On Friday evening, I left Cádiz after spending a couple of sunny and lovely days in the Spanish harbor town. My weather app forecasted stormy and rainy weather. Nothing that I wanted to experience right at the beach front. Even the street signs warned about the upcoming wind:
I drove a little into the mainland behind a mountain. I found shelter from the strong wind next to an artificial lake called Embalse de Barbate. It rained the whole night, but in the morning the sun was shining again. I wanted to find a nice and quiet spot near the coast to write a post with some of the pictures that I took in Cádiz:
A challenging way back to the coast
The scenery on my way back to the coast was really nice. A lot of green plants, mountains and some old farms. However, the further I drove along the road, the worse it got. I took a picture of the road while it was still easy to drive:
More potholes appeared over time. Sometimes these holes were more than 20cm deep. Nevertheless, I kept on driving until I reached a part of the road that was flooded.
The traces of the wheels that passed before seemed very big. Maybe tractors? 
The water was too dirty to see if and where I would be able to pass with my simple van. I was in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t want to risk getting stuck there. So, I turned back to look for an alternative route.
On my way back, I was driving around a huge pothole when my van suddenly drifted to the right. The roadside completely broke apart and pulled my van off the road. I tried to stabilize the ground with a bunch of stones and big branches. It was pointless. As soon as I tried to move the van, the ground broke even more and the van turned dangerously to the side.
It was obvious that I needed another vehicle to pull my van out of that misery.
I picked the best place and date for my adventure. 
I was in the middle of nowhere and it was Epiphany, a federal holiday on which Spanish families get together and give presents to each other. There was no farmer around that could pull out my van with a tractor.
I couldn’t find any help locally. So, I called my insurance and ended up waiting the whole afternoon for a tow truck. The weather was nice at least and there were a lot of interesting birds and other animals to observe. Apparently, I got stuck near Corredor Verde Dos Bahías. A hiking trail where you can find various protected animals and plants. 
Bringing the van back on the road
The sun was already set when the tow truck arrived.
The driver was a friendly dude. We planned how to rescue my van without flipping it over. We ended up pulling the van carefully out of the mud with a hydraulic cable winch. Lucky me! 
The van was back on the road and I could drive to the next village where I slept in a parking lot in a quiet side road.