12/8/2013 - 12/14 Going Backwards from Crete to the White Towns of Spain

This blog is a bit out of order for many reasons to disparate to go into, but here we are back in December and going forward in chronological order.

Here we are in the lovely White Towns of Spain, truly named because there must be a rule that each town contains only white washed buildings.  The effect is isolated glowing pearls perched on mountaintops that glow in the sunrise and sunset.  Each town is characterized by super narrow streets, abundantly fruited orange trees (sour) and a quiet and non-commercial aspect.

We stayed in a campsite on a hill overlooking an olive oil factory which we were lucky enough to barge in upon and take a tour (all in Spanish).  The one drawback to our campsite was the two nights of 45 km/hour winds that gusted through and threatened to tip us over.  Poor Yertle shook and strained and David and I were up for two nights straight.  But the wind calmed down during the day so we stayed and after the second night we were safe and sound.

The town we stayed in was Olivera and one of the most beautiful, in our minds.  Its highlight was a great castle  perched on a hilltop.  We spent the next couple of days wandering around the towns. learning lessons about the narrow streets the hard way.  In one town we came around a corner and the only way to complete the turn seemed to be to drive through the front door of a house.  As we were sitting in our car, nose to the door, thinking about what to do, an old man popped out of the house and stood staring at us with his arms folded.  David tried to back up, but since we were on a steep hill, the car was a standard shifter and right behind us on the corner was a parked car, he had no place to go!  I indicated to the old man that we would have to bump into his door, and at last he stepped aside, glaring at us all the way!  If it had been me driving, I would have handed the man the car keys and walked away.  Poor David, who hates being in the spotlight.  At last, through a series of tiny back-ups and little door bumps, he was able to get us out!!!!!

In another town, we drove to the main square, all the while being very aware of paint scrapes on all the walls, parked in the main square, at lunch and thence dashed into a tree that took off one of our mirrors on the way out!!!  We finally learned that we had to park on the outskirts of town and walk in!!!!

Our favorite town, for its utter uniqueness was Setenil, built into cliffs!!!!       No chance  of driving there!           
 

Each town had a church, a square 

and a few restaurants.  Our favorite restaurant was a tiny doorway that opened onto what was clearly the living room of an old home that was run by two men from England! and served wonderful French food!  What a find!  

Sometimes there was a museum, but even if there wasn't just wandering was enough.

S

The countryside was lovely and there was an old railing that was never built, but complete with stations, rights of way rail beds that had been turned into walking trails complete with railway tunnels            that we walked and walked on.  We even say a very famous, for the area, very, very large tree, that we somehow missed two times before we finally found it!