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.
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| Grazalema |
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| Note tilt to center for drainage |
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| Market day |
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| You can buy anything at the market. Bonnie took this photo. |
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Sweet lady who is the artist as well as the proprietor. We bought
a small dish with an olive tree painted on it. |
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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. |
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| Nice day to hang out in the square. |
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| wonder what he is saying... |
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| 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.
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| Zahara castle |
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Lake Zahara, a man made reservoir. White line in center of photo
in the distance is Olvera |
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| Algodonales, a nearby village, as seen from the mountain road |
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| Olvera in the distance |
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| Olvera |
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| Beautiful iron work |
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| 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.
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| Fernando and his son |
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| 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.
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