Prior to leaving Ronda we had time to find the local saddlery and have a quick peruse but weren’t really in the market for Andalucian brow bands. I did buy a pair of Spanish riding gloves though.
Our destination today was Sevilla, only a couple of hours away so we had planned to go via a couple of other white villages en route. The first being Grazalema, in the middle of a national park renowned for its hiking and scenery. Wow, what a goat track to reach Grazalema ( fortunately little oncoming traffic) but totally worth it when we got there.
Whitewashed buildings festooned with flower boxes and backed by soaring mountains and blue skies – very photogenic.
We spent a while checking it out and sampling the local artisan bakery’s creation for morning tea.
Yvonne decided to take us out of Grazalema via the smallest cobbled back streets possible with some seriously steep hills but Pablo the Third was up to it and eventually we were motoring along toward Zahara, our next stop.
Zahara, another white village, overlooks the emerald green waters of a relatively newly constructed man made lake/ reservoir ( within the last 10 years) and is simply stunning.
As we drove in, the village looked particularly quiet, we found a park easily and walked toward the Centro signs.
As we walked, the streets began to be covered in hay and we went through an arch to find the walls of the houses completely covered in branches (mostly eucalypt) and doorways decorated with flowers. When we arrived at what must be the town square, it was going off! Lots of family groups eating at little cafes, kids running around with water pistols and young couples strolling hand in hand. We could hear live music around the corner and we grabbed a spot and asked the waiter in very basic Spanish what was happening. We should have known, public holiday for Corpus Christi!
We’ve done alright with Corpus Christi! We sat down and ordered every variety of montaditos on the limited (special low price) Corpus Christi festival menu and watched the goings on. Montaditos are like Woollies mini bread rolls with various fillings – the chorizo was hot.
It was a great atmosphere and after checking out the frivolities around the corner (which had been going on for quite some time given the condition of some of the locals) we were back on the road headed toward Sevilla.
Sevilla is the capital of Andalucia and has a population of around 700,000. It is also bloody hot! 36C at 7pm according to the car and local digital read out and our host was running late to meet us. After several rounds of the block, getting abused for driving in the taxi/bus lane and no park in sight, Sam and I dropped Russell off and fruitlessly searched for a park in the wider area. Eventually, parked illegally (like everyone else) we rendezvoused with José and he then took Sam off to the nearest public car park – all quite simple in retrospect!
The apartment was lovely, air conditioned and with a lovely outdoor terrace which, depending on the wind direction, smelt alternately of some local flower or sewerage.
Supermarket first stop and dinner at home whilst we planned our method of attack for Sevilla’s top attractions, beginning tomorrow.