Tajo de Molino

 A trip out today to the "Tajo del Molino"(Mill gorge), a limestone gorge near to pueblo of Teba, eroded over millions of years by the Rio La Venta as it winds its way to the Guadalteba reservoir pictured above. (My route here)

Access to the gorge is well signposted and gained by leaving the main road and parking below the viaduct.

There were no visible signs as to pathways so I settled for the right hand bank of the river.

  After about 30 metres however, I realised that I had made a mistake as it was impossible to go further without wading into the water.

So retracing my steps, I crossed to the other side via this "bridge" across the fast flowing river.

  After clambering over a few rocks, I found a sort of pathway and headed further into the gorge.

Once the seabed between Europe and Africa, the rock formations have a definite slant reflecting the upward movement of the continental plates millions of years ago.

 In some areas, walking was reasonably easy but shortly after this point the path once again became impassable due to the water depth and with no crossing point I had to turn back.

  The old ruined mill, my ultimate destination, viewed from the closest I could get at about 100 metres away 

 Upon leaving the gorge, I took a different direction which on Google Earth showed a route skirting the Guadalteba reservoir. However, once again I declined to get wet as the road disappeared into the water.

  Visible about 100 metres to my right was the other end of the road. Pictured below, the gorge as seen on the road to the reservoir.

So once again, thwarted by the elements, I reversed and headed back to Olvera. However, as I always say, there's no such thing as a wasted journey. A new place explored, a new road discovered and another beautiful day to have enjoyed the wonderful scenery of Andalucia.  

Teba

We had last visited Teba, a small village 30 minutes drive east of Olvera, in September last year. We had completely bypassed the village then as I was on a mission to visit the ruined castle, one of the most prominent in the area (see linked post below).

So this morning we arrived in Teba about 10'ish to hopefully do it justice and see more of the village.

The approach road to the village.



























The Ayuntamiento (Town Hall).













This doorway/statue decorated one corner of the Plaza outside of the Ayuntamiento.

We came upon this beautifully tiled stairway.













We arrived at the Plaza de España where a monument dedicated to the Scottish crusader Sir James Douglas aka Black Douglas, who in 1330 whilst on his way to the crusades, assisted in the siege and capture of Teba castle (more detailed information is contained in the link below).

The inscription on the memorial, copied on the reverse in Spanish.




























This beautiful frontage to a house undergoing some restoration caught my eye so I poked my head just inside.
















The entrance hall was very impressive and beatifully decorated.


































The entrance led into a small room, again richly decorated, beyond which was a patio area where a chap was working.At this point my courage left me as I felt I was slightly intruding but I sometimes wish I had the nerve to ask to have a good look around these old buildings as I'm sure there is so much more to see.

After a couple of hours we left Teba and headed out the other side of the village towards Ronda, looking to find the "Tajo de Molino" (Teba Gorge), a designated site of geographic interest.

The picture above is of Teba Castle from the gorge.

The gorge was well signposted from the road so we stopped to have a look. There was the start of a promising footpath through the gorge but unfortunately this disappeared after about 10 metres and it was difficult to spot the way forward without clambering over plants and rock.
Again, more information about this can be found in the link below.







































At the entrance to the gorge, a short drive from the main road, there was a picnic/barbeque area with a swimming pool, presumably for use by visitors.


Linked posts:
Teba Castle

More detailed information on Teba can be found in the link below:
http://www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/teba/home.htm

Teba Castle

On the way back from El Chorro, we took a left turn to a small village called Teba not least because it was a shortcut cutting off Campillos and saving about 20 kms in distance.

The ruined castle really stands out above the village and can be seen from quite a distance away, so inevitably that was where we headed. The views at the top were tremendous although unfortunately it was a little misty in the distance. The pictures once again do not do it justice but at one time the castle covered quite an area. Unfortunately, we couldn't go right to the top of the remaining intact keep as a gate barred the way.

As there was no information available at the castle regarding its origins and history, we looked it up on the internet when we got home. After reading about it, I wished we had spent more time in the village looking around as it and castle have an interesting and colourful history dating back to the 8th century when the Moors invaded Spain and to the Crusades of 1330. Never mind, we can always go back for another look.

Linked posts:

Teba

The following link gives much more detail:

http://www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/teba/home.htm