Cowboys in the Desert
Because of the rain, the village has been even quieter than usual, so it was lovely to have some old friends to come and stay for a few days. When they arrived, they looked a little shell-shocked. They’d read ‘Chickens’ but I don’t think they’d grasped quite how small, isolated and purely Spanish our village is.
“No shops?” asked Anna. “And what happens if you need to see a doctor?”
We explained that delivery vans come daily with bread, fish and local produce, and that the doctor comes once a week and holds a surgery in one of the villager’s living rooms. She looked dubious.
Andy and Anna were keen to see the local sights.
“We’ll take you to see Europe’s only desert,” said Joe.
“You see how lush and green it is here?” I asked. “Well, you’ll be amazed at the desert - it’s utterly dry and barren.”
So off we went to Fort Bravo, near the town of Tabernas. Fort Bravo is a movie set where dozens of spaghetti westerns like ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ and ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ were filmed. The terrain is similar to the Colorado desert with rocky outcrops and prickly pear cacti. A complete Wild West town has been recreated there, where you can wander round, enjoy a drink in the saloon, watch filming and generally imagine you are in a cowboy town.
“I thought you said it was a desert?” said Andy, waving his arms round to take in the verdant scenery. To our surprise, the rain had ensured that instead of the usual dry, dusty crags, the whole area was green and dotted with wild flowers. Joe and I shrugged, and we went in.
The place was empty. No filming was taking place, the town seemed deserted.
“We’re going to have a nice quiet time,” said Joe. “We’ve got the place to ourselves.”
Wrong...
The staff at Fort Bravo always dress in authentic costumes, and on that day, were clearly bored. Obviously our little party was a welcome diversion, but poor Anna suffered the most. Two cowboys in particular amused themselves by frightening the living daylights out of her. As we strolled round, they repeatedly jumped on her from behind buildings and furniture, pistols drawn. At one point Anna was put in jail and we finished the visit with a couple of tours of the town riding in a mule cart rattling along at breakneck speed.
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We had a good day, but with gunshots still ringing in our ears, it was nice to return to the quiet of our village...
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