Alozaina at Last February 2, 2014

On Thursday afternoon we finally arrived at our rental home in the Andulusian village of Alozaina (pronounced Aloe-THINE- a). Our journey started in Ronda - a lovely and very old town in the mountains where we stayed for two days.   We were a bit uncertain of the bus schedule because the information we had was outdated but, with the help of the tourist office, we got a schedule that was up to date.   After some anxiety and uncertainty about where to find the right bus company (there were about 5 different ones), the right gate, and how to pay, we finally jumped on the correct bus.

Road from Ronda

The trip was about an hour and took us over some very narrow and twisty roads through the high hills and mountains of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park.  The scenery was desolate with lots of rocks, olive trees, and even sheep in the roads.  We hoped the driver was paying attention as he honked the bus around every hairpin turn going up and down the steep hills. The bus was very silent. We wondered if the other passengers were praying, as we were, or were just watching the scenery. Right on schedule, we arrived in Alozaina and were dropped off at the small park that serves as a bus stop.   Using our GPS, we found our way to the town hall where we were met by Hugo, the Irish owner of our rental house.   

Alozaina - a white village (pueblo blanco)

Hugo turns out to be from Dublin and is a published author and playwright.   He and his wife have owned the house for 10 years and use it for vacations and long trips during the fall and spring.    The house is close to the center of a charming white village that sits on the top of a steep hill - surrounded by orange, lemon, avocado, and olive trees.    The house is about 500 years old and built in the typical Spanish style with 2 ft  thick walls, small windows, and no central heating system. Homes here are built to shelter folks from the intense heat of summer and can be cold during this time of year.  Thankfully, we have a little wood stove that provides some comfort during the cold nights.

On our first evening here, we located some of the essential services - meat store, bread store, vegetable store, and general store.   We will try to avoid the larger chain Dia supermarket in the new part of town as we would like to support the local businesses that seem to be thriving.   Today, we made another foray into town to buy a few more groceries and learn more about the town where we will spend the next month.

It was misting heavily with spots of sun peeking through the low clouds but we took a brief orienting walk up the hill opposite our home.   The area seems very old with ancient olive trees, old stone walls, and terraced fields that could have been built during Roman or Arabic times.   The hills here are seriously steep and we marvel at how people zip up and down the painfully narrow alley ways in their cars and motor scooters.    Some streets are so narrow that you can’t turn around in your car and have to drive up and then back down - carefully avoiding houses, pedestrians, and  parked cars.   

Looking toward Alozaina from a misty mountain road

Once we get ourselves oriented to the house and the town, we hope to meet some of the local English speaking residents of town.   We are told that the 20 or so Irish, Canadian, and English folks gather at a local cafe on Tuesdays, and we plan to join them.  Meanwhile, we’re meeting a few of the Spanish residents. They all seem friendly and tolerant of our feeble attempts to communicate with them.   We plunge ahead in our painfully inadequate language skills, but we’re pleased that there is some recognition of our willingness to try which is rewarded by getting what we ask for.  Pointing and grunting helps too.

ripe olives

We’re glad to get settled into one place after being on the road for 3 weeks and having to adjust to a different city and new bedroom every few days.  It was great fun because we met many interesting  people and saw so many amazing places, but we are tired and happy to be in our “own” place for a month. We’re hoping for more sun but are content with the warmer temps and the lack of snow.  Of course, we are loving the fresh food, the gorgeous scenery and learning more about the Spanish culture and history that surrounds us.