Thursday, January 03, 2008

Holidays part 2

continued...

Now... tuesday... Christmas day... just small strolls out and about here around the house and up the track, Harry the mastiff came with us and when we turned back home called him and he came too. Chico the little dog comes into the house and up on to my lap, Pippa just loves that! Not! But he is so cute and loves his tummy to be rubbed.

Today... Wednesday we went back to Castil and did the walk there... around the rocks on a rickety walkway a bit like the one at el choro but no where near as far a drop to the river below, and this one has been recently fixed and is safe... didn't stop me feeling a bit dizzy though! Ugh! And then a bridge to get over the other side... the bridge was made of metal, but was designed just like an old fashioned rope bridge.... arh!!

Then it was through a tunnel and out and down to the old mill house, we walked on that side for some time and then had to do a return trip back to car, back through the tunnels and over the bridge and back along that awful wooden walkway!

We went into the town and had a coffee... yes a bar with tables and chairs outside! From there back to the car, oh bought coffee, seem to have gone through several jars already?!

From Castril we went to Huescar... now this town has lots of shops and is more like Alhaurín and Coín, but.... not a single bar with outside seating, so back in the car... and drove up out of town to some cave houses we could see from where we parked the car, stopped there and took a walk, took lots of photos there, back in the car and a short drive up into an urbanization full of cave houses! The area itself looked a bit run down, but i think anyone buying now and doing up the houses, will have a little gold mine of a cave house, if you excuse the pun!

ok.... phew, so next... we took the road for Castillejar from Huescar... sounds simple doesn't it! Well it would have been only as we drove we stopped a few times, for more Kodak moments... and after entering the small pueblo of El Cura. we stopped and turned back taking a track that had a beautiful cave house at the entrance, so then we kept on going, at one point we started to do a turn to go back then decided we might just as well keep on going, now this road is only just wide enough for one car, and no passing places... the sides of the road where strewn with rock and sand was everywhere... but we saw some spectacular homes built from and into the rock wall, cave houses for kings, now we didn't know it at the time but we were coming into a town called Galera which is an ancient cave town where the first european inhabitants were. This we found after a long and twisting journey, we did come across a couple of cars but luckily at points where the road had a drive or wide corner.

So back onto a proper road and i led us back to the main road again, and again after a few minutes we once more entered the pueblo of El Cura passing the track we had earlier turned round to go down! Then we came across a view of these amazing cave houses up on our right and Franco did a quick stop and turned up the track towards them.... the road became tar mac and it turned out to be a hotel of cave houses with tennis courts etc beyond, after another turn and a trip further up and further in we came once more back to the main road and one more we entered the pueblo El Cura... the final time! Well for today! Back towards our main road and then home... as we arrived into fuente vera a herd of goats was ahead so we waited for them to go off down a track as started off again, suddenly Franco said he thought we were in the wrong road and was going to turn round there and then down the narrow road, we decided to drive a bit further to wider stretch where it would only take a ten point turn when i recognized the houses and we found we were on the right road any way, i think with all the turning and driving and houses Franco got a bit confused and needed a coffee!!

ok, done for now, photos loaded into picasa and three pages here done and dusted... adios amigos.


to be continued...

TTFN
Marian

2 comments:

raymo said...

Hi Marian,

How was fuente vera, great little village and wonderful people, i am renovating an old cortijo and olive farm down inthe valley between castriland fuente vera.
I am from Ireland and hope to move there next year. Where you there on holidays or house/cave hunting?

Ray
Ireland

Ultreya said...

Hello Ray... we were there on holidays yes, but i think we fell in love with each and every one of those cave houses and old cortijo's we came across!

you must have a job on your hands with the renovation but it will so be worth it when your finished, how fantastic!

the cave house we stayed in we really really fell in love with and could have picked it up and brought it home with us back down south!

work is hard to find here, but i think even less up there, and we do still need to work, so maybe one day...

keep in touch and let me know how your getting on, would be good to hear of your progress.
marian