Off the beaten track in Andalucia - Alhama de Granada

 Saturday

It’s time to leave Villa Turistica de Predo de Cordoba, with some regret, there was a fantastic view of the dawn over the sierra, the outlines of the hills against the reddish sky of the dawn, with mist in between, like one of Andrea's pictures. A last photo at the reception and then we take our Fiat 500 in the direction of Iznajar. There’s a slight problem when Google maps wants to send us somewhere odd to avoid the (empty so early on a Saturday morning) centre of Priego de Cordoba, but soon we are on the road driving between, yes, you’ve guessed, olive trees and more olive trees  and more olive trees, 

to Iznajar, where, with an unexpected spurt of courage I drive right up through the narrow streets to park in front of the Mirador. There is indeed a beautiful view from the various miradores, of the artificial lake below and the hills around.

Iznajar is a pueblo bianco and a very pretty one. It’s Saturday morning but it’s also cold so there’s nobody around. The narrow white streets, full of pots and flowers even at the very beginning of March, are very pretty indeed. Apart from the famous, and rightly so, Patio de las Commedias, there is also Plaza de la Torre and the whole area around the church (which is closed) and the castle. We don’t go into the castle, we’ve got a busy day lined up, and also it’s cloudy and quite cold and we saw such a lot of castle yesterday. 

We spend about an hour in Iznajar and then continue our journey to Alhama de Granada. It's cloudy when we arrive and to compensate for parking in the centre in Iznajar I park about as far away from the centre as one can get in Alhama de Granada. Fortunately it’s not a large town and a short walk takes us to Plaza de la Constitcion and Paseo del Cisne with the red castle behind. Next to this, there’s a plaza in front of Iglesia del Carmen (closed) with a beautiful fountain and a view of the Gorge, or Tajo. The tourist office has just closed for a guided tour but we are able to pick up a map and wander around the historic centre which is very nice. Not a pueblo blanco because the main colour is the ochre of the sandstone. The church with the square in front with fountains and the Posito are very nice and the Casa de la Inquisicion is especially beautiful.

It's 1 o’clock so we head for Bar el Tigre, in the hope of mysterious tapas. Ordering dos canas produces two copas, and we sit down wondering what will happen next. The bar is tiny and there’s no way out from behind the bar into the tiny salon, so the people behind the bar go out the back, and come in through the front door. We get the hang of this so when a plate of something interesting appears on the counter and the friendly girl beckons us, we know the tapa has arrives. And what a tapa. Two pieces of perfectly fried cod with cabbage salad.

Thus emboldened, we order a racion of local lamb cops. It’s spectacular, with potatoes and a whole roast pepper which is so good it doesn’t taste of pepper. I can’t imagine how Spanish people manage to eat a whole racion each.  Coffee is also accompanied by two mini cake-tapas. With coffee and everything we spend just 27 euros. Wow.

The weather hasn’t improved in the meantime but it isn’t raining either so we walk down the easy paseo to the bottom of the Tajo. It’s reminiscent of Ronda, but even more of places in Puglia like Gravina di Puglia, although a few view points make us think of a mini-Matera. We have a look at the Escaleras del diablo and then walk back up to the historical centre via the Mazmorras which are closed but we get a glimpse from behind the glass and railings. 

Only ruins are left of Iglesia de las Angustias but we also see the Hospital de la Reina from outside and the oddly named Cano womba. Our route back through the historical centre takes us past the nice fountain and around Mirador de Alhama and back to the car. It would have been easy to spend the whole day in Alhama. There’s a lot to see and nice walks to do. It’s 3.30 so we decide to continue through Ventas de Zafarraya, an area where fruit and vegetables are grown, and then down through Axarquia to the sea for our last 3 nights. It’s almost a culture shock to arrive in places with apartment blocks, supermarkets and shops. The apartment is ok, despite being on the 5th floor, not my favourite place to be, but there's a very nice sea view. A walk, shopping in Mercadona followed by an indigestible supper of artichlokes, langostinas and far too much Alioli and I crash into bed…