We eventually got away on time on Wednesday, 8th September on our first holiday in Spain. We had visited the Canaries and Majorca & Menorca but had never seen mainland Spain. For many years I had dreamed of visiting Spain and seeing its plains and mountains. I had seen occasional films showing these features but to see them in person was completely different. Pauline and I were amazed at the stately grandeur of the mountains we saw. We stayed in a rented farmhouse on the edge of the Montes de Malaga. we were sandwiched between two valleys and the views were impressive. The photo above is an example of what we saw each day as we emerged from the house.
We hired a Fiat Panda which has a 1200cc engine. It was not up to the task we set it. On the motorways it was often difficult to ascend to fifth gear because it was so under-powered. The roads in Spain are quite exceptional and put the UK roads to shame. Their road signs were very much to the point and the language difference was not a problem. Some of the road signs were really cartoon depictions of what the driver needed to know. Outside of urban areas like Malaga the motorways or autovias as they are known in Spain were extremely quiet except when siesta time was approching!
There were plenty ancient towns with period features and some of the old villages seemed to hang from the hill and mountain sides. My only problem was that I could not safely stop at the side of the road to take photos that presented themselves. There was always a ditch on either side. The old towns and villages were built high up to fend off ancient invaders who happened along. There was always a castle to defend the community. There was far more apparent history than we have in the UK.
The first old town we visited was Antequera. We parked in the underground car park and walked up the main street until we found a group of people sitting at tables outside a bar. There we ordered beer and tapas followed by a glass of Manzanilla. It was relaxing to sit there in the street under an umbrella and soak up the atmosphere of Spain. After our wonderful meal we collected the Fiat from the car park and drove to the top of the town where there were lovely rooftop views as well as one of a former Roman baths. In the distance we could see the outcrop of rock from the plain. This was to be repeated wherever we went.
Two days later we drove to the ancient town of Cordoba but were bitterly disappointed to find parking was impossible. We drove back to Colmenare via Montilla, a well known town for white wine.
The Michelin Guide referred to a drive of 101 miles around some lovely villages so we took this route, going clockwise instead of the suggested anti-clockwise. One small village really stood out. It was Zuheros which seemed to cling to a steep mountainside for dear life! Here there was a huge rock with an ancient castle standing on it. By the rock was another rock which looked as if it had been split from the larger part with a giant cleaver. From below it was magnificent but I could not stop, blocking the road, to take a photo. The village streets seemed so steep that they were at 45 degrees to the vertical. It was bottom gear all the way! At the far end of the village I was able to get a shot of the castle on the rock but it would have been better taken from below the rock. The views at this point were of millions of olive tres planted in perfect rows on the hillsides. Most of the drive gave us views of such neatly planted trees. I wondered how the harvest was organised because even an army of workers could not have knocked all the olives down when they had swollen with October rain. The tour ended with vistas of a huge man made lake. The water had a rich green colour and stretched for miles. We had to cross the concrete bridge which was controlled by the only set of temporary traffic lights we saw. Workman were slowly renewing the concrete road surface and the bit in use was very bumpy indeed.
One day we visited a pueblo called Frigiliana near Nerja. It was a modern version of the many old villages arranged like an amphitheatre. Another such place, but far more beautiful, was Mijas Pueblo, where we met some friends. I had last seen Judith over 15 years ago when she worked for NALGO, the former local government union. She and Mike had bought an apratment in Riviera Del Sol and were there for a month. It bwas great to see them again. We liked Mijas so much that we went back another day to do some more exploring. Previously we had been sheltering from a bad thunderstorm, so it was good to see it in full sun.
The piece de resistance, though, was the town of Ronda, about 70 miles from our base. The town was in two parts, separated by an ancient bridge some 300 feet high from the bottom of the gorge. I felt very queasy as I looked down from that "supernal" height to the river below! After viewing it from every conceivable angle we returned to find we had been booked for illegal parking! Not to worry, though, it could not spoil our lovely holiday.
By the time we boarded the plane for home we agreed we would return. Spain is a huge country and we had not even seen the whole tip of the iceberg. For years I had listened to Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez and imagined the Spanish countryside going on for hundreds of miles. Now I have seen a little and it is so good to be there in person rather than see it in a film.
We thoroughly recommend Spain to anyone who likes tourism rather than flop holidays. No wonder so many British people have settled there! We encountered many of them in the supermarkets we visited.
