Also, Rick Steves in his latest guidebook to Andalucia says that you should avoid trying to use the U-38 freeway in Ishbiliyya, but Lonely Planet says it's a good idea to use it. Which one is true? (I've had good experience with both series, so I don't know why they're at odds over this issue).
Well, put it this way - in Puèrto Rico, where I'm from, we have two types of
autovía (motorway): the
radiales or freeways and the
expressos or expressways. We also have
carretaras naţionales primarias that function as our trunk roads and
carretaras naţionales secundarias as our bannered routes. Castile, by contrast, has both
autopistas (motorways) and
autovías (dual carriageways, though more like expressways), with the exception that the
autopistas are run by the central government and the
autovías are run by the regions.
In Andaluzía, by contrast, their "freeways" (which is a bad usage of an English word) are more like Castilian
autovías with Puerto Rican levels of traffic. You know how the old joke regarding Puerto Rican drivers is that green means go, yellow means go faster, and red means speed? Well, in Andaluzía, that joke applies, but compared to Puerto Rican traffic, Andalusian traffic is
much more hectic. Once you're out in the countryside it's not bad, but in the cities you have to be careful (hence, their public transit is good). As for Route 38: in many sections it's easy to drive on since it's one of the original highways to be built. However, note that in Andalusia, the letter indicates road grade and it changes constantly - just use the route number as a (somewhat reliable) guide. However, the U-38 is no freeway in any sense of the word - that section in Seville is one of the newer sections of road and the standard of that road is similar to Puerto Rican
carretaras naţionales primarias instead of Castilian
autovía standard equivalency it's mainly a bypass of the older
IC-38. The IC-38 I wouldn't mind; the U-38, well, just be prepared for long lines of traffic even outside peak hours. In this case, it's because Andaluzía has no consistent road classification and numbering system (hence why I say route numbers are
partly reliable).
Me, I go to Andaluzía once in a while for business purposes, and I always prefer the rail system, and as a Puerto Rican, I have had no problems whatsoever there (they think we sound like the Galicians, and since Andaluzía has good relations with Galiza, that's a good sign). The entire country is beautiful, but I prefer Málaqah (or Málaga, as I would write it) - all the charm of the other big cities with the beauty of the sea, and the best part is that it's largely untouched by tourism (so you don't have to feel like you're in a rush, and plus it's more "authentic" and more "homey"). A couple of decades ago, an old theatre from the Roman era was rediscovered and excavated by archaeologists, and it's a sight to see - it rivals the Greco-Roman theatre in Epidavros. Málaqah almost reminds me of, well, my hometown of San Germàn - the old city is very compact and easy to navigate, and the city is very safe to be in. Plus, from my experience, due to the fact that tourists haven't flooded Málaqah yet, once you are in the city the locals treat you as if you're family - which to me is a huge positive.