A couple of weeks ago the kids were off school as it was Semana Blanca so we decided to do something different and go on an adventure. I mentioned the Via Verde to my husband and he liked the idea so we "yougodo"ed it (www.yougodo.com) and then searched for a hotel nearby.
Estacion de Coripe (www.estaciondecoripe.es) came up on Trip Advisor with excellent reviews. I rang them and asked if they had any vacancies and whether it was possible to hire bicycles. He said yes to both so I booked it and off we set.
The journey from Manilva to Coripe is extremely picturesque taking you past several white villages and through the Natural Parks of Sierra de Grazalema and Algodonales.
We bypassed Ronda and a few minutes later saw the sign to Coripe. About half an hour later after winding our way up a mountain and down into a valley we arrived at Estacion de Coripe.
The converted railway station stands alone in the middle of a beautiful valley and at first I didnt think it was the hotel but then realised it must be as it is the only building in sight and the words clearly stated "Estacion de Coripe".
Moments later a handsome young man called Juan greeted us and told us in good English that his mother was still getting our rooms ready but would we like to have a drink in the sun while we wait.
So we got the kids bikes out of the car so that they could explore a bit while we relaxed and took in the beautiful surroundings.
A little later after we had been shown our rooms, Juan suggested that we take a walk to the ancient monument 2 km away while they prepare dinner. It was a beautiful walk along the riverside and I wont tell you any more about it as it may spoil it for you.
At about 8pm we sat down to dinner and Juan brought us our drinks. We were expecting him to bring us a menu to order from but instead he said to relax and enjoy the "delights" that they have made for us. Well we certainly did enjoy them - he brought dish after dish of freshly prepared delicious "home-made" Spanish cooking. The kids loved it all and we loved it all. What I liked about it was that we didnt have the stress of choosing what to have but had the sheer pleasure of trying new and delicious foods cooked with love and pride.
They are passionate about their food and Juan said that if we come again to let him know in advance what we would like to try and he will cook it for us...
We went to bed that night feeling very satisfied and looking forward to the coming days adventure.
Juan told us at breakfast that Andres the bicycle hire man would be bringing the bikes at 10 am. We got ourselves ready and very unspanishlike he arrived 5 minutes early!
He selected suitable bikes for us and recommended that the best route for us with our kids would be the 6km ride slightly uphill to the Griffin Vulture colony so that the journey back would be easier.
So off we set and the first tunnel we came to had a light to switch on so that you could see where you were cycling...out the other end we were greeted by more stunning scenery and it was so peaceful as we were the only ones on the track. Infact during the 3 hours we were out we only bumped into two other families and a group of accompanied school children going the other way. We pretty much had it to ourselves which was wonderful.
I would recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys exploring the countryside. We will definately go back again to explore the remaining 24km that we didnt see.
If you would like to stay at Estacion de Coripe contact Juan +34 696 955 198 or email him jramontoro@live.com.
Juan can arrange bike hire for you which was very reasonable - only 10€ per bike for us or you can call Andres directly on +34 655 526 716