Jerez de la Frontera

As its name implies, this city in Andalusia was on the border of the Muslim and Christian ruled areas of Spain.

On our way there from Granada, we drove past acres of olive trees -

… had gorgeous patchwork vistas -

… and saw some “white towns” perched on hills (I don’t even know the names, they were just pretty and striking to photograph).

I made Ronda a town that I definitely wanted to stop in, because of its location -

The city is perched on both sides of the El Tajo gorge (328 ft deep) and the two parts are joined by 3 bridges. You can just make out the “old” bridge (built in 1616) in the upper center of the picture above…

… but you sure can’t miss the “new” bridge (completed in 1793). The views across the surrounding valley were quite expansive -

We didn’t tarry long, for we had “miles to go” and more Pueblos Blancos in Andalusia to see -

… from the back (above) and from the front -

As we neared Jerez, things got drier -

The town itself isn’t very picturesque, but it is well known for three things - sherry, equestrian arts and flamenco. We stayed several days there to partake in all three. This was our lunch the first day…

This is only 5 of the 10 types of sherry produced. It is a fortified wine that is dry, and not very sweet, until you get to that darkest one, which was Steve’s favorite - Pedro Ximenez.

We were in town over a weekend, so wandered through the Saturday market -

… even finding snails!

Ok, on to flamenco…

We had a table right on the edge of the small stage. The next videos show how much rhythm is involved in this type of dance (remember to open this post in your browser to be able to view these, and have sound on).

And the third of the trinity… “dancing” Andalusian horses -

We watched them train outdoors, before we were treated to the full show -

Leaving Jerez, we headed for Portugal. Until next time…