Adventures With Harvey

It's been a whirlwind!

The last week has probably been the most intensive exploring of the holiday but it's been just awesome! Steve (my brother) and his lovely wife Kelly were with us and their time was limited so we needed to get stuck in and explore!!

Southern Spain has such a colourful history & today the culture remains vibrant and convivial. For around 4-500 years from the 9th century the Moors (North African Muslims) were in charge before The Reconquista where Catholics banished members of most other faiths, and remain the predominant religion in Spain to the present day. Fortunately there remain a number of structures (or parts thereof) which were built during the period of Muslim dominance & are unique in Europe.

However let us start with Sevilla which we visited at the start and again later in the week. The cathedral is on the site of the former mosque which had only just been completed when the Moors were defeated. Rather than demolishing such a spectacular structure so new you could still smell the paint, the Catholics repurposed it instead. Sadly there have been a couple of earthquakes over the centuries meaning that, although it's technically the largest gothic cathedral in the world, various parts have been rebuilt over the years meaning it looks like quite a hotch potch from the outside. Today there remains one wall of the original mosque along with the giralda which is the original minaret but taller because the Catholics added another story to make it a bell tower. The inside is colossal with plenty to make you stand agape... you'll have to visit for yourself one day.

The Real Alkazar (royal palace) is just across the square from the cathedral & is also colossal and awe-inspiring! Essentially 3 different palaces set on extensive gardens and built over 5 centuries, they're all butted up against one another giving the impression, at least from the entrance quadrangle, of being just the one building. Started in 913AD the early structure has a distinctly Moorish flavour, the plasterwork and ornateness is a sight to behold.

We rented a car for 3 days and ended up doing a long day-trip for each, starting with Córdoba which was contained one of your author's favourite attractions of the holiday so far!! Yes, we're taking about the Mezquita which is one of the largest mosques in the world. But it's also unique in the world, let me explain why. Built and extended several times between the 8-10th century, it is a colossal structure. The roof isn't particularly tall however there are red and white candy-cane archways and hundreds of columns throughout, along with many prayer nooks and other architectural features. However what makes it unique occurred subsequently - following the Reconquista (i.e. Muslims no longer in charge) it was progressively converted into a Catholic place of worship. Rather than tear down the mosque, various alterations were made over the centuries, culminating in the building of a massive nave and transept right in the middle of the existing building. So you end up entering what looks like a pretty normal (albeit spectacular) mosque, but as you approach the centre it morphs into a magnificent cathedral with at least double the ceiling height. This outcome is unique anywhere in the world and is, in your author's opinion one of the overall highlights of this trip so far.

Day trip #2 involved backtracking our way to Granada to visit the second most popular tourist attraction in Spain (behind Sagrada Familia) - yes we're talking about the famous Alhambra. Built in the 13th century, this Muslim Palace is vast and awe-inspiring with spectacular hilltop views. The architecture is just so different from anything else we've seen (apart from other Moorish structures in this part of the world) and was such a treat to experience. The carvings and plaster work are amazingly intricate and many ceilings appear to have stalactites hanging from them.

Although the drive was long the time flew as we compared travel stories and exchanged news with Steve & Kelly from the last 10 months or so. It's been so awesome to share some of our adventures with others and have some different company! (sometimes I think it's possible that your author may test the patience of the long-suffering Anita - but she's mainly too polite to say so 😊).

First stop on rental car day #3 was the town of Ronda. This ancient town is famous because it straddles a mighty ravine, the gap being spanned by 3 bridges which are all a few hundred years old. Google took us on a circuitous route (which was most certainly NOT a road for Harvey) however we parked our rental car at a spot looking up at the town and it's most famous bridge - check out the photos to see what I mean! Then it was a drive up to the medieval town itself to look at the same view from the opposite angle and have a wander around. Your correspondent finds that sometimes there aren't enough adjectives and Ronda was one of those towns for sure.

Carrying on south we found ourselves walking over the border into a new country. I can see a few of you scratching your heads so let me shed some light... Yes, we had arrived in Gibraltar which is a self-governing British territory. Goodbye to Spanish, euros and tapas and hello to English, pounds and fish & chips! The Rock of Gibraltar is a term most of people have heard but the four of us had very little idea what to expect - I can tell you it didn't disappoint! Although the history is complicated, there remains no doubt this is a geographically significant part of the world. With an ocean passage just 14km wide separating it from Africa (which we got a wonderful view of from the top of the hill), the British have been in charge there since the early 18th century. Later in the 1700's the Spanish changed their mind and had a fairly good crack at retaking The Rock however despite a siege which lasted around 4 years, the defenders held out and, despite the perpetual claims of the Spanish, it remains in British hands until this day. Our tour guide was brilliant and gave us many interesting insights as he drove us around then up the hill. Near the top is St Michael's cave which is a monstrous cavern with amazing natural formations lit up by led lights. They also have a 400 seat concert venue inside.

While on the subject of matters underground... further up the hill is an extensive network of tunnels but this time dug by soldiers during the siege of 1779-83 I mentioned earlier, then further excavated during WWII. You can see see why The Rock was so impenetrable to attackers, the British soldiers were able to hide out up there & rain down cannon fire on attackers to their heart's content.

From the top there are breathtaking views in all directions as well as a load of tame fat monkeys, one of which sat on my shoulders. Another point of interest is the airport containing the only international runway in the world that also doubles as a road/footpath. When an incoming aircraft approaches, barrier arms come down and we all wait until the coast is clear. We finished our visit with a feed of fish & chips and steak & kidney pies before bidding farewell to Gibraltar and another fantastic day exploring.

Apart from the last evening of Steve & Kelly's visit where we had a bbq dinner party in Harvey, we enjoyed spoiling ourselves with dinner out each evening. Spanish cuisine is mainly tapas which mean you don't generally overeat, the flavours and regional specialties are such fun to sample. One evening we went to a Flamenco show which was also a treat!

We were very sad to see Steve & Kelly go as they are the last of our scheduled visitors. If anyone fancies some time in Europe over the coming northern summer please let us know, we'd love to see you!

That's pretty much all the news to report for this edition, I've just had a message that the new laptop has arrived so thankfully this will be the last blog written on my cellphone! The weather has remained fine and settled and we're definitely happy with our decision to spend winter here on the Iberian Peninsula.

With much love as always, this is Adventures With Harvey signing off for another edition.