Water from the Convent

Needing more regular refills of water due to the heat at the moment, for a change I headed this morning to the spring at the 16th century "Convento de Caños Santos", about twenty minutes drive east of Olvera, seen here on the side of the hill.

The convent has no current religious purpose, with the exception of the chapel that is used for fiestas and special events, and was converted several years ago to become a spa/hotel complex but due to funding shortages was never opened.

Subsequently, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair and sadly since my last visit just over a year ago it appears that nature is also slowly starting to reclaim the garden area. 

The fresh water spring.

I just avoided treading on this large, beautiful maroon coloured beetle, next to a one euro coin for size comparison.

One thing that doesn't change however are the spectacular views, here looking north to the 1129 metre peak of the "Peñon El Terril", the highest point in the province of Seville.   

The view to Olvera, just visible left of picture.

After leaving the convent with four bottles of water, I couldn't resist going off on a previously unexplored dirt track that appeared to go in the direction of the pueblo of Alcalá del Valle.

Beautiful views as always before reaching Alcalá below.