Exploring Locally

The Moorish Castle of Alora

We returned to Alora's welcome climate after our Christmas break and settled back in  for a few days before we explored a nearby whitewashed village (Pueblo Blanco),

Not really wheelchair friendly

which is "a typical" with steep narrow, often cobbled, streets, prolific use of tiles on walls & paths, stray dogs, laden orange trees lining public spaces, difficult parking,
and friendly locals always ready to return a smile
and greeting. So different from home in so many ways.

Trees laden with oranges
line the Plazas

 The villages here since time immemorial, before cars, wheel chairs, electricity ,covered sewers, before old age was normal, life isn't a pampered existent as we can expect in NZ. We would not choose to live here!!
Ardales was the village, and its interest was it's proximity to lakes & reservoirs forming a water control project to protect downstream areas historically prone to flooding, and to supply good constant water to Malaga. It includes a gorge that I hope to walk soon, El Chorro, which will feature in the blog soon as we are able to gain

El Chorro walkway

access via a very difficult ticketing system controlling numbers. We drove home from Ardales through this area to return to Casa Bliss and I was excited to see the gorge disappearing into the cliff side. Sheryl didn't share my excitement on this occasion!!!
We had a light meal at a restorante in Ardales by the lake as it was a sunny cool day and we were both treated to a meal not enjoyed, and as you have heard me say on rare occasions ...."Disappointing" with a capital D! The dishes may well have been a local delicacy but were definitely"not to our liking". Uuuuuggghhhhh!! Country Soup - how can that be made so bad, think it was warm lard with green peppers best returned to the compost, sea food soup from the local harbour & shipyard and followed with bread garlic and bacon vitamised and doused in oil to form something akin to quicksand that nearly sucked us down down down..........all saved only by an engaging red wine.

New friends Mel & Bev at Mirador

At Casa Bliss we welcomed English clients staying a month, Mel, Bev & Frank the Tibetan Terrier. Our host Rosie is still in the UK with her family so we assumed the mantle of  locals and were able to guide our "guests", introducing them to some of the spots we deemed worth a second look, also taking the initiative to explore new areas in the company of fast evolving friends.
M,B&F are similar to us in many respects (age, like of walking & drinking a wine or two) so it proved a welcome interruption to our labours here and an excuse to do some excursions whilst swapping tales of far flung adventure. They resigned from their jobs last year to work at motor camps in the UK and this is a serious vocation with hundreds of camps and many hundreds of staff employed to cater to a large camping fraternity. Generally they are employed on a 9 month contract then have 3 months off, or can elect to work back to back contracts, but with one day off a week they look forward to their holidays.

View out over Alora from top of  El Hacho

Our first outing was a pleasant walk to El Mirador  (as previously featured in these chronicles) to spend a convivial afternoon eating and drinking with only a hint of a stagger, walking the 3kms home in the early evening, soaking up the character of the small streets of our local Peublo Blanco, its stray dogs, and its views of Alora & the Castle.
A more energetic foray followed 2 days later as we walked up the hill which stands over Alora, this was a scenic gentle ascent up, often on formed roads providing many photo opportunities of the expansive panoramic valley we reside in.

Toxic caterpillars on the track

Interestingly and concerning for M&B were thousands of hatching caterpillars from the trees and forming files to cross the roads and tracks, (did they think they were chickens ??) but apparently are a real hazard to dogs, they could be fatal if ingested with no known cure!! However as befitting the Tibetan Terrier, Frank was neither "boffered" nor interested in their slow march, causing little concern to Frank's guardians.
My Spanish dentist was again on the list for a visit (7th) and our friends also came for the outing to Fuengirola, introducing them to the great train service and all that the seaside resort has to offer, even if Frank was banned from the Plaza Mayor shopping precinct on the return journey, never mind, another beer was had whilst waiting for the girls to return from their shopping jaunt between trains. Private security is

Bill & Frank, his Tibetan friend
Minding each other 

employed by all shops and public places. The train company also has many security staff constantly and randomly travelling on trains and at stations. One doesn't see much trouble so one assumes this is why!!. They all carry batons or night sticks, hand cuffs, are wired, and are generally helpful and friendly enough though you see the occasional hyped neanderthal the uniform struggles to contain. The police are low profile and there is a culture of  ''don't attract their attention'', however with the EU striving to lift standards there are glimmers of hope, the police we see not looking so much like the "local dealer" these days.

Ronda from the Old Town 

Next on our list was the town of Ronda. This is a must do if you get over this way, it is interesting on many levels the least not being its stunning position in relation to the small river running  at its feet. Of course it was strategic to all and sundry who have ever occupied this ancient town dating back into prehistory.  It was made virtually impregnable by the Romans to hordes or armies, but was none the less, over run by all challengers  (as "virtually impregnable" doesn't mean "impregnable") and  occupied till the next conquerors came by. Ronda has a rich history of Neolithic's, Celts, Phoenicians,

The walls giving a base to Ronda

Romans, Moors, & now in contemporary times, intrinsically RC Christian if we can say that about present day Espanol and its inhabitants and its politics. Catholic Spain wrested control of the country back from the Moors in the 14th Cent. We are continually enlightened in how Europe was in the grips of the the RC church and the wars waged over two millennia to hold, convert, to acquire any one and everything, in the name of God. The Moors also with their intractable Muslim ideology proving a real flash point in Spain. Has anything really changed in the world today!

Ronda - looking out over the gorge

Ronda is inland and stands at a height of 2500ft, so is cool, but we had a stunning day walking the streets and taking a zillion photos. Went for a horse & buggy ride around

the "Old Town". Enjoyed a nice meal where we weren't disappointed. This town has

Animals still have the run of
parts of Ronda   

been oft visited by a long list of notables over the years, including Orson Wells and Hemingway being attracted to its romantic allure.
Mean while back in Alora we have been enjoying some local fare and walks with our new friends and looking forward to more fun and adventure as the month unfolds.

A comfortable way to travel around Ronda