Day No. 152 - Teba - Málaga Province

Today we continued our tour through the white villages.

We want to go to Teba, about 40 kilometers, or a 35-minute drive, slightly north, but mainly east of Olvera. The route takes us through a hilly area. Small mountains and rocks, known as karst phenomena, appear again and again to the left and right of the otherwise green landscape. The area is characterized by olive groves. On the one hand, the landscape appears almost barren, but on the other, the green of the meadows is extremely lush.

Just ¼ hour before our arrival, we see Teba from afar. The village lies between two 600 to 700 m high mountain hills. To get to the center, we follow a narrow road that follows the course of the mountain and winds up to the village. Teba has a church from the 17th century, the Iglesia de la Santa Cruz la Real. This is characterized by its striking marble columns. The ruins of a medieval fortress, the Castillo de la Estrella, including the keep, are also still standing. - But after Ronda and Olvera, the charm of the town is not immediately apparent. - But isn't it precisely such comparisons that stand in the way of happiness and contentment? Do the cities even need to be compared? No, certainly not. So we focus on the beautiful aspects of this place. - And lo and behold, we find them, even if they are a little outside the town center. At the edge of the town, a path leads a little higher up to the high plateau. From here, you have a gigantic view into the distance.

We take advantage of this moment, this view, and prepare our breakfast or late breakfast. Today we have juicy oranges, white bread with olive oil, salad, dressing, sun-dried tomatoes and olives. This breakfast seems to suit the surroundings. We are doing well. - Unfortunately, we don't manage to capture the moment here either, or capture it digitally.

So we set off in the direction of Ardales, which in turn lies to the south-east of Teba, in the Guadalteba region. Both villages already belong to the Spanish province of Málaga. Ardales is also one of the white villages. However, this village is not our destination for today, so we leave it to one side for now. Because the weather is so good, we want to go to the Embalse del Conde de Guadalhorce. Park4Night shows us several wild pitches and a campsite. - In the end, however, we simply look for a path towards the lake. We drive carefully down a steep off-road track to the lake. Our risk is rewarded as we park Hector in the middle of an olive grove that stretches out over a small headland into the lake. (Note from Torgit: You'll read tomorrow whether we got out of here 😉 )

A walk takes us to the water, which is pleasantly clear and cool. Back at Hector's, we make the most of the afternoon sun and read a little. Then we prepare our evening meal. We have a warm pasta salad. We enjoy the last rays of sunshine. As soon as we've finished eating, we can enjoy the sunset. It's fantastically quiet, there are no crickets chirping or anything else to be heard. - I have rarely seen nature so quiet. (Torgit's note: 'pasta salad': take red bell pepper, carrot, cucumber, red onion, avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts and green salad, replace everything with your favorite ingredients, mix with the world's best husband's dressing and add pasta. The most delicious pasta salad that makes you happy is ready).