Make a round trip back down through the tourist gift shops, good for local produce like honey or jamon, or crafts, like cane baskets and furniture, pottery, or rugs. Take the bypass road and cut onto the castle view point and then back to the castle. |
One day rushing down wide and wild and another as still and
dry as anything. This will be one of the hundreds of man made water
ways called an ‘acequia’ dating back to ‘The Moors’ who were also
responsible for the terraced land. The acequias are carefully
controlled with all the land owners looking after their own allocated
hours of water flowing into their ‘albercas’ (water deposits) so that
they can store it for the dry summer months. If we have been lucky enough to have a wet winter we may get hours of water allocated every week of the year. Most of this water is used for irrigation but for those who aren’t lucky enough to have a spring, it can also be used for showers, cooking etc, well just about everything but drinking. Lanjaron is famous for it Spa Water. It can be seen in bottles
throughout Europe in the supermarkets and restaurants and on the side
of its huge trucks as it is transported up and down the country. Visitors and locals alike collect water,
some more popular than others depending on the properties of the
water. Some are said to have minerals to help your eyes and others to
help your stomach and so on. The Balnerio (The Baths) have been around a long time. It is a beautiful old building, which has been well extended
for its many treatments, massages, facials etc as well as of course the
baths themselves. On a daily basis you see a procession of elderly
people heading from the town hotels towards the Balnerio, mostly
carrying their water contains ready to take the waters either from the
fuente there or to be told where to go to get the best for their
ailments. |
The ruin castle, newly renovated, or rather held in position to at
least preserve the remaining walls. Once up there inside the walls and
looking down towards the coast or across towards La Casa del Viento
you can understand why they built the castle here. A view to see all
who intend to invade. Very few visitors nowadays so a lovely quiet
place to visit, I enjoy sitting inside the ruin just to imagine how it
was. Below the new laid car park is a short walk through a wood of
eucalyptus trees going steeply up to the park at the far end of town. 
Spain is thought of as dry and brown, but here
up in the Alpurjarra mountains you will see water running often in
most unusual directions, down the side of a track or road or even
across it. 
The
town itself has dozens of ‘fuentes’ (natural springs) along the side of
the streets or in little plazas or up back lanes, anywhere and
everywhere. Some just a hole in the wall and others have been made
into features to be admired.
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