Thursday, June 14, 2018

Flamingos and Ancient Mysteries....

A Road Trip in Andalucía...

When we're in Nerja and have a couple of days to spare (which is always more difficult than we think it will be) we try to get away in our little Spanish Ford Ka on a 'Back Roads' tour using the excellent book by David Baird:



These trips always take longer than we expect because there's always something that grabs our attention for far longer than planned.  This time we head off to spend a night in Antequera on his 'Flamingos and Ancient Mysteries' tour and, needless to say, we have a great time.

We head to Malaga on the Autovia then turn north on the increasingly winding A7075, stopping first at the small town of Almogía with its Moorish tower. The following two days are full of reminders of Spain's Moorish past and, as ever on these trips, we feel privileged to spend part of our lives in this fascinating country.

Here are some highlights in pictures:

El Torcal - limestone that was, of course, once the sea bed but now eroded into wonderful sculptures



Lobo Park - wolves!


Antequera's 4000 year old Dolmens (ancient burial chambers :


Pena dos los Enamorados: Looks like a reposing head; it is said that two young lovers flung themselves off the top, realising that a Moor and Christian would never be allowed to marry.


Flamingos on Laguna de Fuente de Piedra


Plaza Ochavada of Archidona - a beautiful eight sided square


Casabermeja cemetery - at the foot of the amazingly steep Calle Real which, they say, climbs to heaven; having climbed it, we certainly felt as if we deserved to be in heaven.


Almogía, tucked into the mountainside


Viewpoint above Almogía



We could go on... and on.. but that's enough. Time to clean the dust off the poor Ka.