Malaga

On March 2nd we ent with our guide Peter for a day in Malaga.  Malaga is the capital of the province and has a population of about 600,000 inhabitants.  There is proof that this area has been inhabited since before 200 BC. With a strong Muslim presence until the late 1400s it was taken over by the Christians at that time.  The main economic drivers are tourism, construction and  technology.  We met with a local guide ,Lourdes, who spent a few hours showing us the sights and explaining the history of her city. We were in the Cathedral for a fair bit of time where she knew every bit of information.  When there is no mass the Cathedral is used like a museum and admission is charged to help pay for upkeep..  after having our heads packed full of information we went to the food market where the locals buy their fresh food and then stopped at an ancient local bar.  The wine is served straight out of large barrels and tapas were few to choose from but delicious..  This was followed by a late lunch in the square.  Malaga is a large port town and we did visit the harbour where visiting cruise ships arrive frequently though thankfully not the day we were there.

The harbour of Malaga 

A beautiful park that goes all along the harbour. Lovely place for a stroll

Remans of old Roman castle

What is left of the Roman amphitheater 

Top floor is the Malaga home of Antonio Banderas. This is his birthplace and he is establishing an acting school here

Street of the old town

Steeple of the Cathedral against a clear blue sky

High gothic ceilings inside the Cathedral 

The pipe organ is still what is used today in all their services 

The whole outside of the Cathedral is done with incredible small chapels

The marble statue of Christ and Mary never fails to be moving

Stall after stall of enticing products

This ham is covered with fat and apparently it is eaten cold like this fat and all. Must say it is one thing I did not find particularly appealing 

The Iberian hams were for sale everywhere. Apparently most families will buy one at Christmas 

Fun tapa and wine bar. They wrote your bill in chalk on the bar and then just erased it

Ronda

Ronda set in the province of Malaga is most known for its ancient bridge while spans the deep gorge that separates the centuries old town from the newer part of town.  The gorge is 120 meters deep at its lowest point and the ‘new ‘ bridge which was finished in 1794 is quite the engineering feat when you consider what they had to work with in that day and age and that it still stands proudly today.  Prior to entering the town our guide Thomas took us down to the bottom of the gorge so we could get a view of the bridge from below. What a treat!  In town we visited both the old and new bridge and spent some time in the market district where we went to a local tapas bar which was crowded with locals and the food was authentic and delicious.  Such are the benefits of travelling with a local.  The drive back to Marbella from Ronda was beautiful as we descended from high in the mountains back to sea level passing by some of the wealthiest sections of the province.

Viewing the bridge from down below 

A wonderful opportunity to see the town from this angle

A street of the Market district 

Enjoying tapas and drink in a local bar

Delicious garlic prawns

Marinated anchovies with olives and pickles. Addictive!

The old bridge

View of the bridge with buildings built right to the edge of the gorge 

Walking through the old part of town 

The gorge is far below

A view of the valley from steps leading into town

Remenants of pens where pigs were kept in years gone by

Setenil de las Bodegas

After a relaxing wine tasting we carried on to the unique town of Setenil. Setenil is a town in the province of Cadiz Spain which is famous for its dwellings which are built into the rock overhangs above the Rio Guadalporcun.  The town has a population of about 3000.  Many of its buildings are created with a front wall and use the rock for the rest.  Originally a Moorish town dating back to the 12th century it was conquered by the Christian’s in the 14th century.  Today it is known for its fine meats from the pigs bred in the surrounding hills and is very much a farming town along with tourism.  The two main streets are not large but are definitely eye catching with the cliffs hanging over the homes and businesses.  One side of town sits in the sun and the other in the shade with the town separated by what was today an empty canal. Well worth the visit

Garages built into the cliff

Looking down one of the main streets

The canal that separates the two sides of the town

The front of the buildings are built right into the rock

The cliffs do provide some nice shade

As you can see it is a very large cliff

The inside of the shops are all rock walls. Helps with construction 

Every available piece of space has been used

Just loved the look of the shops. Would have loved to have seen inside a home 

The white green and rock all blend for a beautiful scene

No space is wasted in this town

Going up the hill the buildings no longer are integrated into the rock

A whole different kind of architecture 

This is the shady side of the street 

Much quieter side of town with all the cafes in the sun

Definitely a town worth visiting and one we will remember for its unique architecture and stone work

La Melonera Winery

Wednesday March 1st we headed inland for a jam packed day. We started off at La Melonera Winery with a private tour by Emma who was not only delightful but full of information on the wine growing business in Spain.  We learned about its history and how the phylloxera blight in the late 1800s destroyed all the grape veins of Europe.  It was only after grafting veins onto North American roots that Europeans were able to once again start growing grapes.  This winery is quite young but is growing every year with a large cellar and the potential for great growth as it is a magnificent piece of property.  We learned later that the owner is planning to sell off plots to individuals to grow their own grapes and produce their own wines.  After filling our heads with a lot of information and a wonderful tour of the facility we were treated to a tasting of three of their wines along with some wonderful local tapas. Was certainly a great way to start our day.

The view from the tasting room of the winery. Not to hard to take!

The vines are looking a little barren at this time of year. This is a totally organic winery and even water is rain dependent 

Even though all the grapes are hand picked from there they do use the most modern of machinery. This machine separates the stems from the grapes

They were bottling last years wine the day we were there. A very time consuming process 

Wine is aged 9 months in these concrete eggs

These French oak barrels are used apparently for decades to age the wine
They are using some of the more traditional oak barrels for a wine that they are in the process of aging that will be of a higher quality 

This is where our tour concluded and we enjoyed wines and tapas and some great conversation. A wonderful morning!