Maybe it was the season or maybe Spain’s countryside is naturally green and gorgeous. Whatever the case, our drive felt pastoral and therapeutic in every sense. The topography is varied and that adds dimension to the traveler’s experience of place. Hill towns show off ingenuity and sheer tenacity of spirit because many are literally built onto and into a cliff-side. Such was the case in southern Spain.
It is our practice to stay close to the culture in order to interact with locals as much as possible. One effective way of doing that is to sleep and breakfast in locally-run inns. A converted convent served our purposes well in Arco and so we parked the car at the bottom of the hill in the public car park and took a 7 minute taxi up narrow, winding streets to our waiting hosts. A stunning view, if you don’t mind heights, a typical European breakfast of cheese, bread, fruit and yoghurt and next morning we were on our way to see the rock everyone talks about.
