The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Friday, February 24, 2017

The magical town of Zahara...in the rain!

Not the greatest weather yesterday, but there's too much to see in this area so we're not going to waste any of it sitting inside waiting for blue skies that may or may not come.

So yesterday, we drove over to the mountainside town of Zahara de la Sierra to do some exploring, and despite the weather we are really glad that we did!

It was only about 60 kms (36 miles) away, but some of the roads are a little slow going so it took just over an hour each way.

It actually looked like things were going to clear up.

Little bit of a roadblock!

Castle ruins on a hill.

We were going to stop at the town of Olvera on the way back if we had time. 
But we didn't have time!

Our first view of Zahara...through a wet windshield.

We parked at the bottom before entering town. The tight streets in these old villages are not motorhome friendly...even with a small motorhome of Louis size. We had an early lunch while waiting for the drizzle to stop, and then Tony and I walked up into town to see if we could find parking a little closer. Uphill every step of the way, and fairly steep at times.

But, we did find some better parking for Louis, and in fact any motorhome could make it's way up there to the parking spot at GPS 36.840490, -5.392892. I think we could have easily overnighted there as well.

The town of Zahara. 
Can you see where we're going to walk up to?

The view from where we parked Louis.

We spent about four hours wandering around the town, and the trails that circle the mountain up to the castle on top. What a great spot, despite the rain. We could only imagine how beautiful it would be with clear blue skies. But, the grey clouds have their own way of making a picture look beautiful.

Here are some photos of our day....

Not many people around.

Main street, Zahara.

Lots of viewpoints around town.

Zahara rooftops.

The reservoir was only dammed in 1992, making the area even more beautiful.

Yep, we took lots of photos!

Kevin, on the right!

Can you see what a beautiful place this is?!

Almost at the top. Yes, Tony is taking more pictures...

Me!

Taken from the top of the tower. You can see the trail we came up on.

Just another nice view.

Helen and Tony.

Walking back through town.

A green field and a couple of wet horses!

What a great day we had! And, it wasn't over yet. We have an oven back at the apartment, so when we arrived back "home", Ruth and Tony collaborated to make a delicious roast pork dinner.

Dinner is served!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Men's work boots on sale today...


And in Canada, the Amazon Kitchen basics knife set is on sale...




23 comments:

  1. I love Olvera on the hillside. What history that city must hold.
    That walk up to Zahara looks like a bun burner.
    Those roads are so narrow, I can just visualize camels, mules, etc. going through that area with merchants in their stalls.
    I can image how goregous Zahara must look in the sunlight. So sorry you didn't see it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We got to visit Olvera yesterday so you will get to see some more photos when Kevin gets today's post done. It is a pretty town but we loved Zahara more. We could definitely live in the town of Zahara without a problem, it has a bit of everything that we love, history, beautiful views, great hiking and friendly people.

      I don't think you would have seen camels going up those streets but who knows what animals they may have had way back then but mules, horses and donkeys would certainly have made their way through those streets and some probably still do.

      The hike up wasn't bad at all when you take your time, hardly even noticed it.

      Delete
  2. Love the 2 horses! Hope the weather improves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They even came over to greet us! I think they thought we might have a carrot or apple for them. :-)

      Yesterday's weather was better.

      Delete
  3. So picturesque... and clean!!! No garbage anywhere. You are right, the clouds add their own magical touch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very pretty scenery, indeed!

      It is very clean in the towns and we are sure that is because they have garbage and recycling cans everywhere but we still came across a few places where you really have to watch where you put your feet so that you don't step in dog poop. :-(

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. We could easily live in the town of Zahara, it is a wonderful town!

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. It sure was and we said the same thing as we were driving back to our place at the end of the day! :-)

      Delete
  6. Such a beatiful town, would love to know what house prices are like there. Looks I have some googling to do!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a beautiful town! The housing prices would depend on what you are looking for. I found a small terrace home with 2 bedrooms but needs a fair bit of work for €43,550, there were also ones for just under and just over the €100,000 range and then of course ones that are way more than that. So I would think you could find one that is from a local for a decent price. A town that is not too far away and not so touristy is much lower in pricing, I think this is probably where we would start looking rather than Zahara if we wanted a really good price.

      Delete
  7. Love the sheep in the road. My first occupation was a Sheppard. Love the towns.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember you mentioning about being a shepherd in a comment quite a while ago. Not sure I would like that job, I think I would get bored doing that day after day.

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. Thank you Connie and Barry, we loved the views too! :-)

      Delete
  9. Very nice photos of the town and surrounding area. Little rain never hurts anyone hope you enjoyed. Dinner looks delicious! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right, a little rain never hurts anyone and we really enjoyed our day despite it. The only thing with the rain was that we didn't get the fantastic views that we would have gotten on a clear day.

      Dinner was delicious!

      Delete
  10. Replies
    1. Thanks Emily! There was a nice bike/hiking path that followed the lake, you would have loved it. I don't think it went all the way around but I am sure it would still have been wonderful.

      Delete
  11. I love exploring castles, cathedrals and churches. Seems like there's a fair amount of all three to check out in Spain. These towns with their white-washed houses are a treat for the eyes! Thanks for carrying us in your pocket!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spain has tons of castles, churches and cathedrals. There is way too much to see and we have already spend two months here and feel like we have barely scratched the surface.

      Andalusia is known for it's picturesque "White towns"!

      Delete

There are more comments on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TravelwithKevinAndRuth

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.