Continuing my series of "kilometro" articles, today it's the turn of kilometro 18.
This exit on the A374 between Jerez de la Frontera and Ronda leads us into a world of wonderful white villages and stunning scenery.
Map of Andalucia courtesy of TripSavvy
Preamble
I first travelled this route in 2000 when I was on a silver wedding anniversary tour of Andalucía with my wife at the time (we sadly divorced five years later).
Back then we were knocked out by what we saw! We knew Spain well, but had never been to Andalucia before.
Grazalema
After travelling through forests of cork oaks, we turned right for Grazalema, the town which clocks up most rainfall in the whole of Spain.
If we had turned left we would have had another marvellous experience, but that's for another day.
Grazalema [Turismo de Cadiz]
Grazalema is a fabulous town with stupendous views, a choice of fantastic restaurants an interesting church and lots of souvenir shops selling local cheeses, wines from the region and locally made cloth.
There are lots of tourists, but that's what makes the town an exciting place to visit.
Las Palomas
Taking the road up around Grazalema, there is another choice to be made.
In 2000 we turned right and climbed up to the pass of Las Palomas.
The views from here are to die for, including the Zahara de la Sierra reservoir. Absolutely unbelievable.
View of Zahara reservoir [Minube]
Zahara de la Sierra
From above the road serpentines its way down to Zahara.
It's worth driving up to the top of the village. With luck you can park and then you have a choice of restaurants, the Tourist Office and the Church.
Further up is the Castillo, which provides the best views of the lot.
Zahara de la Sierra [Ronda Today]
Arcos de la Frontera
Back down the hill you can take the road to Arcos de la Frontera, one of the most amazing towns in Cadiz province.
Perched on a mountain top with one of the best paradores I know (and I've since been to around 45 of the 90 dotted around Spain).
We spent two nights there and enjoyed Arcos immensely. We visited several times since.
Arcos de la Frontera [Turismo de Cadiz]
Continuing our Tour
On our anniversary trip in 2000 we continued on to Cadiz, Sevilla, Carmona, Cordoba and Antequera.
Cadiz [ABC de Sevilla] Plaza de Europa, Sevilla [Diario de Sevilla] Carmona [unattributed]
La Mezquita de Cordoba [Lonely Planet] Antequera [RENFE]
We flew back to the UK with fond memories and a plan …..
Our Plan?
The following year (2001) we bought an apartment with a shared pool in Ronda and two years later a house nearby to do up.
Piso Blanco, Ronda [Paul Whitelock] Puente Nuevo, Ronda [Karl Smallman]
Then after 30 years of marriage which produced two kids, I was made redundant, I suffered a nervous breakdown and Jeryl and I divorced.
***
What happened next is for another day and another article …..
© Pablo de Ronda
Acknowledgements:
ABC de Sevilla, Diario de Sevilla, Karl Smallman, Lonely Planet, Paul Whitelock, RENFE, Turismo de Cadiz, Wikipedia
Tags:
ABC de Sevilla, Antequera, Arcos de la Frontera, Cadiz, Carmona, Cordoba, Diario de Sevilla, Jeryl, Karl Smallman, Lonely Planet, Montejaque, Pablo de Ronda, parador, Paul Whitelock, RENFE, Ronda, Ronda Today, Sevilla, Turismo de Cadiz, Wikipedia