Day No. 117 - Forever young ... - Parque Nacional de Doñana - GLÜCKsMUSKEL.DE - Travel blog 315Grad

"...forever young for a lifetime

You have to remember the good times

Because nothing is forever"

The new day also brings sunshine and a bright blue sky. - But it's nowhere near as warm as the day before. You could even say it was a bit shady tonight. And yet we are in Seville, or at least on the outskirts. Didn't Torgit claim that this was not only the most beautiful city in Spain, but also the hottest? - That's too many superlatives for me. - But it is interesting to note that here, at least allegedly, there is also the longest siesta. In any case, the stores take a four to five hour lunch break. Even in winter, by the way. I could get used to that.

But we decide to move on. So it's time to pack again. - The owner of a Spanish VW California Ocean says goodbye to us and gives us a few tips along the way. - The guys from the rowing club are also working hard again.

But first we have to go shopping. We get hold of a huge pineapple. I'm curious to see how it tastes. And off we go on the train, A-4 looks familiar. But we don't want to go to Aachen 😉 At Dos Hermanas, we change to the country road. (Note from Torgit: The pineapple weighs 2.6 kg. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting that all fruit and vegetables are paid for by weight here, not by the piece like here. Otherwise I would have chosen a smaller one)

Cadiz is the rough direction we have planned. But before we drive to the next town, we first look for a rural idyll. - Thiemo, a friend from Cologne, has just called. - Besides the question of where we are, it's a classic. - "Where are you celebrating New Year's Eve?" - It's a familiar question. - Before Christmas, we were also constantly asked where and how we were celebrating. - Funnily enough, we didn't know until the same day. - We are realizing more and more that such dates have become less important to us. How are we supposed to plan New Year's Eve when we usually don't even know in the morning where we'll end up in the evening? - Just like today. (Note from Torgit: In the morning? We often don't know where we're going to sleep in the afternoon 😉 )

We have spent the last few days on the Guadalquivir, the fifth longest river in Spain. It runs past Seville and flows into the Gulf of Cádiz at Sanlúcar de Barrameda. So we just have to keep parallel to the river. As planned, it becomes more and more rural. - To the left and right of the road, seemingly endless fields, farmland, irrigation canals and the odd wind turbine pass by. - Suddenly we see a large number of birds above one of the fields, flying upwards in circles in ever larger orbits. The whole thing looks like a kind of vortex. An exciting sight, but unfortunately we have no idea why this is happening. Are they cranes or storks? We can't quite tell. Do the birds use the thermals? We think so, but we're not sure.

Lots of countryside here is certainly the best way to describe it. We leave the road and find a cozy spot by a canal. Time for breakfast, it's only 2 pm. - A farmer drives past once, visibly irritated by the new visitor. - Then we continue on, lush green alternating with dry pastures. I find it particularly exciting that one moment you have the feeling of being in a flat area, only to drive through a hilly landscape minutes later. - From time to time we also come across a car wreck. - Then there's another field full of photovoltaic panels. - We can't keep up with our solar bag.

We put on the appropriate playlist, classics alternate with pop. Suddenly "I can't take my eyes off you" comes on - wasn't there another version? - We hear the same song by Frankie Valli, Gloria Gaynor and Lauryn Hill. - Slowly we can sing along. - Apparently there's also a version by the Pet Shop Boys. I would have loved to hear it. But unfortunately we can't find it.

This is followed shortly afterwards by "Forever young" by Alphaville. - I immediately think of the German version by Bushido with Karel Gott. Didn't we just talk about Karel Gott? - That's right, there was something. - I love this duet, as it's part of my personal motivational playlist. I think the video is particularly cool. I also associate it with something personal. If I'm not mistaken, this video was recorded on a route where I used to ride my Pa racing bike. Right, I'm getting sentimental again. - As I'm about to link you to the video, I come across another good video from my motivational playlist straight afterwards. - Again with Bushido, but now as a trio with Sido and Peter Maffay, "Ich wollte nie erwachsen sein". - Who wants that? You may think what you like about Bushido, but these tracks are good.

In the meantime, the landscape has changed. Water can be seen to our left. Salt pans, a bit like in our Brittany thriller. We now also have a destination. - A recommendation that we found via park4night. Apparently there is a place to spend the night not far from here, right on the Guadalquivir. - This is right on the border of the Coto de Doñana National Park, a shallow, periodically flooded wetland, the so-called marismas. Thousands of migratory birds spend the winter here. Will we notice anything on our side of the river? - We will "sneak up" carefully - although we are not in the national park, we don't want to scare any birds.

However, Park4night issues another warning that the path would be difficult to pass in winter. But in the meantime I've gotten into the habit of exploring the situation on the spot. - Suddenly the road turns into a dirt track. This winds its way through the middle of the salt pans. There is now water to the left and right. The path gets muddier and muddier. At some point, I decide to get out and we continue on foot. - It should be the end, but the square at the end of the salt works welcomes us with a wonderful view of the Guadalquivir. I take a chance, what could happen except that a salt worker grins and earns some extra money. In the end, we really are at the water's edge. A look at the tide shows that the water will reach its highest level in two hours. Nevertheless, we hope not to get our feet wet. - Ships now pass us at stone's throw distance. The sunset rewards us for the risk we have taken.

Only one little thing spoils the idyll. Once again, there is garbage all around us. The tire tracks in the mud show that we were not the first to take the risk here. We don't know whether the garbage comes from the river or has been "lost" by local residents or campers. Ultimately, it doesn't matter who is responsible. That's why I'm starting another litter campaign. Within just 5 minutes, I have collected a large bag of garbage. After that, the place is clean for us and those who follow us, at least for the time being. If everyone put just two pieces of paper in their bin bags, these places would certainly be spotlessly clean. Yes, I got my hands dirty. But they are quickly washed. In return, Torgit serves an ice-cold beer after work. We've earned it.

In the evening we have a nice, hot lentil soup. Just the right thing now, because as the sun sets, the temperature drops to 7 degrees. Just as we are cooking, a Land Rover pulls up across the road. At least now I know who left the tire tracks. Later, Torgit butchers our pineapple. - Wonderfully sweet.

Where the sun sank not so long ago, the waxing moon now stands crescent-shaped, reflected in the water. The sky is full of stars. The lights of Sanlúcar de Barrameda shine in the south. It's cozy out here. Simply hyggelig, the Norwegians would say.

Insight of the day: There's still a lot of territory here.