Our next stop was Seteníl de las Bodegas, a different village from the others. Instead of being set atop the cliffs, Seteníl is carved into the cliffs. Known for its olives, wine and almonds, Seteníl actually dates originally to the Romans. It's a very pretty little town, but one where no one knows how to park or drive on one-way streets.
Yes, it's wonderful to stop and see the towns from a distance. They are so beautiful!
This amazing town was sacked seven times by the Christians. One side of the main street is known as the Cave of the Sun (Cueva de la Sol) and the other, the Cave of the Shadow (Cueva de la Sombra), because of how the light strikes the area.
This ceramic shop was wonderful. The sweetest gentleman ran it, and several of my fellow travelers were as taken with his wares as I was. Sadly, we all had only my Spanish to help us, but my numbers and basics are good, so everyone left happy! If only I had the ability to ship things back, he had beautiful bowl sets....
Ah, me and street signs. I saw another of these later, that had the phrase, Recuerde (watch out) underneath it.
Then, we were on to our final village of the trip, Olvera.
People have been in Olvera for more than two thousand years: Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Christians.
The Moorish castle still stands.
One of my fellow travelers had similar photography interests to me: tiles, odd architectural details, etc. And we were both learning, so it was fun to trade tips! He kindly took this photo.
There is the most amazing cemetery I have ever seen, in Olvera. I love this photo, as it's the first time, I think, where I've been able to get the depth of field right. What a difference!
See? Amazing!
Part of the old castle.
Trying to get out of town, we actually had a very fascinating experience. Because of the surfeit of motorbikes trying to go the wrong way down the one way street, we couldn't get the van through, and the people eating in the outdoor cafes had to get up and move their tables so that we could get across the bridge. Ah, Europe!
By the time we got back, we were pretty well done. Wendy and I both had things we wanted to prepare for the week, especially since class started the next day! So we had a light supper of sandwiches, and called it a weekend. But what a wonderful weekend it was!
No comments:
Post a Comment