Today, Caelli and I caught the bus to Benamaurel population 2300), one of the small towns near Baza. This weekend they are celebrating a festival commemorating fighting between the Moors and the Christians. It looked like it started at 3pm. Unfortunately, the only bus from Baza dropped us there at noon and picked us up at 2pm. Some shots of scenery, taken from the bus.
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| The Altiplano is surrounded on all sides by mountains |
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| The altitude of the Altiplano is around 800 metres |
There are lots of cuevas - cave houses - in towns on the Altiplano. Baza has quite a few, but they are on the outskirts of town. Benamaurel has a lot, and many are right in the middle of the town.
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| From the bus - houses in the sides of hills |
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| Ditto in town |
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| This one has a rendered front. Note the chimneys |
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| This one looked fantastic, and is built back into the cliff |
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| Heaps of cuevas here, and it looks as though one has collapsed |
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| They've built a room out the front of the hill; the rest of the house is inside the cave |
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| These cuevas were pretty large, but we couldn't see inside |
There were banners, stalls and rides in the main street, but not a lot of people - too early.
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| Felices Fiestas - Happy Holidays |
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| Looks like it's lit up at night |
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| The main street |
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| Moors and Christians |
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| The local band getting ready to march up to Plaza Mayor |
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| Apparently, many people dress in costumes. This is obviously dressed as a Moor |
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| And another |
We walked up to the church on top of the hill, and found Plaza Mayor Main Square). Caelli kept on saying it smelt like Italy. We found out why!
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| The view of the church from the bus stop |
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| There are lots of rocky hills right in the town |
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| Nearing the high point |
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| Views across the Altiplano |
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| Town Hall |
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| The church - Our Lady of the Annunciation |
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| It wasn't open, but I took a pic through the door |
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| Food for a whole town!! This is why it smelled like Italy! |
This festival goes from Saturday to Monday. We plan to visit another of the small towns which is celebrating this festival on Monday afternoon buses allowing). Here are some general shots of Benamaurel.
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| Two lovely little houses with nice gardens...... |
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| ......which are almost always tiled or paved |
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| One of the biggest grapevine trunks I've ever seen. Wonder how old it is? |
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| Banksia roses in white and yellow |
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| This fountain is reminiscent of the Lion Fountain at the Alhambra in Granada |
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