“The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep,
But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.” (Frost)
We do a lot of driving, most of which is not an actual enjoyable experience, although being able to do so is a real privilege. My wife and I visited our friend, the fabulous Ms. G who lives in Ojen which is located just eight kilometros inland of Marbella. Ojen is a small white village that sits on the side of a mountain. It is very typical of so many villages but each has its own story.
Ojen was in fiestas and the party went on in spite of the uncooperative weather. There are very few flat parts to the village, and every thing is a mini of what Madrid or Valencia would have. It is a town of locals and others, and that is made very clear as the locals don’t go out of their way for us foreigners, however, we were perfectly free to roam about and to enjoy ourselves, which we did.
I did wonder what effect a hillside town has on its aging population. Do people live longer because of the strength they build from walking up such steep inclines, or do they depart this life at a younger age? That is the question.
Our hostess was very kind to take us on a long drive through country roads over the mountains, and that is what I want to share. Driving through cities and along the national or autovias is the fundamentals of getting from point A to point B. This was just pleasure driving, something we have to go out of our way to achieve.
For this excursion we travelled from Ojen further inland to Ronda to see the great Gorge. Our journey took us along the A355 to Monda, then via a shortcut through Guaro to pick up the A366 to Ronda. Along the way we passed through Tolox, Alozaina, Yunguera, and El Burgo where we stopped for a rest. These are all small towns but they seemed to be well ordered with a functioning society built around agriculture.
This was a delightful trip for us passengers but for the driver it requires full concentration on the road as it was a mountain route with narrow roads and hairpin bends all the way. We are therefore very grateful to our friend who did the driving.
Taking the route that we did meant having to cross the Sierra Bermeja. We went up one side, then along the top at 1190 meters above sea level, and down the other side. I thought it quite astonishing that so many people live in these wide-open spaces. Mainly it is olive country so I suppose that’s the principal reason why there is such a large population so far away from the major centres. By contrast the density of people living down along the coast is horrific. At one point I actually closed my eyes away from the obscenity of that sight.
I observed something on that journey that was really striking: you pass from deeply forested areas into sudden arid conditions where hardly anything at all grows. The line is quite rigidly drawn and seems preposterous. After travelling for many kilometres the land changes again to one of no greenery at all. Now we were in rock country. This is the most amazing environment, it’s like what I would expect on other planets. I was going to try to describe the types of formations and colouring, which is basically different shades of grey, but I’ve concluded that would not be possible. It’s simply something one has to see with own eyes.
After leaving this area we re-enter the world of green, but in a gentle way with hedges and green grass, and then comes the outskirts of Ronda. This is a major town and also a significant tourist centre. Its draw is the El Tajo gorge. The land extends at one level, then suddenly falls away by about 300 feet. This must surely be something of a rarity in Spain. In the United States there is the Grand Canyon, and that would be something similar, except that with the Ronda Gorge the drop off is only on one side.
Amazingly, down below there are homes and farms and a mini-community. I’m sure that far too many people give in to the temptation to see how long something thrown takes to reach the bottom.
So, an enjoyable visit to the southern parts of Spain, and in particular the inland and remote parts that I’m sure many would say, “This is Real Spain.”
Copyright © 2008 Eugene Carmichael
We do a lot of driving, most of which is not an actual enjoyable experience, although being able to do so is a real privilege. My wife and I visited our friend, the fabulous Ms. G who lives in Ojen which is located just eight kilometros inland of Marbella. Ojen is a small white village that sits on the side of a mountain. It is very typical of so many villages but each has its own story.
Ojen was in fiestas and the party went on in spite of the uncooperative weather. There are very few flat parts to the village, and every thing is a mini of what Madrid or Valencia would have. It is a town of locals and others, and that is made very clear as the locals don’t go out of their way for us foreigners, however, we were perfectly free to roam about and to enjoy ourselves, which we did.
I did wonder what effect a hillside town has on its aging population. Do people live longer because of the strength they build from walking up such steep inclines, or do they depart this life at a younger age? That is the question.
Our hostess was very kind to take us on a long drive through country roads over the mountains, and that is what I want to share. Driving through cities and along the national or autovias is the fundamentals of getting from point A to point B. This was just pleasure driving, something we have to go out of our way to achieve.
For this excursion we travelled from Ojen further inland to Ronda to see the great Gorge. Our journey took us along the A355 to Monda, then via a shortcut through Guaro to pick up the A366 to Ronda. Along the way we passed through Tolox, Alozaina, Yunguera, and El Burgo where we stopped for a rest. These are all small towns but they seemed to be well ordered with a functioning society built around agriculture.
This was a delightful trip for us passengers but for the driver it requires full concentration on the road as it was a mountain route with narrow roads and hairpin bends all the way. We are therefore very grateful to our friend who did the driving.
Taking the route that we did meant having to cross the Sierra Bermeja. We went up one side, then along the top at 1190 meters above sea level, and down the other side. I thought it quite astonishing that so many people live in these wide-open spaces. Mainly it is olive country so I suppose that’s the principal reason why there is such a large population so far away from the major centres. By contrast the density of people living down along the coast is horrific. At one point I actually closed my eyes away from the obscenity of that sight.
I observed something on that journey that was really striking: you pass from deeply forested areas into sudden arid conditions where hardly anything at all grows. The line is quite rigidly drawn and seems preposterous. After travelling for many kilometres the land changes again to one of no greenery at all. Now we were in rock country. This is the most amazing environment, it’s like what I would expect on other planets. I was going to try to describe the types of formations and colouring, which is basically different shades of grey, but I’ve concluded that would not be possible. It’s simply something one has to see with own eyes.
After leaving this area we re-enter the world of green, but in a gentle way with hedges and green grass, and then comes the outskirts of Ronda. This is a major town and also a significant tourist centre. Its draw is the El Tajo gorge. The land extends at one level, then suddenly falls away by about 300 feet. This must surely be something of a rarity in Spain. In the United States there is the Grand Canyon, and that would be something similar, except that with the Ronda Gorge the drop off is only on one side.
Amazingly, down below there are homes and farms and a mini-community. I’m sure that far too many people give in to the temptation to see how long something thrown takes to reach the bottom.
So, an enjoyable visit to the southern parts of Spain, and in particular the inland and remote parts that I’m sure many would say, “This is Real Spain.”
Copyright © 2008 Eugene Carmichael
