Zahara and Grazalema

We had a "white village" day on Tuesday.  We drove to one of our favorite of the pueblos blancos, Grazalema, to visit a leather shop we had found last year.  Fernando Garcia, the leatherworker, makes 'one of a kind' leather items, mostly handbags, that are truly unique.  Unfortunately the shop was closed as it had been on another trip to the town.  It was market day there so we spent a few minutes looking and then browsed other shops in the village.  

Grazalema

Note tilt to center for drainage

Market day

You can buy anything at the market.  Bonnie took this photo.

Sweet lady who is the artist as well as the proprietor.  We bought
a small dish with an olive tree painted on it.

Grazalema is on the tour bus route so it can get busy.  It is amazing
to watch the driver  negotiate the tight streets and maneuver
the bus in a turnaround to depart.

Nice day to hang out in the square.  

wonder what he is saying...

Most views have flowers and power lines

 We left Grazalema to travel to Zahara de la Sierra, a charming village sitting at the foot of a Moorish castle.  The drive took us on a road over the mountain that claims the highest peak in Cadiz province, more than 4,500 feet above sea level. This mountain range is the first one coming off the Atlantic so this area has the most rainfall in Spain. Stunning views were a distraction to safe driving the entire route. Zahara has a population of 1,500 people.  Its castle was built in the 13th century by the Muslims and is accessible via a steep trail.  The village sits on a large manmade reservoir which has brought the option of water sports to the area.  The main attraction here is the pristine village and the stunning view of the countryside from the castle.  We did not climb to the castle on this visit.  We did it last year twice and will do so again when our friends John and Marcy visit with us.

Zahara castle

Lake Zahara, a man made reservoir.  White line in center of photo
in the distance is Olvera

Algodonales, a nearby village, as seen from the mountain road

Olvera in the distance

Olvera

Beautiful iron work

one of our favorite places to eat and relax

We really wanted to go to the leather shop so we went back to Grazalema, only 16 kilometers over the non-mountain route, and this time found the shop open.  Fernando remembered us from last year so we had a happy reunion.  Fernando is a retired American Airlines mechanic married to an American. Bonnie was able to find a couple of things that were perfect so our return drive was well worth it.

Fernando and his son

Discussing the events of the day

It was time to return to Olvera after a perfect "white village" day.  We feel so fortunate to be in this part of Spain.  

Arcos de la Frontera

We received notice that on Sunday, April 21 the electricity would be turned off in Olvera while utilities were updated in the nearby village of Torre Alháquime. The power was to be off from 7:30 am until 1:00 pm.  

Deciding to make ourselves scarce during that time we made a plan to go to Arcos de la Frontera, one of the premier and most well known of the white villages.  It is about an hour west of Olvera.  After parking we walked up the hill to the old part of town which is famous for its narrow streets and whitewashed walls.  We had been there last year and really liked it.  

We headed for a small restaurant and pensión owned  by a young English couple who we had met there last year and really liked.  Alas, the door was closed and the sign was down.  We learned from a shopkeeper just up the street that the couple had split up and left town.  How sad...they had small children.

We were able to find a place to eat - there are multiple small sidewalk cafes tucked in the narrow alleys.  The rest of the time we wandered about enjoying the scenery and taking photos.  Following are some random sights and scenes which we enjoyed.  

Tight...

...very tight

Church of Santa Maria on
Plaza del Cabildo

Arcos Parador (national chain of luxury hotels located in Castles, Palaces,
 Fortresses, Convents and other historic buildings).
This historic Palace is also located on Plaza del Cabildo

One of dining rooms in Parador de Arcos

Large wall display of tile paintings of bullfighting

View from terrace of Parador

Colorful display in a shop

Patio of a small pensión

Love to know how old this is

Flying buttresses protected this church from
earthquake destruction in 1755

Back to the Costa del Sol

This past Wednesday we went back to the Costa del Sol.  Bill and Rose Ann Keller graciously invited us back to see them in their new condo rental located between Fuengirola and Marbella, southwest of Malaga  They were in a golf community at Costa Mijas.  This area is a two hour drive from Olvera. Their condo was on the top floor of a beautiful building with a great view of the Mediterranean. 

We spent the afternoon visiting, eating a delicious lunch Rose Ann had prepared, and later going down to look at the beachfront  near them.  There we had a great meal in an Italian restaurant.  The next day we continued visiting, sharing travel experiences and tips.  It is fascinating to hear of their extensive travels and the people they have connected with in England, Italy and Spain.

Purple pin marks where we were at Costa Mijas
Blue dot is Olvera 

Bill and Rose Ann

Great view of Mediterranean Sea 

Lush green golf course

Lighthouse at El Faro, just up the coast

What a perch!!!

We had a great bedroom up the steps

 Hazy but nice view of the Med

Eating really good pizza!  Next day we had outstanding Gambas Pil Pil (Shrimp in boiling garlic and chili olive oil) at an Indian/Spanish pizzeria in the neighborhood.

An example of the extreme development of the Costa del Sol

After saying good bye to Bill and Rose Ann we headed back to Olvera.  Our route through the mountains took us by Ronda outside of which is a small town, Arriate.  Our friends in Olvera have been raving about a restaurant there so we stopped by to look at it.  We were full from lunch so had no plans to eat.  It is very picturesque and when we looked over the menu we just had to order something.  We had a large plate of lightly grilled vegetables (we figured we could at least have veggies if we were 'force feeding').  They were beautiful and perfect.  Then, of course, we had to have (shared!) a delicate, moist chocolate sponge cake with vanilla ice cream to finish it off.  We will definitely be going back there.

The building was formerly a warehouse at the train station
in Arriate

Frank, the Dutch owner of the restaurant,
El Muelle de Arriate