La Vida Alcalaína

When I first moved here I though that just walking around this preciptitous town of ours would provide enough exercise to keep me in shape, not to mention living in a three-storey house. It did at first;  I lost half a stone and could sprint up the hill like a whippet without even thinking about it.   But lately I've found myself rationalising my trips into town so I don´t have to do it more than once every couple of days - less if possible, especially in summer.  My muscles are getting flabby and I'm starting to get puffed out climbing two flights of stairs. So, now that the temperature has come down to a pleasant 25 degrees or so, it's time for some remedial action.  I'm not worried about dieting; we already eat very healthily, I'm not overweight and there are too many tasty treats around to start exercising self-denial at my age.  Exercise, "gentle and regular" as they say, is the thing for us nearly-60s.  My gentle and regular regime involves a rowin...

People who come to Alcalá on holiday aren´t exactly spoilt for choice when it comes to souvenirs.  There are no gift shops.  The Quesería Gazul sells excellent local cheese and honey, but for something more lasting you have to use your imagination.  Crazy really, we are in the heart of one of Europe´s biggest cork forests but you can´t even get a set of coasters. A good place to look is the Guarnicionería Pedro Jiménez , on the end of Calle Constitución.  Their main business is leather, mainly saddles and bridles, but the word guarnicionería comes from the word to garnish, and they also make all the trappings that are used to decorate horses and riders at ferias and equestrian events. Beautiful handmade leather bags, boots, hats, even key-rings are on sale alongside more startling hardware such as garrochas , the 3-metre poles used by mounted cowboys to bring down cattle.   You can also get leather goods repaired or refurbished, and he sells a w...

Thanks to Chemary Gomez Reyes, Miriam Verbeek and Natalie Lozano for these wonderful photos of this year's Romería (procession) to the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Santos .                               

Regardless of one´s religious beliefs, it is hard not to be moved by the exvotos which line the walls of the chapel at the Ermita-Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Santos, five km from the town of Alcalá de los Gazules.  They are the iconography of the people, rough hand-painted illustrations offering thanks to the Virgin Mary, each depicting a real human drama in which Our Lady is believed to have intervened. The custom of votive offerings is practised in many Catholic countries.  In Spain it dates back to the 14th Century, but they became particularly prolific from the 17th Century onwards.  The Sanctuary in Alcalá contains exvotos going back to 1758. They give a unique picture of how people lived, and the dangers they faced and continue to face in their daily lives: sickness and disease, war, falling off horses, accidents at work, falling into wells or rivers, traffic accidents.   Some have been restored, many more are in storage because there is simply not...