TILTING AT WINDMILLS - THE LEGSYBOYS' EURO ADVENTURE

EL CAMINO - PART II

And so we bid a fond 'adios' to Sevilla - there's more to see there, but that can be said of every city. Rocinante's grille is pointed south east as we head for the coastal resort town of Malaga. The plan is to take the 90 minute drive to Ronda but we have a few diversions. Out of nowhere we come across the remains of a Moorish fortress and decide to investigate, and of course it's marvellous. It's the Castillo de las Aguzaderas, part of the Moorish Strip between Sevilla and Granada and built on flat land (unusually) around a strategic well. This is also the place where the Shadow Of The Warrior legend springs from - it's said that the shadow of a warrior can be seen making the rounds along the parapet eternally awaiting the return of his lost love - we didn't stay long enough to check the veracity of this, although Dulcinea and Buzz did find a dog stuck up a dark stairwell! As we leave to re-enter the main road, there are dozens of cars racing by without even glancing at the castle - if they only knew.

Castilla de las Aguzaderas

See them in the parapet?

The plains of Spain, where allegedly it mainly rains

Don L takes another detour and we join the northern tip of the Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos. This takes us through the Sierra de Grazalema National Park and in Spring and Summer is one of Spain's most popular/busiest tourist destinations (it must be bedlam, because the roads and lanes are ridiculously narrow and winding). Los Pueblos Blancos, or White Towns of Andalusia, are world famous and an extraordinary sight to behold, as the mountains and forests are dotted with tiny towns, all with whitewashed walls and red/brown tiles. We head towards the breathtaking village of Zahara de la Sierra and stop for lunch. It is spectacular, sitting having a sandwich mixto and bad coffee surrounded by orange trees (BTW - I've never seen so many orange trees as in the cities and towns of Andalusia - they're everywhere), whitewashed buildings, under a vivid blue sky and cold sun. Don L's travel plans are in turmoil by now, but what price beauty!!

Zahara

Olive trees as far as the eye can see

Why don't we do it in the road

Comida in Zahara

Hey, that's Don L under the oranges!

Onward we go before arriving at Ronda, one of our trip highlights. It would take days to write about this town (fear not, I won't) perched high in the mountains. There are ruins/rock paintings dating back to the Neolithic Age, although the Ronda you see is of Roman and Visigoth origin (how's the history lesson going!!) before becoming a haven for Moorish refugees after they were defeated and expelled in 1492 (a lot happened in that year). This is where Hemingway and Orson Welles whiled away their summers (slabs of For Whom The Bell Tolls relate directly to events in Ronda), and the town is credited as being the birthplace of bullfighting (the Plaza de Toros was built in 1785, the first ever built). But Ronda is most famous for its 3 bridges; the Puente Romano bridge is not that noteworthy (and not Roman!), the Puente Viejo (Old Bridge), and most famously the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge). The Puente Nuevo was constructed in 1751 and is incredible, towering 120 metres above the canyon floor. Next to it is the former town hall, now a parador, with knee trembling views over the cliffs, Tajo canyon and valleys all around. You just have to go and see it for yourself.

Ronda

Iglesia Convento La Merced

It can't be safe, surely!

Still makes me queazy just looking

Not for sleepwalkers

Puente Viejo…..

….Buzzy was impressed

Puente Nuevo

See the balcony jutting out? Crazy!!

Plaza de Toros

It's only about 110km to Malaga but it's a 2 hour drive as we need to wind our way down the sierras to the Costa del Sol. Going down we witness a beautiful sunset and we can see Gibraltar and the mountains of Morocco in the distance. We travel north in darkness through La Quinta, Marbella, and Torremolinos before the dazzling lights of Malaga greet us. The GPS throws a wobbly and we're totally lost driving around in circles that make it seem like the city is huge - it isn't. By total chance we find the car park we're looking for and our property manager - luverly Lidia - is waiting for us, to guide us through the streets to our apartment. It's brilliantly located smack in the middle of town. Lidia turns out to be as good a property manager as we have encountered, giving us heaps of tips and info. It must be something in the Andalusian water 'cos she takes a shine to Buzzy as well, noting there's only a 15 year gap between them - where will it all end!! W have noticed along the way that the south of Spain is nowhere near as affluent as the central region we inhabit, and Lidia's comment that 'at least I have a job' makes us acutely aware how fortunate we are and that the Crisis has hit hard, even in the tourist meccas. Literally around the corner is a (highly recommended) bistro called La Queseria and it's excellent, the menu focussing strongly on cheese based dishes.

Gibraltar at sunset

Sorry, it is a different picture - breathtaking

La quinta

We arise to a sunny last day of 2013. First it's off to the Picasso Museum. He was born in Malaga but left at an early stage and there's nothing to suggest the town had any impact upon his work, however it was apparently a long-held desire of The Man that some of his works be on display and the museum opened 10 years ago. There is plenty on display, bolstered by some Matisse, Gris and Renoir stuff; it's good but not great. We stroll around the town, taking in the Alcazar and going up to the rooftop of the Palacios Hotel for merienda and sweeping views of the town. We walk along the street market and are stunned to find dozens of stalls selling FIREWORKS! Twopenny bungers, Catherine wheels, rockets, you name it - try explaining to an 8yo that it's illegal back in Oz!

Local groovers

Plaza de la Merced

The Roman Theatre built 1AD!

The Alcazar dates back to the 11th Century

The Alcazar overlooking the Town Hall

Cool palm trees

La Casona del Parque (Town Hall)

Malaga Cathedral from the Palacios rooftop bar

High density Malaga

Unbelievable

Duh!!

Remember the good old days, holding these in your fingertips

We're going to Constitution Plaza (where it all happens!) for NYE celebrations but first need to eat. Keeping in mind that this place is infested with English and German tourists, it's incredulous that all the restaurants bar 3 are SHUT. We locate a Galician seafood bistro and wait 30 minutes for a table - it's worth it as the food is delicious, and they even give each of us a little bag containing 12 grapes. There's a Spanish version of ABBA belting out songs (Aimee just loves it) when we get to the plaza, and we stand waiting for the countdown. Midnight strikes and the MC conducts the huge crowd in Las Doce Uvas De La Suerte (The 12 Grapes Of Luck) ritual, a Spanish tradition that dates back to at least 1895. It consists of eating a grape with each bell strike at midnight (it is linked to the Puerta Del Sol bells in Madrid, where the tradition started). This leads to 12 months of prosperity and in some areas, it is believed that the tradition wards away witches and general evil. It's quite eerie actually, because instead of raucous revelry as normally expected, we get almost total silence as everyone concentrates on eating a dozen grapes, before ultimately exploding with laughter. Dulcinea and Don L successfully manage to do it, Aimee struggles because the grapes have pips, and Buzzy starts to dry retch because he's managed to somehow get all 12 grapes into his cakehole without chewing and swallowing any!!! Happy days, and it's hello to 2014 as we watch maniacs setting off rockets in the crowd from hand held bottles - time for bed!