Views of and from Olvera Castle

Just a few pics of Olvera Castle which at 623 metres above sea level dominates the town and the surrounding area. It was buit at the end of the 12th century by the Moors and was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1985. Its a fair old climb up to the top but well worth it as the views are spectacular.

For friends and family, our house is located just above and to the left of Anne's lovely head.

Canete La Real Part 2

Just a few more pics. one of "Vulture Rock". Must go back sometime and take my binoculars.

Linked posts:

Canete La Real Part 1

Canete la Real....again!

Canete La Real Part 1

On the road back from Campillos we pulled off left to Canete La Real, for no other reason than we had never been there before and because time was our own.

On the road we stopped the car and got out to watch a flock of circling vultures, about twelve to fifteen birds. A car came past tooting his horn and the chap inside shouting something in Spanish and making gestures with his hand. We thought nothing of it, got back into the car and carried on.

Just before the village ther was a large granite rock on our right hand side about 300 metres away and approximately 100 metres high. Anne said "stop the car, stop the car". We got out and lining the top of the rock were forty or fifty vultures, a tremendous site. At that point a lorry approached from the opposite direction, again the driver making hand gestures and shouting "Peligro, peligro" plus a few other spanish words. He turned off into the village so we checked our trusty dictionary. Peligro means Danger/At risk so the previous car driver and the lorry driver had been trying to warn us to stay in the car as presumably the vultures were none too friendly. Funny......I thought they only feasted on dead carcasses!!

Anyway, a few pics of the vultures and the lovely village.

Linked posts:

Canete La Real Part 2

Canete la Real....again!

Campillos

Today, Anne said "lets go to Campillos", a small town about 30kms east of Olvera. We'd been there before last September and quite honestly isn't the most attractive of places. Whereas Olvera lies in the hills bordering the Sierra Grazalema National Park, Campillos is situated on the plain heading towards Antequera.





It is a busy place with plenty of clothes shops for Anne to browse in, which was obviously the ulterior motive as some sales were on. We felt that the best part was situated around the square in the middle of town. Onwards then to Canete de la Real...........
Linked posts:
Campillos again and then.............!!

Setenil

Today we took a short drive to Setenil, a small village aproximately 12 kms south of Olvera. Setenil is probably most famous for it's cave houses, which have been built into the sides of granite rock and have apparently been inhabited for thousands of years.

I hope the pictures convey a feeling of how pretty the village is. A tip.......avoid if possible driving into the centre of the village. The street's are very narrow and parking limited. Best to leave your vehicle outside and walk the short distance into the centro.

Linked posts:

Setenil de las Bodegas

Arrival in Olvera

Welcome to "Olvera Diary".

My wife Anne & I and our old dog Peppie moved out to Olvera, Cadiz, Spain on Sunday 23rd July 2007 from Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, having sold up completely. At the outset I must say that this blog is not going to be a daily account of our lives here, just an as and when update of events and pictures of Olvera and it's surrounds. I hope it will enhance your knowledge of what is a truly beautiful place.

Our journey started at Plymouth docks with a mixture of excitement and trepidation at the journey ahead and of concerns for Peppie, being boarded in a kennel for the next 20 hours. Not to mention whether our old Ford Mondeo estate, bought for £600, would make the journey.

After leaving the dock however, we soon settled down into our cabin and after ensuring she was OK in her kennel, went for a beer and something to eat. The ship was well appointed with bars and restaurants although most of our time was spent "up top" walking Peppie, making sure she was OK.

We arrived in Santander at 12.30pm Monday lunchtime and drove off in the direction of Burgos, intending to stay overnight at the Hotel Mavi in La Cabrera, 57km north of Madrid. The scenery on the drive between Santander and Burgos is absolutely stunning, with steep gorges and Tyrolean style houses decorated with flowers. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures due to the camera being packed deep in the depths of the boot.

Arrived at the hotel about 7pm, had something to eat and went to bed intending to leave at 3am for the journey south through Madrid, hopefully avoiding a drive during the heat of the day. Up at 2.30, quick wash then on the road again and straight through the centre of Madrid on the M30 motorway with hardly any traffic at all. Making good time and a couple of stops, we arrived in our new home Olvera at about 10.30am absolutely shattered.

So, that is a brief history of our journey and any further posts will now concentrate on our life here and the people we encounter and the places we visit. We hope you will find it informative and occasionally humourous but don't take it too seriously. It is only us sharing our personal experiences with you.

Linked posts:

A year gone by........