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 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.

April 10 -- Comares

Today we took a road trip through some of the hill towns north of Frigiliana, our destination being Comares, a white village atop a mountain which, when seen from the coast, looks like a snow cap on the mountain. We travelled through hilly countryside on very winding roads, through the district of La Axarquia (La A Shar ia). This region is agricultural and we travelled continuously through mango orchards, vineyards, and olive groves, with citrus fruits and fig palm trees also in abundance. Every few kilometres we passed through a whitewashed medieval village with narrow streets.

The farmers use every hillside, no matter how steep, for plantings of some sort. Entire hillsides are planted to very old Muscat vines, pruned back to trunks not more than two feet long and hugging the ground with no supporting posts or wires. Drying racks in the backyards of numerous houses indicate the importance of raisin and Muscatel wine production. The villages are kept very tidy and we saw plenty of evidence of construction, indicating quite a vibrant rural economy.

Comares is perched atop a mountain with great views over the agricultural landscape. It is built on successive fortresses -- Roman, Moorish and Christian. At the very height is the cemetery with Muslim and Christian sections, the latter comprised of banks of crypts, many decorated with flowers. Both churches in town were formerly Mosques. The town is Moorish in layout and architecture, with winding, narrow streets, archways leading to courtyards, very low doorways of various styles, and few windows. The village has a hotel, a couple of other bars and restaurants, a goat dairy, a plaza, and numerous miradors or viewpoints.

When climbing through these hilltop villages one wonders how anyone with physical disabilities could live here as the tiled streets are so steep. Wizened, seemingly old, people slowly labour up the alleys, canes in hand. In public areas older men are seen huddled in conversation, enjoying the sun.