April 28 - 29, 2010 -- Reflections from Frigiliana

We are nearing the end of our time in Frigiliana and so we spent some time on Wednesday exploring and enjoying this little village and neighbouring Nerja.

Frigiliana is an amazing little village -- so clean and bright, homog- eneous in its architecture, and very livable. Every streetscape reveals some wonderful perspective -- a long winding, cobblestone street, a picturesque courtyard shared by two or three homes, a brilliant white church, a restaurant with balcony or streetside tables, or a plaza with shaded tables and interesting adjoining buildings. The village boasts forty-one restaurants and bars, many of which do not open until nine o'clock p.m. but, despite that, it is a quiet and traditional village.

Today, Thursday, we travelled the short distance (5 minutes) to Nerja, having some places to visit and people to see. Carol got her hair cut by our host's hairdresser and was very happy with the result. Duane visited the car rental dealer to arrange for delivery at the airport tommorrow. We had an early dinner on a balcony overlooking a busy beach.

We see graffiti in our travels which is an expres- sion of people who are not always heard in public discourse. One example expressed a fairly common sentiment here (and in Italy when we were there a few years ago) that the adoption of the Euro condemned the Mediterranean countries to control by Germany in terms of exchange rates, monetary policy, and ultimately economic progress. The thought is that what Germany did not achieve by military means it is gaining by economic control. The current Greek fiscal crisis is seen as a symptom of the inappropriateness of countries like Spain (and other "Club Med" countries) adopting the Euro; they will likely revert to their own currencies -- pesos, lires, and drachmas. This time next year might be a very economical time to visit Greece or Italy.

Driving and parking in Spanish cities is a chal- lenge. Many streets are only ten feet wide and allow one way traffic and no parking. If a street is wide enough, parking is allowed on one side, leaving just enough room for a lane of traffic. On two way streets, cars park from either direction and double parking is very common. Just stop in front of a shop or drive up on the sidewalk, put the flashers on (or not), and go about your business. However, Spanish drivers are careful, courteous and patient. Most of the difficulty for a foreign driver comes from not being aware of one-way streets.

It is sad to leave as we could have profitably spent more time right here in Frigiliana and Nerja. However, tomorrow we are off to Malaga and from there we fly to Madrid.

April 27, 2010 -- Granada and Las Alpujarras

We had the morning to spend in Granada so we had coffee, wander- ed around a bit and then visited the Cathedral, a massive Gothic/Renaissance/Baroque structure which apparently changed styles as it was being constructed over the decades. The pillars are massive, not elegant. The church is entered via a low entrance and it has an unimpressive exterior partially because it is surrounded by other buildings, separated only by very narrow streets, and it is without a plaza. Granada never really regained its glory, partly because shortly after the Catholic Monarchs took control Granada was bypassed as a seat of power and influence. Phillip II didn't complete his father's palace but moved to Madrid and built his own, El Escorial.

We hopped a local mini-bus to the Albaycin, the old Moorish quarter across the Dauro River from the Alhambra, apparently with good views of the whole Alhambra complex. Our ride was a bit of a joke as it was almost entirely along narrow cobblestone streets with twelve foot stone walls appearing about a foot from both side windows of the mini-bus. Occasionally we had a peak at a view or some landmark. We were exceptionally happy that we hadn't decided to drive the route ourselves.

Back to our hotel we had lunch and were on our way, gaining the highway with great facility. Having some time to spend we took a different route home, through Las Alpujarras, a valley wedged between the Sierra Nevada and the Alpujarrra Mountains. This is a very high elevation region with little villages clinging to precipitous slopes at the base of the Sierra Nevadas. These white villages each have a special product for which they are known, be it mountain water, cured hams, pottery or hand-woven rugs. We had a beer and tapas at Caliperia, where we purchased a lovely rug and a fruit bowl.

We continued home, passing through Orgiva, a town with a lovely Baroque church with a front entrance patio filled with orange trees in full fruit. As one passes through this countryside one's sense are confronted with the most intense aromas from fruit trees and flowers. One thing that we have yet to figure out -- how can orange trees be in fruit and in bloom at the same time?

Back to Nerja, where we shopped for groceries and supplies to replace those we have used. Carol was not happy with one of the seafood choices Duane suggested for dinner.

April 26, 2010 -- Granada & the Alhambra

Today we started our two day visit to Granada. After all the hype about not driving our car, not being able to park, etc., it was a cinch. Hotel parking was available, but had it not been, public parking was just a block away. Our hotel, the Best Western Dauro 11, could not have been better located -- on a lovely pedestrian street within a few blocks of the Cathedral.

We settled into our hotel and began our visit to Granada with cerveza (beer) -- so much cheaper than coffee -- and food, glorious tapas.

After satisfy- ing our hunger, we decided to begin with the main attrac- tion, the Alhambra, and it was magnificent. Granada was the last Moorish stronghold to fall to the Catholic Monarchs and is by far the most authentic Moorish Palace in Spain.

These folks knew how to get close to Heaven inside their fortifi- cations -- wonderful gardens, pools of water, beautifully designed and decorated spaces whether they were courtyards, ambassadorial halls, private rooms or miradors. Then, of course Charles V, the conqueror, plunked his huge palace adjoining it -- quite a jarring juxtaposition.

Charles' creation is cold and magisterial with a massive courtyard surroundeded by tall Roman columns. It has none of the detailed mosaics or filigree work, the labyrinth of adjoining rooms and courtyards, the detailed carvings on ceilings or, for that matter, the intimacy, tranquillity and comfort exhibited by the Nazarid Palace.

The Alcazaba, or fortress, seems impregnable, much like the forts in Sevilla, Malaga and Cordoba. Interestingly, our little town, Frigiliana, due to its mountainous location and fortifications, was the last small Andalusian towns to submit to the Catholic Monarchs after the fall of Granada and its inhabitants were later very involved in the rebellions against their authority.

We returned to our hotel, exhausted from all the walking and climbing, and rested for an hour before further exploring this wonderful city. Although it was late, the streets were lively. We enjoyed some Cava (much like champagne) at an outdoor patio, listened to the street music and watched the Spaniards strut their stuff. It was a wonderful evening and it seemed we were the first to leave as we retired to our hotel around midnight.

In the hotel lobby we met four ladies from Sarasota, Florida, who were on a Granadian tour, and we chatted with them for an hour or so. They loved our "delightful accents" and we exchanged travelling adventures and locations and marvelled at the highlights of Granada.

April 24 - 25, 2010 -- Belly Dancers, Nude Bathers & Internet Daters

Saturday was a relaxing day, spent mostly on the lovely terrace of our apartment. Carol was not feeling 100% and Duane felt a repeated need to visit the neighbourhood store, coming back empty-handed the first four times. We find it amusing trying to figure out the retail hours of opening here.

In the evening we took our evening stroll to the village and then attended a belly dance performance (which began at 9:30 p.m.) in the local school gym. It was a good show, featuring many different styles of belly dancing -- Oriental and Egyptian, but most based on turn of the twentieth century Parisian fashion. One of the surprising features was a male belly dancer who was quite a dandy and showman. He obviously had a large following because people applauded, stood, and cheered loudly.

Some of the dancers were in amazing physical shape -- the body one gets from pumping iron. Others were the more voluptuous type, and still others were out of shape and overweight. At the end of the program (it was already past midnight) the dancers came into the audience to get people up to dance -- we left before they got to us. Duane loved the entire show; for Carol there was a bit too much vibrating flesh! If you'd like to see some of these jiggling bodies check out http://www.bellydanceshirin.com . The video of the dance Percusion will give you an idea of what Duane dreamt about last night.

Today we drove into Nerja and followed a tour book's directions to Burriana Beach. It was a tough 20 minute hike along the beach as the path was blocked off in many areas where one had to crawl through holes, climb over walls and inch around gates. As well we went through a nude beach area which was a novel experience.

When we got to Burriana Beach we headed to Ayo's, a famous "all you can eat" paella beachside restaurant. The Spanish often go out for their Sunday midday meal as an extended family so it was nice to watch the family dynamics with four generations at the table.

After leaving the restaurant Carol started up a conversation with a British couple and we joined them for a glass of Sangria at a bar down the beach. Turns out that they just had met on the Internet and this was their first day together. She is an expat who lives on the Costa del Sol and he is a carpenter from Anglia in the UK. James is quite a wag. Carol was asking how long Gilli had been Internet dating and asked if she had to endure many toads before she met James. James immediately replied: "Ribbit." We got along famously and they are coming to our apartment for drinks on Wednesday and then we will go out for dinner with them in Frigiliana.

Follow- ing our visit with the Brits we toured the Nerja Caves, a fairly large cave system with pre-historic cave paintings (the paintings were closed to the public of course). The community uses one cavernous room for dance and music concerts. Lots of archaeology potential but no significant interpretation of the findings.

April 22-23, 2010 -- Frigiliana and Malaga

On Thursday we relaxed around Frigiliana, attending the market in the morning before having coffee in the plaza. We pretended we were Spanairds and had a couple of cups of cafe con leche as we watched the people at the market. We bought luscious local produce: avocadoes, peppers, plump moscatel raisins, figs, mangoes, salted almonds, tasty tomatoes, and fresh asparagus. Later we feasted on some of those treats.

Today, Friday, we visited Malaga, taking the bus from Nerja, which was a very wise decision -- no getting lost and no parking issues. Despite what travel guide Rick Steves says, Malaga is a lovely city with a long, beautiful beach, impressive harbour and gorgeous mid-city park. It claims to be the sixth largest Spanish city and second largest Andalusian city after Sevilla, but it is very compact and the downtown area is fairly small.

We did a city tour first, which is our usual practice, then visited the Moorish fortress and palace, the Alcazaba. It is a marvellous defensive structure dominating the city but providing a sense of calm and serenity that the royalty were able to achieve in their palaces, with running water and fountains, extensive gardens, trellised courtyards and cool, airy rooms. The juxtaposition of massive defensive structures enclosing this luxurious setting is quite jarring.

Right beside the Alcazaba is a recently discovered Roman amphitheatre, now being incorporated into Malaga life as a venue for performances. Such a great idea to use a 2000 year old theatre for the same purpose for which it was built.

We also visited the Picasso Museum (which, unfortunately, was partially closed), Picasso's home, a Salvador Dali exhibit, and an extensive retrospective of a Czech modernist painter, Frantisek Kupka. It was a full, but very interesting, day.

Back on the bus -- a treat for Duane, the usual chauffeur -- and off to Nerja and Frigiliana for another of Duane's gorgeous dinners.

April 21, 2010 -- Costa Tropical -- the Road to Almeria

Today we travelled east to Almeria on the Autovia de Mediter- raneneo, a highway designed to partially smooth out the twists and turns made necessary by geography.

On the trip from Nerja to Almeria along the Costa Tropical we saw some amazing road building; we crossed 15 viaductos (bridges) totalling 4628 meters in length and travelled through 12 tunels (tunnels) totalling 7434 meters. The longest tunnel was 2170 meters. The Autovia is not fully completed so we also careened through quite a few miles of winding secondary road.

We passed through miles and miles of greenhouses, covering tens of thousands of acres of land. Many were idle, but we suspect that they are used season- ally to produce fruit, vege- tables and perhaps flowers for northern European tables during the winter months. These plastic-covered greenhouses totally dominate the landscape and are not at all attractive.

Almeria is a seaside city (one can ferry from here to Morroc- co) dominated by the Moorish Alacazaba (fortress). It is very impressive and extensive -- the biggest Moorish fortress in Europe. In this city even the cathedral looks like a fort, a result of too many Berber pirate deprecations.

Almeria is off the beaten tourist track, so every- thing is in Spanish and they don't seem to feel the need to sign their streets. We spent a (semi) pleasant half hour trying to leave the city. One cannot really get lost because the city is built on a slope which ends up in the Mediterranean, so one can get one's bearings quite easily. However, as we didn't want to go to the Mediterranean, we found it a little challenging.

On the way home we decided to eat out and stopped a a nice little town, Calahonda. It was 7:15 pm and the restaurants and bars were closed and/or were not prepared to serve dinner or tapas as it was too early. At one place we were told that the cook would not return for an hour. Others were closed until 8:30. So we returned to Frigiliana and dined on delicious leftovers from last night.

April 20, 2010 -- Goats, Rocks & Flamingoes

We did a local trip today in the country back of Malaga.

We travelled up a very winding road, initially through an intensively planted area and to a more pastoral area as we gained elevation. We seldom see people working in their fields or orchards so we were intrigued by the number of cars parked on the roadside. Finally we saw a man returning to his car with a large bundle of asparagus that he had foraged along the roadside. That reminded Duane of his childhood in Oyama where asparagus grew abundantly along the road.

After about one half hour of cranking the wheel back and forth we arrived at Almogia and we descended into the little village until the road became too narrow even for Duane. A policeman on a motorcycle stopped us and asked us if he could help (at least we think that is what he said) and after Duane explained that his Spanish was not too advanced (as if he couldn't tell) he replied in tolerable English, asking where we were headed. He then suggested (with much arm waving and finger pointing) that he escort us out of town to the road to Antequera, which he kindly did. Thankfully, this first contact with the police was very positive.

Back on the road we observed a goat herder bringing quite a large herd to a pasture across the road that we were on so we waited and watched. The last goat across the road was a crippled, old nanny with a milk bag nearly dragging on the ground -- she was in desperate need of a breast reduction.

We continued climbing into beautiful rolling fields set among the mountain tops and on up to a totally different world -- a world of incredible rock formations at El Torcal, a nature preserve. As well as the rocks one could also enjoy beautiful views over the mountains towards the blue-hazed coast.


Then on to Antequera where we ordered the menu of the day at a roadside establishment and were once again surprised at what we ordered.

Finally we reached our destina- tion, which was the Laguna (sometimes the Fuente) de Piedra where flamingoes come to feed. Apparently it is a saline lake that supports aquatic wildlife that the flamingoes enjoy.

On our return we shopped at the Super Mercado (supermarket) in Nerja, Spanish cookbooks in hand. After making some unknown purchases we returned home and set about making dinner. We weren't exactly sure what we had ordered at the seafood counter -- it was called Dorado in Spanish, Gilt in our dictionary, and it looked and tasted like fish. Duane also made a superb Spanish eggplant dish that he promises to replicate when he returns to Canada.

April 18-19, 2010 -- Frigiliana and surrounds

We are back in Frigiliana, catching up on laundry and journaling, and have had some time to reflect on our Spanish trip. We have learned enough Spanish to get around, although we have had some humorous experiences, eaten some surprise dishes, travelled some circuitous routes, and relied considerably on the kindness of strangers.

We are amazed at the Spanish daily schedule. We described their meal routine, but that doesn't cover it entirely. After their second breakfast, and their 1 p.m. beer or wine break, shops close (even the Tourist Bureau) and people go home for dinner, the big meal of the day, which is followed by a siesta. They return to work about 3:30 and apparently work until about 6:30. Then everyone, young and old, is on the street for an evening stroll, the paseo, until dinner at about 8:30.

Ladies shoe stores abound and the women in Spain love fancy shoes. These are on display on the evening paseo. Older women also are out and about and they are dressed in lovely suits, and nylons in their more sensible shoes.

Around 10:00 things begin to come alive -- concerts and shows begin, tapas bars are lively and overflowing onto the streets, which are full of local people, including little children and babies in strollers, and this goes on until after midnight when tipsy people begin to loudly wend their way home.

We are aghast at some of the expatriates' attitudes towards the Spanish people, who are regarded as lazy, ignorant, ugly, and improvident. We find them kind, helpful, and courteous. Their farms are well kept although their goat dairies seem run down and dirty. We have seen very little of the equestrian culture that is such a part of Spanish identity.

One of the things that will linger most in our memor- ies of Spain will be the scent of orange blossons; orange trees are everywhere and the scent is amazing.

April 17, 2010 -- Goof ups and Olive Groves

This was one goofed-up day, but pleasant nonetheless.

We had breakfast at a neighbourhood cafe where they didn't serve toast with marmalade at 10:00 am and zumo naranja (orange juice) was no longer available either. The Spanish are very inflexible in this regard. Toast is served before mid-morning and they were now preparing for their larger breakfast at 11:00.

We decided to take the car from the garage and then check out and return the keys. Unfortunately, Cordoba has so many narrow one-way and poorly marked streets that we got lost trying to go three blocks. An hour later we returned to our starting point at the cafe, double parked on the sidewalk, and Duane hiked back to the hotel. We left town and, after a couple of circuitous attempts, made it onto the highway to Granada.

We ventured in to one little town (Espejo) that looked interesting, to try to get some photos of the beautiful surrounding countryside from the hilltop. We took a couple of photos and left via a narrow one way street, which was blocked by a crowd attending a wedding; apparently all could not fit into the church. No one moved for our vehicle so we decided to wait until the wedding party came out and not try to nudge our way through the crowd, especially since there were numerous baby carriages and at least one old woman in a wheel chair in our direct path.

Probably an hour went by (it was obviously a Catholic service). We people-watched and took a couple of photos surrep- titiously as we couldn’t resist the little guy decked out in the shiny golden suit (seen here in someone's arms). Once the newlyweds appeared much rice was thrown and large confetti was blown out of some type of a gun. And we resumed our journey.

Our next stop was Alcala la Real, a town dominated by an impressive castle, at which we enjoyed beer, calamares and the usual ham and cheese sandwich. We decided to refuel and when paying Duane discovered that his Mastercard was missing. The only place he could have left it was back in the hotel in Cordoba, almost two hours away. After numerous adventures with pay phones in the bus depot and parking lots, he finally got through to the hotel and YES! they had his M/C. Back to Cordoba, where we spent another interesting hour trying to navigate to our hotel. We got close a couple of times and saw a good deal more of Cordoba than we had before.

Finally we left Cordoba once again and decided, because of the hour, not to travel through Granada as planned, but to boot it to Malaga and Frigiliana.

One thing we have learned about Spaniards is that "the good Lord is responsible for almost everything." If somebody misses a bus or a train it is not because he is tardy but because "the bus escaped me." Nobody drops anything but rather "it fell from me". You don't lose anything but rather -- "of its own volition and without my permission, it lost me." So, Duane can be forgiven, here in Spain.

We did see some beautiful country today, mostly hills covered with prime olive orchards.

April 16, 2010 -- Cordoba and La Mesquita

This was our only full day in Cordoba and the highlight was our tour of the Mesquita, the 10th century Cordoba Mosque, as large as those in Damascus and Baghdad. It could accommodate 20,000 worshippers and apparently the acoustics allowed an imam (prayer leader) to be heard exhorting the faithful throughout the building. Its footprint is 600 X 400 feet and the roof is supported by 850 columns with yellow and red striped double arches, a round Romanesque arch above a Visagothic horseshoe shaped arch. The aisles go on and on from both the square and diagonal perspectives.

The Mesquite was built on the site of a Visigothic Christian church and a piece of the Mosque floor has been excavated to show a portion of the former church, apparently to make the point that Christians are the true owners. After the Catholic Monarchs reconquered Cordoba, they proceeded to construct a large Gothic Cathedral and Choir room in the middle of the Mesquita although it required only a small percentage of the floorspace. The Gothic arches ascend much higher than the Mesquita ceiling and are incorporated quite nicely into the Mesquita architecture, although many say that the church ruined the Mesquita. To the victor go the spoils.

Codoba was the cultural and intellectual capital of Europe in the 10th Century, with 100,00 inhabitants, hundreds of mosques, 70 libraries, numerous palaces and public baths, paved streets, oil lamps for street lighting, and running water. Too bad those Catholic Monarchs had their way after 1236.

After our tour we had lunch, returned to our room for a siesta, walked across the Roman Bridge and explored the other side of the river, and then wandered up to the Plaza Neuva for dinner, a menu of the day.

We had planned to go to a classical music concert but it began raining quite heavily so, instead of wandering the streets waiting for the 10 p.m. concert, we walked home and went to bed early.

April 15, 2010 -- The Road to Cordoba

When leaving Sevilla we decided to travel via a secondary road north of the river and visit a heritage site along the way to Cordoba.
Italica was an exten- sive Roman town, built on the then navig- able river in 206 BC. It burgeoned as a military and cultural centre and was the birthplace of Emperor Trajan and his successor, Hadrian. In Hadrian's reign the city received considerable largess in the form of civic buildings and marble temples, public baths, an impressive waterworks, etc.

While the whole site has not been unearth- ed, it was well planned, with wide streets, good solid foundations for buildings, extensive floors covered in mosaics, and an amphitheatre built to hold 25,000 spectators.

Like almost all Roman sites, it has been cannibal- ized over the centuries and is mostly devoid of any marble or even building stones. For the most part only the foundations remain with some marble pillars here and there. No reconstruction has been undertaken and most artifacts are held in the museum in Seville.

The second site was found serendipitously - we came around a corner and there it was - the Castillo de Almodovar. We spent a pleasant couple of hours in a very romantic setting. What is impres- sive about this castle is that it was restored over a thirty year period in the early twentieth century by a private nobleman who inherited the property. We took lots of photos, met a couple of Aussies, and were on our way.

On to Cordoba to find our hotel/apartment on a narrow one way street very close to the historic area. Our bedroom was at street level on a major pedestrian thoroughfare, cobblestoned of course, so we were kept awake by drunken passersby until well after midnight.

April 14, 2010 -- Sevilla & the Alcazar

The highlight of this day was our visit to the Alcazar, the 10th century Moorish palace that was extensively added to and renovated by Pedro I and successive Christain rulers. To illustrate the value that the latter owners placed on Arab architecture and art, they employed entirely Moorish design and craftsmanship to complete its various stages. The Alcazar lies in the heart of Sevilla and its cool gardens and grounds are free to all. The palace is a jewel of Mudejar (Moor- ish) patios, foun- tains, salons or halls, dazzling domes, ornate archways, rich mosaics and tapestries, and sculptured gardens. The palace is a place of both power and tranquillity.
The massive Gothic Seville cathe- dral with accom- panying Giralda Tower is also very impressive. It features a beautiful Moorish courtyard, massive vaulted Gothic columns, the tomb of Christopher Columbus, and an impressive Treasury Room boasting extreme opulence. This is a legacy of Sevilla being the entrepot for trade with the Americas and the port through which tons of gold and silver entered Europe. We climbed 37 flights to the top the Giralda Tower for photos of Sevilla. Instead of steps this ascent was made by way of a ramp so that the bell-ringer could ride his horse to the top of the tower. Good Thinking!

Back on the street Duane posed with one of the street "statues" who stands perfectly still until someone puts money in his "collection" jar. Once that is done, the performer strikes another pose and, once again, remains perfectly still until additional money is added.

We had many choices for tapas that evening. This photograph shows the Ste. Theresa Taberna and its huge collection of hams on display -- a frequent site in the cafes and bars of Spain.

We enjoyed our tapas in Santa Cruz (the old Jewish quarter) and then attended a great Flamenco show. We eschewed the popular tourist shows and attended a show by artists who were students of Flamenco song, music and dance. Rythms was maintained by the Flamenco guitar, hand clapping, castanets, intricate high heeled boot-tapping and stamping. It was an emotional performance, with the artists extemporaneously and alternately portraying their grief, anger, pain,and exuberance.

Heading home after midnight, we walked through streets featuring crowds of locals spilling out of numerous bars along the way.

April 13, 2010 -- Sevilla and the Bull Fight

The trip to Sevilla was exceptional from a scenic perspective. From Malaga we turned north on the Autovia, travelling up a steep river valley until we crested in an area of rolling hills and good farmland, the southern uplands of the broad Rio Guadalquiver valley that dominates Andalusia. The valley is roughly sixty kilometres wide and 300 kilometres long, originating in the interior mountains and flowing westward into the Atlantic near Cadiz. Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, and most other large Andalusian cities lie along it. This broad valley is the agricultural heartland of Andalusia and we descended down its length towards Sevilla for two hours through olive groves and orange orchards.

We had a busy first day in Sevilla. We took a city tour, had dinner and then went to the corrida (bull fight), the Plaza de Torros de la Maestranza being only a block or two from our hotel.

The corrida was full of pomp, ritualism and symbol- ism, from the parading of participants, to the goading of the toro bravo by the matador's peones, the confrontation between the mounted piscadores who drive their spears into the shoulder muscles of the bulls, the peones and banderilleros who provoke the bulls, the stage where the resplendent matador challenges the bull with his red muleta, to the final ritualistic killing of the animal.

In suc- cession, six bulls were killed by three mata- dors. During this evening one of the matadors didn't have such a good night. Early on he was gored in the leg by one bull but later he returned to the ring and was gored and tossed in the air by another bull. From this he was extricated by his peones who carried him out of the bull ring to the waiting ambulance.


The entire evening was a bloody and gory experi- ence but a cultural spectacle to witness -- once.

April 12, 2010 -- Andalusian White Villages

Today we took a trip, recom- mended by our hosts, to nu- merous moun- tain villages to the north and west of Frigiliana, on a route known as the Rutas des Mudejar (Route of the Moors). These fortified mountain villages were the last holdouts of Moorish power in Spain and remained Moorish under Christian rule for many decades in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Inhabitants eventually rebelled against their treatment by the Catholic monarchs and after a futile battle, they were killed or expelled.

We took a very winding road from Frigiliana to Torrox, Archez, Competa, Salares, Sedella and Canillas de Aceituno, then returned via the main Velez-Malaga road. Our favorite village was Salares, perhaps because we spent the most time wandering its streets. This village is comprised of square houses that are Moorish in construction, plastered and whitewashed and still inhabited today. Many homes are intact, some have been modified and a few buildings in town are modern. Salares is clean and neat, with narrow, steep, cobblestone streets, pleasant courtyards, a couple of bars, a church and a store.

Aside from a bartender, we met two other people, a couple of Brits doing some tile repair work on their quaint little Mudejar summer home. Outstanding, in all of these little villages, is the abundance of flowers which adorn the whitewashed homes.