Episode 34

Episode 34
On a warm sunny day we visited the city of Cadiz. It sits at the north-western end of a long sandy spit with a rocky outcrop at the end. On the Atlantic side there are some lovely stretches of beach and on the inland side is a wide bay dotted with boats. At the head of the bay there was once a vast area of marshland but very little of it remains; most has been drained and built on but there is one small area that has been made into a Nature Reserve though I doubt that there is any great abundance of wild life there as it is probably badly polluted from all the industry hereabouts.
There is a festival on at present in the city, all the happenings are at night and for at least 3k’s the long straight road leading into the town has bands of decorative fairy lights strung across it, each band would have thousands of tiny lights and there was one every 40m or so. It would be pretty to drive up here at night I expect but the traffic would be horrific and parking impossible; apart from the fact that David doesn’t like driving at night anyway.
The city itself it quite a pleasant place with the usual abundance of churches and a Cathedral to visit: The cathedral is quite nice but not all that old only 19th century. It does have massive pillars inside and a high dome 50m above the floor. A climb to the top of the bell tower up another series of ramps affords a great view over the city and harbour. Ferries leave from here to go to Gran Canaria, and there is a cruise ship facility.
As usual we looked into a number of churches; we accidently came across some Roman ruins too: An old amphitheatre that is in surprisingly good condition without having been restored, though some of it has been built over. As luck would have it the one church of most interesting to see was the only one that wasn’t open, it has some paintings by Goya inside. Nearly everywhere we go there are public telephones but today because I wanted to use one I couldn’t find one, we spent a good half hour looking for one, then when we come to use the phone card we were told that it had expired, so we then spent another half hour or more trying to find a place to buy another one. Eventually we did so and made our phone call; how to spend an hour without really trying.
Arcos de la Frontera is a rather pleasant small town of white painted houses spread out along a high ridge with a church and an old castle on the highest point with cliffs below on three sides. In the 11th century under the Muslims it was of strategic importance. The view from the cliff tops is very extensive taking in the large fields of oats and pasture with many more fields in fellow, and along the river flats far below are large orange groves with gum trees on the river bank. High mountains to the north and east are part of another national park.
In this general area quite a lot of prickly pear grows. It can be seen along the sides of the road where it is sometimes used as a hedge. There would be very few animals that would brave attempting to make their way through that stuff. I don’t know if they have any ‘cati blati’ insect to control it but I have not seen any plants that are dead or dying.
On a blustery windy overcast day we drove into Gibraltar, that tiny British colony on the southern edge of Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar was one of the two Pillars of Hercules, the other one being a mountain on the Moroccan coast 25k’s distant; the ancients believed these pillars guarded the entrance to the known world. It is certainly an impressive great chunk of white limestone with almost vertical cliffs that drop directly into the Mediterranean on the eastern side. The western side is not quite so steep and has some dense vegetation that is home to the Barbary Macaques, the apes that live on the rock.
In the last thousand years the Moors, the Spanish and the British have occupied the Rock but Romans passed this way and it also is mentioned in some ancient Greek writings.
Back in 1972 we had driven up to the border and watched as the Spanish people on one side the border stook and shouted at their counterparts 15m away on the other side of the border. In those days the border was closed but it re-opened in 1985. Now you can just drive straight across with mere wave of the passports as you pass through. Then, more than likely you will be held up at the first traffic light you encounter because it is the one that controls traffic onto the airport runway. The road into the city crosses the runway there is no alternative as the runway stretches right across the Isthmus, coast to coast and is not very long.
With very little space available for a growing city the buildings reach quite a way up the steep slope of the rock and 12 story high rise apartments are beginning to line the harbour front. The steep alleyways have names like Dimino’s Ramp and Library Ramp. At the southern tip Europa Point there is a lighthouse and a view point. Offshore we could see many ships including two that were carrying Liquefied Natural Gas and ferries en route to Tangier or Ceuta.
The higher part of the Rock is a Nature reserve that is accessible by footpaths, a cable car and a narrow one way road hewn out of the cliff face that wends its way upward barely wide enough for a car. We drove up along this road, paid our entrance fee at Jews Gate and continued on up to St Michaels Cave. This is a huge limestone cave full of stalagmites and stalactites, and tourists. Trouble was we’d arrived at the same time as the morning tour busses, but within 15mins they had mostly departed and we had the place almost to ourselves.
The limestone formations are superb and there is a vast amount of them as well as many really thick columns. Of particular interest is a huge stalactite that had broken off at some point in time and become ‘cemented’ to the floor. The end of it has been sawn off and polished; it resembles an agate: It has many rings in its 1200mm to1300mm diameter, like the growth rings in trees that reveals its growth pattern. In periods when there has been a lot of rain the rings are a pale fawn colour; in drier times the rings are a deep brown colour, and two of three crystallized rings are believed to have been formed during times of glaciations (ice ages). One of the caverns is huge and holds an auditorium. Early last century another ventilation shaft was blasted out and during that process another deeper and extensive cave system was discovered. Human skulls 5000 years old have been found here.
A kilometre walk up hill from the cave brought us to the top of the rock with views all around. Unfortunately it was too cloudy and there were some showers around so we couldn’t see the Moroccan coast. The Mediterranean coast directly below was none too inviting looking; gray sand or pebbles I couldn’t tell which: The wind nearly blew us off the top.
Further round the rock we came to the ‘siege tunnels’: This is really one fairly long tunnel hewn out of the rock using small hand tools in the late 18th century. This was at a time with the British here were under siege from the Spanish and by digging this tunnel and mounting the guns in small galleries when they could fire down onto the flanks of the Spanish they managed to repel the Spanish invaders. Gibraltar has withstood many sieges over the centuries.
Some way lower down the Rock there are some WW2 gun emplacements that we had a look around before reaching the old Moorish castle that stands just above the city: The castle is really no more than a fortified tower with really thick walls. It bears the scars of bombardment it sustained during many sieges. This building dates from the 1200’s but an early castle here was destroyed.
All around this nature reserve we had seen many of the Barbary Macaques (apes) for which the rock is famous. They are quite a pretty golden brown colour and not very large, the size of a small dog, (corgi size) except for the old males that are larger and a dark gray colour. Some have become quite aggressive so we were warned but we had no trouble with them.
Before leaving we filled up with cheap fuel, it’s much cheaper here than in Spain and half the price it is in England, for the diesel we use anyway.
The Sierra de Grazalema are quite pretty mountains that we drove through along a narrow twisting road through hillsides covered in cork oak and holm oak trees with plantations of Spanish pine here and there. The Spanish pine is different to most pine trees as it usually has a rounded canopy and can often have a leggy mushroom shape. The mountains have some odd shapes and all have bare white rocky tops that look a bit like a light snow covering from a distance (to my eyes anyway). Its white limestone probably; and many outcrops resemble rock walls especially when they are leading up a steep ridge.
Following the valley of the Guadiaro River we looked out over lush green crops of oats close to the river while the lower hill sides were planted with olive groves and just a few orange orchards. A few small fields with almond trees in blooms and many more scattered along the road sides:
In the town of Ronda we had great trouble finding a place to park the car. It was Saturday afternoon and usually there is no problem, especially with the underground car parks they are often nearly empty, but not here, everything was full and there were people everywhere. Many were dressed in costumes and we decided that we had arrived just as some sort of festival activity was finishing. We did see some kids up on a stage wearing red ‘Santa Claus’ suits and singing Jingle Bells, this made us wonder if we have been caught in some sort of time warp for 10 months or so. David says it’s all the little ‘santa claus’ we have seen hanging up outside peoples homes come back to haunt them.
We had come to see the old part of Ronda that stands above the Tajo gorge of the Guadalevin River; this gorge proved such an effective barrier that the town remained under Muslim long after the rest of Spain had been reconquered by the Christians. It was not reclaimed by the Christians until 1498:
The 18th century Puente Nuevo connects the new part of the town with the older Moorish part with is narrow twisting, cobbled streets. As we crossed this bridge we looked down into the very narrow gorge beneath and to the river flowing over some small cascades 100m below. It is quite spectacular: On the one side the gorge continues another 100m then on the south bank it opens out into lush farming country while on the north bank the high cliffs continue quite some way leading to a ridge of high hills. On the other side the gorge runs several hundred metres upstream. It is crossed by a couple of other bridges one of which is a 16th century single arch bridge built in the Roman style.
This old Medina part of the town has a few houses or part thereof surviving from the Moorish time. One of them is now a museum and so we visited it to have a look around. It has a lovely courtyard with a well and columns and archways on two sides; all the rooms open out onto this central courtyard. This is a traditional Moorish style: Other houses have been added into the complex later so that there are two more courtyards within the one complex. One is in a traditional Mudejar style: It has triple semicircular arches on three sides enclosing arcades. The columns are marble and them the brickwork above is tiled with bright decorative tiles up to the height of the lintel below the 2nd story balcony. Heavy wooden doors etched in traditional Mudejar style carving open out through a horseshoe shaped pointed archway into sunny private gardens of myrtle hedges and citrus and oleander trees that overlook the cliffs and the valley beyond.
One large room upstairs, the Nobility Hall, has a Mudejar style coffered ceiling. It is crossed by heavy dark wooden beams that resemble the skeleton of an old wooden ship, inverted. Many of the end pieces are carved with decorative motifs. It is very beautiful.
As we meandered about the narrow alleyways we noticed that many of the houses had a coat of arms embossed on the lintel above the doorway. We have seen this in many places, it seems to have been a popular idea in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Another thing I will comment on is the fact that although there had been a festival with masses of people and loads of street stalls selling all the usual carnival junk there was amazingly little rubbish spread about. A few sheets of paper here and there, but in no way would you describe it as dirty. Absolutely no food scraps, no empty cans, bottles or take away containers; there was plenty of cigarette butts and one wino sleeping it off on a park bench totally oblivious to all the activity going on about him.
On the Guadalhorce River near the small village of El Chorro is the El Chorra gorge. The downstream entrance is very dramatic with two high mountains rising on either side almost vertically with just a very narrow gap through which the quite small stream flows. This gorge is up to 400m deep and only 10m wide in places. Also visible near the entrance is the foot bridge across the gorge about 50m above the stream. There was once a camino (trail) that lead around the cliff side and over that bridge then on through the gorge, but it was not maintained and part of the cantilevered walk that clung to the cliff has fallen away. Apparently it is possible to walk along through the railway tunnels but on the day we were here; there was a police guard stopping people from entering the railway tunnel. The rail line passes through several tunnels as it goes through the gorge.
From a view point on the other side the river we actually saw some people on the bridge and watched them come alone the walkway to the end then they abseiled down about 30m into a steep gully from where they could climb up under a railway bridge and join the track that we had walked along earlier to view the gorge.
In the same area as the gorge halfway up a high mountain with views out over mountains and valleys is a little church that has been hewn out of solid granite. Called the Mozarabe because an Arab who converted to Christianity in the 10th century was buried there: It has certainly taken some work to chisel it out; it has one end rounded and a couple of large ‘windows’ along one high wall: Some walls are not very high: It is about 6 to 7 metres long and 3m wide, on the other side of the windows another room has been chiselled out of the rock too, not quite so large. About 50m away we found another small room dug out of the rock. From what I’ve read I haven’t been able to work out whether or not it was this Arab who actually made this church.
From the top of the mountain there is an absolutely fabulous view over the village of El Chorro, the dam on the Gaudalhorce River, the large town of Alora further downstream and the mountains all around. We couldn’t see the coast but on a clearer day it may be possible. The same railway line that goes through the gorge crosses three large viaducts as passes around Alora.*
At Laguna Fuente de Piedra we went looking for flamingos. This is a lake where up to 1600 pairs are know to come and breed arriving at this time of year. However, this is not a permanent lake, some dry years it has no water, this year it has some water but is by no means full. There is a great deal of bird life just the same and we spent a while seeing what there was to see. If it hadn’t have been for the bitterly cold boisterous wind blowing we would have spent longer watching them. Even in the specially constructed bird hides we couldn’t escape the wind.
The lady in the information office had shown us what birds to expect to see and outside on the lake and around some shallow ponds near the lake we saw several types of ducks and shovelers, moorhens, gulls and stilts, just to name a few. Some lapwings with punk head feathers were meandering about too. From one of the car park lookouts we did eventually see the flamingos out on the lake but they were too far away to see individual birds, just a patch of pinkish colour out in the water. There are not many this year because the water is low.
On the drive around the lake we passed through large olive groves and came to a place where many people were working. There was a big machine shaking a tree while a fellow with a very long pole brushed it through the same tree, this broke a lot of the smaller branches off as well as the black olives. The fruit landed in nets below the tree and when the machine moved onto the next tree the nets were gathered up and emptied. There olive trees were really loaded with fruit.
We had noticed that the younger olive plantations had rows that were further apart than the older plantations, now we know why; the extra width allows the machine to be used because it is a very large machine. Even with this mechanical help this is still a fairly labour intensive job as there were many people to collect and empty the nets and relay them under trees still to be harvested.
El Torcal is an area of high mountains with eroded and weathered limestone forming curious formations a few kilometres outside the town of Antequera, north of Malaga. At an altitude of 1200m the blustery wind was much colder so we wrapped up in our winter woollies that we hadn’t worn for a few weeks before venturing out to walk around through some of these formations on a 3k hike. This took us into large bowl shape depressions, at bit like shallow canyons with the high white limestone pinnacles all around. They are in strata like pancakes piled high and topped with pinnacles. A few have fallen over:
To us some resembled faces, one a hand with two fingers in a V, a couple were like chess pieces and then some resembled some of the Muppets, Gonzo in particular. Our path took us from one bowl to another through areas that were very sheltered and the trees and rocks are covered in thick green moss, there are narrow chasms and tiny chambers. One area looked a bit like a city in ruins. There were a lot of birds too and we saw some green finches and chaf finches that we could identify.
It was late in the afternoon when we were quietly making our way back and we saw some animals grazing some distance off. At first we thought they were goats, then deer, but when we got a closer look at some we decided that they look like a cross between the two though I expect that they are just goats. They have the slender lithe shape of a deer but the horns of a goat. They also have the dark patch on the backside similar to some other deer we have seen. The information office was closed by the time we got back so we couldn’t ask in there. They are possibly Ibex as there are some of them in the Sierra Nevada mountains not all that far distant.
Also near Antequera are some ancient tombs. They took a great deal of effort to find as signposting leaves a lot to be desired and we never did find the tourist information.
Two of the tombs known as Dolmen de Viera and Dolmen de Menga are beside each other and they date from around 2000 to 2500BC; a third one some 3k’s distant is from a later period 1800BC. We visited the older ones first simply because they were the ones we found.
First we watched a video of how the ‘experts’ believe that the tombs were constructed. The video was in Spanish only but easy enough to follow regarding the construction. Whether or not it mentioned where the rock was quarried I can’t be sure but I don’t believe so. The ancients cut massive stone slabs and supposedly hauled them by teams of men pulling ropes according to the video. Some of that hauling would have been up hill as the tombs are on top of a rise.
First the site was cleared, then dug out to a depth of around 2.5m, then around the edge of that hole a deeper trench was dug, probably at least another 1/2m deep and a metre wide. It was into this trench that the upright stone slabs that formed the walls were dropped. When they were all in position then the whole thing was filled with dirt again so that the top slabs for the roof could be pulled across and into position; after that the filling was removed leaving an empty cavern. Some final landscaping was done by covering the top with a vast amount more dirt to round it off, leaving just the entryway and door for access.
The largest of these tombs had an open porch of around 3m long, then a covered entryway 5m long leading to the main cavern that was 17m long. The massive stone slab on the back wall of the cavern was 3m wide x 2.5m high (plus it was at least a half meter below the floor level) and 1m thick. There were at least 17 more slightly smaller slabs around the walls and I don’t know how many forming the roof. 3 central pillars help support the roof each of around 600mm square. Menga was the large tomb, Viera was about ¼ of the size and not as high. In Menga a well had been dug but that was done much later by the Romans, they had a cemetery further down the hill side.
The other tomb built several centuries later is very different. The walls are dry stone construction with stone slabs for the roof. A long passage leads through a trapezoid shaped door into a bee hive dome shaped cavern about 5m diameter, then another door, not in alignment with the first, a short passage, then a small bee hive chamber, only about 2.5m diameter. Each has a stone slab over a round hole for the roof and a flagstone floor.
© Lynette Regan 12th February 2008