Anyone done a trip around Andalucia?

NYboro said:
To be fair, the only really slow part is on the French side, between Montpellier and Perpignan. That's made up for by the spectacular views of the Med. From Girona onwards it's high speed.
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High speed inland to Madrid from the French border I think. From there you can get down to western Andalucía.

At the moment the fast trains do not go all the way down the east coast. Or link Murcia, Almería and Granada.

There is also work underway to create a big freight depot in Vera. In the province of Almería. So that fruit and veg can be delivered in containers. By lorry within Almería province. Then loaded on fast freight trains at Vera. Then shipped around Europe by fast train. Reducing the carbon footprint of the delivery process. As roads will only be used for the first and last miles.
 
NYboro said:
We used a 10 travel day Interrail pass in May. Paris, Barcelona, Granada, Còrdoba, Seville, Ronda, Madrid, Cerbère and Paris again. Only one train a day to and from Ronda though, but really spectacular. I'd recommend it .
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NY does this get you train travel in the UK as well?
Obviously need to get down south for the crossing into France. It's something I'd love to do.
 
Pauliej said:
NY does this get you train travel in the UK as well?
Obviously need to get down south for the crossing into France. It's something I'd love to do.
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I am interested in doing it the other way round eventually.

Maybe stopping off in Spain and France. On the way to London to see family.

Then stopping off in different places on the way back.

Another thought is using it to play golf courses around Europe. If we can take our clubs. Maybe using a sleeper train sometimes.

I hope to be able to do it in my lifetime. Fingers crossed.
 
Pauliej said:
NY does this get you train travel in the UK as well?
Obviously need to get down south for the crossing into France. It's something I'd love to do.
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Sadly not - interrail gets you out and back into your country of origin alongside free (to a point) travel around Europe

On some trains you will need to,pay to book a seat
 
Pauliej said:
NY does this get you train travel in the UK as well?
Obviously need to get down south for the crossing into France. It's something I'd love to do.
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One trip in the UK as long as it's the same day as the first one in Europe. Kings X in the morning and Eurostar in the afternoon for example. With first class you get the LNER food and drink as well. Same the other way round.
 
NYboro said:
One trip in the UK as long as it's the same day as the first one in Europe. Kings X in the morning and Eurostar in the afternoon for example. With first class you get the LNER food and drink as well. Same the other way round.
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Thanks mate, appreciate the info.
 
SmoggyParmo said:
I’ve done a bit of solo cycling around there (Billy no mates), using San Pedro de Alcántara as my base, but never been further east than Malagueta beach.

Malaga is a lovely city. Possibly my favourite along side Barcelona.

From San Pedro I’ve ridden up to Ronda and back via El Madroñal - Ronda’s great, but that high bridge nearly made me **** myself when I glanced over the side without realising the drop.

Also done San Pedro to the Rock of Gibraltar and back - passed through Estepona, Sabinillas, Manilva (on the way back), Sotogrande, San Roque and La Línea.

I like Sotogrande - looked very nice, but I never stopped for long.

Estepona has a long beach and some quaint backstreets.
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I lived in San Pedro for a year while working there. Had an apartment by the ballet dancer sculpture on the beach front. ... though I faced onto Petunias (if you turned left out of the front door and kept going straight on, you'd arrive in Ronda). San Pedro pueblo is actually really sweet. But I pretty much hated that coast .... especially Port of Abuse. That bike ride up to Ronda must have been hot work. Last time I was in Ronda it was 40 plus degrees. Wouldn't be too bad in winter ... chance of snow on that road even. Away from the tourist spots, that area of Andalucia is really nice... once inland and in the hills. I think my favourite trip from San Pedro was down to Tarifa though. And Malaga. I used to spend a lot of time in Malaga...fantastic city. This was way before the new port side development as well.
Sardines on Playa Pedrogalejo ....yummm. Oh yeah, food. I remember a couple of the beach restaurants on the San Pedro Paseo Maritime: Nuevo Reino and Bora Bora .... spent a lot of time in both of those.
 
borolad259 said:
I lived in San Pedro for a year while working there. Had an apartment by the ballet dancer sculpture on the beach front. ... though I faced onto Petunias (if you turned left out of the front door and kept going straight on, you'd arrive in Ronda). San Pedro pueblo is actually really sweet. But I pretty much hated that coast .... especially Port of Abuse. That bike ride up to Ronda must have been hot work. Last time I was in Ronda it was 40 plus degrees. Wouldn't be too bad in winter ... chance of snow on that road even. Away from the tourist spots, that area of Andalucia is really nice... once inland and in the hills. I think my favourite trip from San Pedro was down to Tarifa though. And Malaga. I used to spend a lot of time in Malaga...fantastic city. This was way before the new port side development as well.
Sardines on Playa Pedrogalejo ....yummm. Oh yeah, food. I remember a couple of the beach restaurants on the San Pedro Paseo Maritime: Nuevo Reino and Bora Bora .... spent a lot of time in both of those.
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I'm guessing you lived here?:

It was about 10 years ago when I was staying in the Cortijo Blanco Hotel with the wife and kids (they were about three and five). I did what any good husband would do, hired a bike for a few days and buggered off on half-day rides.

For Ronda, I was up at 5 am and set off in the dark with lights on, aiming to be up the climb before sunrise didn’t quite make it in time. It was the height of summer and already in the 30s, and even that early the road was busy with lorries, so it was head down and keep pedalling.

The descent was spectacular and seemed to go on forever. Came down the mountain with a group of motorbikes and they couldn’t catch me. I wasnt even peddling.

The Costa del Sol isn’t the easiest place to cycle unless you like climbing. The Gibraltar run was flatter but meant a long stretch on the Autovia del Mediterráneo, which was a bit sketchy.

San Pedro pueblo’s nice. I remember sitting outside a café near the high street with a coffee.

On the Ronda day I finished just short of 100 miles, so I did a few laps of Avenida Carlos Cana. Theres this daft rugby ball-shaped roundabout at the west end and, on one lap, I overcooked it on sprinkler-soaked tarmac, slid out, and gave myself gravel rash down one side. Made it all the way to Ronda and back without a scratch, then fell off ******* about on the seafront. Got told of by the Mrs when I returned.

Tried to find the ride on Strava recently, but it won’t show me anything before 2020.
 
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SmoggyParmo said:
I'm guessing you lived here?:

It was about 10 years ago when I was staying in the Cortijo Blanco Hotel with the wife and kids (they were about three and five). I did what any good husband would do, hired a bike for a few days and buggered off on half-day rides.

For Ronda, I was up at 5 am and set off in the dark with lights on, aiming to be up the climb before sunrise didn’t quite make it in time. It was the height of summer and already in the 30s, and even that early the road was busy with lorries, so it was head down and keep pedalling.

The descent was spectacular and seemed to go on forever. Came down the mountain with a group of motorbikes and they couldn’t catch me. I wasnt even peddling.

The Costa del Sol isn’t the easiest place to cycle unless you like climbing. The Gibraltar run was flatter but meant a long stretch on the Autovia del Mediterráneo, which was a bit sketchy.

San Pedro pueblo’s nice. I remember sitting outside a café near the high street with a coffee.

On the Ronda day I finished just short of 100 miles, so I did a few laps of Avenida Carlos Cana. Theres this daft rugby ball-shaped roundabout at the west end and, on one lap, I overcooked it on sprinkler-soaked tarmac, slid out, and gave myself gravel rash down one side. Made it all the way to Ronda and back without a scratch, then fell off ******* about on the seafront. Got told of by the Mrs when I returned.

Tried to find the ride on Strava recently, but it won’t show me anything before 2020.
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@SmoggyParmo Yeah, this first floor balcony was mine.

Opera Snapshot_2025-08-16_121432_www.google.com.png

Actually my first few nights in San Pedro, when I first arrived for work, were in Cortijo Blanco. The first morning I went out after breakfast to find cops all over the place just across the other side of the highway, and police tape everywhere. Bunch of blokes with automatic weapons had one into a hair salon and killed people. Gang related, seemingly. I should have seen it as some kind of portent because it turned out later that I was actually working for E European gangsters laundering money ... and involved with massive corruption, property deals etc. Towards the end I found myself in meetings with Max Clifford and the "boss" he represented down there ... who would twiddle a gun around as he spoke ... and he had a foreign legion goon outside the door.
Not long after I left, they whole organisation was broken up in "Operation White Whale". Though the "boss" managed to get away. He was French Ukrainian as it happens.

Re your bike ride along the coast. No way would I have ridden a bike on that coast highway. It was, at the time, the most dangerous road in Europe.
 
borolad259 said:
@SmoggyParmo Yeah, this first floor balcony was mine.

View attachment 93857

Actually my first few nights in San Pedro, when I first arrived for work, were in Cortijo Blanco. The first morning I went out after breakfast to find cops all over the place just across the other side of the highway, and police tape everywhere. Bunch of blokes with automatic weapons had one into a hair salon and killed people. Gang related, seemingly. I should have seen it as some kind of portent because it turned out later that I was actually working for E European gangsters laundering money ... and involved with massive corruption, property deals etc. Towards the end I found myself in meetings with Max Clifford and the "boss" he represented down there ... who would twiddle a gun around as he spoke ... and he had a foreign legion goon outside the door.
Not long after I left, they whole organisation was broken up in "Operation White Whale". Though the "boss" managed to get away. He was French Ukrainian as it happens.

Re your bike ride along the coast. No way would I have ridden a bike on that coast highway. It was, at the time, the most dangerous road in Europe.
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If you want to play a game of Spanish terrace photos I can offer you this one.

It is the view you get after driving through plastic greenhouses.
Resizer_17553447807021.jpg
 
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borolad259 said:
@SmoggyParmo Yeah, this first floor balcony was mine.

View attachment 93857

Actually my first few nights in San Pedro, when I first arrived for work, were in Cortijo Blanco. The first morning I went out after breakfast to find cops all over the place just across the other side of the highway, and police tape everywhere. Bunch of blokes with automatic weapons had one into a hair salon and killed people. Gang related, seemingly. I should have seen it as some kind of portent because it turned out later that I was actually working for E European gangsters laundering money ... and involved with massive corruption, property deals etc. Towards the end I found myself in meetings with Max Clifford and the "boss" he represented down there ... who would twiddle a gun around as he spoke ... and he had a foreign legion goon outside the door.
Not long after I left, they whole organisation was broken up in "Operation White Whale". Though the "boss" managed to get away. He was French Ukrainian as it happens.

Re your bike ride along the coast. No way would I have ridden a bike on that coast highway. It was, at the time, the most dangerous road in Europe.
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Wow, your story’s on a completely different level to my bike ride. From what I’ve read, there was a gang shooting in Marbella near San Pedro in December 2004, followed a few months later by Operation White Whale, which brought down a huge Eastern European money-laundering network.

I’ve added a link to the shooting for anyone who wants the details – fair warning, it’s pretty grim reading.

Are those the same events you were referring to in your post?

And as for my ride along the Autovía del Mediterráneo, I suspect you’d have been fine.
 
SmoggyParmo said:
Wow, your story’s on a completely different level to my bike ride. From what I’ve read, there was a gang shooting in Marbella near San Pedro in December 2004, followed a few months later by Operation White Whale, which brought down a huge Eastern European money-laundering network.

I’ve added a link to the shooting for anyone who wants the details – fair warning, it’s pretty grim reading.

Are those the same events you were referring to in your post?

And as for my ride along the Autovía del Mediterráneo, I suspect you’d have been fine.
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@SmoggyParmo Bloody hell, yes. That was it (the shooting). I had only been there a day. Horrific.

And yes, also I was working for the Majestic Group ... they had a radio station and a tv channel (on SKY). I worked for the TV company. As did a fair few people from the UK TV industry.
There was a lot of money sloshing around. They also owned the local racecourse.
They must have been the most incompetent money launderers because they managed to go bust ...

At one point they were in talks with Abramovic to build him a huge palace ... but I suspect he rumbled them. The boss man at Majestic, who was fairly personable one to one, if a little odd...was Godson of Boris Berezovsky if I remember rightly.

Murky old world. I was glad when I was out of there.... though I did have some fantastic times making travel programmes for them.

White Whale only really got going late 2005 into 2006 if I recall. Certainly I was back in the UK when all the arrests and seizures of yachts and property happened.
 
borolad259 said:
@SmoggyParmo Bloody hell, yes. That was it (the shooting). I had only been there a day. Horrific.

And yes, also I was working for the Majestic Group ... they had a radio station and a tv channel (on SKY). I worked for the TV company. As did a fair few people from the UK TV industry.
There was a lot of money sloshing around. They also owned the local racecourse.
They must have been the most incompetent money launderers because they managed to go bust ...

At one point they were in talks with Abramovic to build him a huge palace ... but I suspect he rumbled them. The boss man at Majestic, who was fairly personable one to one, if a little odd...was Godson of Boris Berezovsky if I remember rightly.

Murky old world. I was glad when I was out of there.... though I did have some fantastic times making travel programmes for them.

White Whale only really got going late 2005 into 2006 if I recall. Certainly I was back in the UK when all the arrests and seizures of yachts and property happened.
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Bloody hell indeed!

And the Majestic Group link makes sense now too. I came across their name while reading about Robert G*spar, the alleged French-Ukrainian money man tied to Operation White Whale. That PR connection with Max Clifford checks out with what you’ve said, along with the TV/radio side and the racecourse. Sounds like they were trying to play in some very big circles if Abramovich was involved:-

**Edit, link corrected**

You’re right on the timing too official records put the big arrests and asset seizures into 2005-06, so you’d have been back in the UK by then?

Murky world indeed… and I can see why you were glad to be out of it.
 
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SmoggyParmo said:
Bloody hell indeed!

And the Majestic Group link makes sense now too. I came across their name while reading about Robert G*spar, the alleged French-Ukrainian money man tied to Operation White Whale. That PR connection with Max Clifford checks out with what you’ve said, along with the TV/radio side and the racecourse. Sounds like they were trying to play in some very big circles if Abramovich was involved:-

how-a-string-of-celebrities-helped-one-of-europes-biggest-gangster-launder-millions-from-the-costa-del-sol

You’re right on the timing too official records put the big arrests and asset seizures into 2005-06, so you’d have been back in the UK by then?

Murky world indeed… and I can see why you were glad to be out of it.
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According to my mate General Sneaky, Robert (who was "the boss" I spoke of) is still up to mischief ... but actually played a part in stealing a load of stuff from the Russians, so fair play. I don't know wether or not this is true. He did turn up some years after White Whale, something to do with Bananas in the Philipines I think. From memory, his mother got nicked in Spain... along with the guy who he described as his brother, Frank. It's weird looking back to think about what I was tied up with. I think I came back to the UK in Decmber 2005.
 
borolad259 said:
According to my mate General Sneaky, Robert (who was "the boss" I spoke of) is still up to mischief ... but actually played a part in stealing a load of stuff from the Russians, so fair play. I don't know wether or not this is true. He did turn up some years after White Whale, something to do with Bananas in the Philipines I think. From memory, his mother got nicked in Spain... along with the guy who he described as his brother, Frank. It's weird looking back to think about what I was tied up with. I think I came back to the UK in Decmber 2005.
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Again that lines up with what I’ve read.

Looks like Robert Gaspar popped up again years later in the Philippines, fronting a banana plantation project in Mindanao, which ended up being shelved once the press started linking him back to European money-laundering cases [link].

Spanish reports also say his mam, Anne Chahbazian, was picked up in the Casares/Majestic corruption probe (link - needs translation from spanish)

And “Frank” sounds like Robert Frank Mani, his right-hand man, who was reportedly arrested at Málaga Airport in connection with the same investigation

The only bit I can’t find anything solid on is the “stole from the Russians” part. I might have a further dig into that later. If your mate General Sneaky’s got the inside scoop, I’m all ears.
 
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