June 4, 2011

Ruta de los Pueblos Blanchos

The fairytale route of the white villages.

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Zahara de la Sierra, one of the white hill towns we drove past along the road. Magnifique! Just like how I imagined rural Spain to be.

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We also came across large sunflower fields... it was a beautiful summery sea of yellow & blue & green, all of them were taller than me & their faces almost as big as mine! Seeing is believing >

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Andalucia is a region dotted with nice little 'white villages' as most of the houses in these towns are white. The tiny roads are so narrow we had to step into doorways when cars drove past us on the streets & forget about using your side-view mirrors cos they have to stay folded in. We spent the night at Arcos de la Frontera, a pretty little town with amazing views everywhere.

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We walked around this town built atop a ridge, & peeped into houses, alleyways while dodging cars & bikes. The 16th century church of San Pedro sits high up above everything else while birds soared in the valley.

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Charming arches we meandered thru, but they stand testament to centuries of Christian fighting against the Moors & forcing them slowly down south; Arcos de la Frontera was one such town on the frontline.

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In front of the church of San Pedro, a local told me that during the Spanish Inquisition, the Spanish used to exorcise Muslims in front of this church & forced them to convert to Christianity. He spoke to me in halting french since he didnt speak english so I hope he exaggerated the story a little. It sounds so cruel!

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Two Spanish neighbours chatting in the heat of the afternoon, while we lost our way in the maze of quaint cobblestoned streets & roasted ourselves brownnnnn.

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Stopping for a rest & taking in the views. We noticed little dried snails stuck along a wall. Ahh the joys of country living.

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We also stayed at Ronda, another of the white towns situated on cliffs with a gorge in between. If someone wanted to jump off one of the balconies, he would surely die a spectacular death.

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The Puente Nevo (New bridge) was built in 1751 to link the cliffs. It really is quite a sight to behold. Of course Elmo wanted his picture in front of it too.

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Have a great weekend, i'll share some Morocco pictures next week xx

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