The purpose of this festival is to pay homage to the Virgen del Rocio (Our Lady of the Dew) and to make very merry doing it. The pilgrimages of Spain are called romerias after the typical historical long walks to Rome, and of them all the annual convergence of over a million pilgrims on the […]

• 0 Comments

Characterised by its searing limestone rocks and flower-laden valleys, El Torcal de Antequera Nature Reserve is one of Andalucia’s hidden gems. It’s not too far from the coast either, and is accessed via the village of Villanueva de la Concepción, just 10 kilometres from the town of Antequera, and 20 metres north of Málaga.
Millions of […]

• 0 Comments

There is a legend that somewhere in the heart of Andalucia, within the area of Alhaurin el Grandé; the town where the English writer, Gerald Brenan, spent so much of his life; there is a secret valley which had a sinister past. Here, during World War II, it is said that members of the Nazi […]

• 0 Comments

Setenil de las Bodegas, With a population of some 3000 and lying between the towns of Ronda and Olvera in the province of Cadiz, this is another of Andalucia’s famous pueblo blanco.

• 0 Comments

Forget Madonna, disregard Naomi Campbell, the female figures that excite the most adoration from the Spanish are the virgin icons of their faith. One such is the Virgen del Carmen. She has been adopted as their patron by sailors and fishermen in towns and villages all along the Andalucian coast, and on the 16th July […]

• 0 Comments