A Window on Arcos

[Mac]

A weather window, that is. Descending through the rolling mists from
the sierra, we emerge eventually into the sunshine, reflected from the
masses of small paperwhite narcissi by the roadside. Stopping at an
Area Recreativo, Mrs Mac wanders off to inspect these and other
flowers, and I am immediately surrounded by a bevy of teenage girls.
It is a birthday party; we compare ages: they are (briefly) lost for
words. Mrs Mac is very tolerant - on returning to find this scene,
she is quite happy to photograph them with me, as they insist.

Arcos de la Frontera is a welcome sight, basking like a great white
whale, its tail these days spreading onto the plain below. I came
here out of curiosity, having seen the place mentioned several times
on this forum, and Arcos welcomed us with open arms, a stress-free
drive to the very top of the town, a friendly policeman to direct us
into a parking spot (the bus stance), a cheap and friendly small
hostal round the corner, and a beautiful sunset lighting the cliffs
below the mirador as a huge flock of birds wheeled overhead.

But you've got to be fit to explore Arcos - the steep streets and
alleyways are hard going, and like many Spanish hill towns without
major historic buildings, it is better appreciated from a distance
than from within.

El Tiempo intervenes again: we had intended to move west to explore
the Coto Doñana national park on the estuary of the Guadalquivir, but
the unremittingly awful weather forecast sends us scurrying back to
the only promised glints of sun. Olvera, rearing up from the plain to
its Moorish castillo and palatial church, detains us for quite a
while, but we've eventually fetched up in the undistinguished town of
Colmenar, north of Málaga, directed by a Falklands war veteran
barkeeper to a semi-closed hotel where una vieja sits in the corner
waiting for her daughter. As do we, hoping for a refuge from the
weather. Actually, we realise that we're relatively fortunate, with
Madrid and London snowbound, and a tornado in Málaga.

Espero mejor por la próxima.

Mac