting point of continents and seas; Europe and Africa are hardly
14 kms apart, while the waters of the Atlantic and Mediterranean
mix the in the Estrecho de Gibralter (Straits of Gibraltar). This
position has shaped its environment and history, and in particular
its climate: the province’s mountains receive the highest levels of
rainfall of the whole country despite being in the heart of dry Spain;
and the frequency of its most well-known winds, the ‘Levante’ and
‘Poniente’ (eastwind and westwind). The complex geology of Cádiz,
which comprises three main entities (quaternary sediments,
sandstones and limestones) has favoured a topography varying from
rolling hills to steep mountain ranges, with a vegetation alternating
between almost desert-like spots to leafy ‘Laurisilvas’ (laurel forests),
unique in the continental Europe - the pine and cork oak forests
that make up the wooded areas are particularly remarkable. Its
coastline alternates between extensive beaches and marshes and
cliffs, and with the exception of few spots, it has been spared the
effects of property speculation.
The history and pre-history of this province has left an important
legacy: numerous cave paintings; well-preserved Roman cities,
necropolises, roads, aqueducts, and countless murals and
monuments - not forgetting the architecture of its villages,
[sometimes masked by the changes of the last 50 years].
The economy of the province has been traditionally dominated by
the primary sector: fishing on the coasts, and farming and cattleraising
in the fields, together with forestry and cork production. In
the second half of the twentieth century the bahías gaditanas
(Algeciras and Cádiz) developed as major industrial centres which
made a major contribution to the growth of the population in these
area, and along with the area around Jerez de la Frontera they
make up the three major centres of industrial activity in the
province. In the last quarter of the twentieth century tourist
development has begun to significantly change the landscape and
the local society and economy leading, as we enter the 21st century,
to a rampant speculation and settlement although some places have
managed to hold onto their undoubted charm.
Our passage through the tierras gaditanas will take in all of these
aspects: starting with the gentle hills of the western countryside and
the Bay of Cádiz, going on to see the coastlines of Chiclana, Conil
and Barbate, and then, almost reaching Tarifa, riding into the
mountains of the Sierras del Estrecho and Los Alcornocales (the
cork tree forests), and then, before leaving the province of Cádiz, we
skirt skirting the mountain range of the Serranía de Grazalema,
(which we leave behind us at Montejaque).
It’s best for the touring cyclist to be forewarned: while at the start of
this route Cádiz welcome us with gentleness and courtesy, it will see
us off demanding the utmost effort of our legs - although without
doubt, having rewarded our senses and inspired us to return to
enjoy its many charms.