The weather forecast hereabouts is either very accurate or wildly wrong. Sunday was predicted to be wet all day. It turned out to be a lovely day. We drove to Olvera and parked sensibly at the entrance to the old town – but quite possibly in a residents’ only space. Still it’s Sunday, and anyway the residents are parked on yellow lines, on the pavements and on roundabouts. I think the local police are generous in their interpretation of the rules. Fingers crossed!
The town is very quiet…
… until we get to the little square just below the church and castle. This is where we find all the locals in the Bar La Plaza presumably having just been to church. Twenty minutes later they all disappeared and left the square to us and a couple eating lunch. Religion and socialising done, it’s time for a siesta!
It was just a short walk from here to the Plaza de la Iglesia. About 100m north and 100m up! The church is snappily named El Iglesia arciprestal y parroquial Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación!
… and with a name like that it has to be visible from miles away!
… and, immediately adjacent, the castle with its 2500 steps to the top (actually only about 175, but it felt a lot more!).
Phenomenal, 360 degree views from the very top…
After all the excitement of minute spiral stairwells with treads the size of slices of twelve inch pizzas and of dungeons in the sky, it was time for Sunday lunch. Well, it was nearly 4pm! Unusually, the tourist office gave us a couple of recommendations. Bar restaurante El Puerto was certainly a great suggestion. By 5.30 we were on first name terms with Diego a three year old on the next table.
Now, here are a couple of useful facts:
Overall, British golf courses are calculated to cover an area almost the same as that covered, in total, by housing. And secondly, surprising though it may seem, peat bog covers almost seven times as much land as all of Britain’s buildings.
Just thought I’d mention that!
Oh, and our parking spot was fine, by the way! But we did have to wait ten minutes to reverse down the one-way street onto a roundabout, because it was totally blocked by a police car while the officers bought cakes in the local patisserie!
Marie and I are enjoying the accounts of your travels. This time 10 years ago you were staying with us at Grange in Brisbane. We took you to Mt Tamborine, according to my diary, which Marie says is never wrong.