On Friday 15th May 2026, we decided to take a final evening walk around Santa Maria de la Alameda to take in the wonderful views of the Mountains before leaving on Saturday morning and heading south… it was still blumming freezing so, much as we loved where we were, we couldn’t wait to see the temperature gauge in the car start rising 😎
A final walk around the village & surrounding countryside…
Top Right = Dartford Warbler; Middle Right = There’s snow on them far hills!
Come Saturday morning (16th May), having decided to take the lesser roads rather than the toll road, the 250-odd mile drive down to Villanueva del Rey did not disappoint. We wound our way slowly southward, stopping here and there for a break, munchies, caffeine and to stretch our legs, before ending up at our new accommodation just before 6pm.
Our route:
Santa Maria de la Alameda to Villanueva del Rey
We passed by a lot of reservoirs and stopped at one to stretch our legs…
One of the many reservoirs we drove past on our way south.
This one had plenty of Storks nesting – one with three chicks that were much bigger than the ones we saw further north at Segovia (Top Left);
We also saw a pair of Egyptian Geese (Middle Left is one of them!);
Bottom left = a Stork & Heron sharing tree space!
And noticed a lot more different plants around the reservoir too with some fantastic names:
Some of the wild flowers at the reservoir:
Starting Top left and working around to the right…
Purple Rock Cress; Spanish Broom; Oats; Rampian Bellflower;
Woolly-headed Thistle; Patterson’s Curse; Bellardia and,
Middle = Sheep’s Bit
And, of course, it wouldn’t be a drive through Spain without passing a few castles! Here’s the two we got pics of from the roadside…
Top = Castillo de Puebla de Alcocer;
Below = Castillo de Belalcazar
On arrival, the temperature had risen by about 18 degrees to the lower 20s. As the UK is expecting over the next few days, the temperature here has slowly been rising all week and has settled at 29-32 degrees these last few days… it literally is too hot to sit outside in the sun unless you are in the shade or until it starts cooling down a bit in the evening. That said, it’s still pretty hot even at about 7ish when we usually head inside to start making preparations for our dinner! I definitely am not complaining and am sure that I can put up with this for the next 3.5 weeks!
Being around 3.5km outside the smallish village of Villanueva del Rey, we are, I believe, on the edge of the Sierra de los Santos, described online as “…a beautiful, lesser-known mountain ridge located in the municipality of Fuente Obejuna, in the northern part of Córdoba, Spain… this rugged, natural area is deeply connected to the rural heritage and history of the Guadiato Valley”.
Our first day here (Sunday 17th) marked an important Saints day down in the village – our host sent us some info on it and said to call her if we decided to venture out but to be honest, we didn’t fancy it as we were both a bit knackered after the journey the previous day, and just wanted a day of relaxation, no travelling & a catch up on getting some washing done!
It’s very peaceful where we are with just the sound of the wind rustling through the grasses and olives groves, cockerels crowing, birds twittering (& Hoopoes hooping, if that’s what you call it! Apparently they get their name from their call which goes hoo-po-po…) and the odd dog barking… One of the first things we saw when we arrived, was a hare in the olive grove below the balcony! It’s perfect for a bit of R&R.
The view from our verandah…
it was a bit cloudy when we first arrived but now, at the end of the week, it’s endless blue skies and roasting hot!
We have had a few days relaxing, a few days with a drive out (one along the most horrendous “rural” road which felt like a proper off-roading experience – which left Pete’s back aching & my nerves shattered! 🤣🤣🤣) and had a few nice walks but not too far as it’s a bit hot!
Here’s some photos from this week…
Some pics of where we are staying – about 3.5km
outside Villanueva del Rey
Out & About… Top L = Castillo de Belmez;
Bottom M = Black Angel atop the church in Posadillo;
Bottom L = Red-Striped Oil Beetle (Berberomeloe Majalis), a type of Blister Beetle native to the Western Mediterranean Basin
The church above with the black angel is in a small village called Posadilla – it’s where we eventually got back to a tarmac road after our unplanned off-road experience!
Our walk to look at the Embalse (Reservoir) de Sierra Boyera
Right T to B = Azure-Winged Magpie; Egyptian Geese; Great-Crested Grebe. Left T to B = Crested-Lark; Hoopoe; Woodchat Shrike & Corn Bunting
And some of the flowers & fauna…
Some of the flowers & fauna we have seen this week
Top L to R = Blue Pimpernel; A tree that I think looks like a deers face (Pete is not convinced!); Long Headed Poppy.
Bottom L = Rose Chafer Beetle; Right M = Red Sandspurry
And some more… the pink collection!
Left T / B = French Lavender / Wild Thistle (as big as Pete’s hand!);
Right T / M / B = Grey-leaved Cistus / Mallow / Purple Milk Thistle
And more…
Top L to R = Marbled White Butterfly; Giant Fennel; Painted Lady Butterfly. Bottom L to R = Dill; Meadow Brown Butterfly; Garden Angelica
So that’s about all this week, except that, when we got back from one of our walks, our host (or “Papa” of Raquel who is our host (nothing like the only fools and horses Raquel, Bob Harper! 🤣), was here (he comes every day to feed his chickens and tend his vegetable plot which is next to the pool – it’s OK though, he usually comes early, way before I think of getting out of bed!), was here and gave us this bottle of Olive Oil… apparently this is made from the Olives that grow surrounding our little house here in the Sierra and he supplies it to Aldi! Having already said we will have 10 litres off our friends Kev & Jane when we go to see them next week, we are going to have to find some clever things to do with 11 litres of Olive Oil otherwise, our new-found supply will outlive both of us! 🤣🤣🤣
Hasta luego amigos! ❤️
All the gubbins… 
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