Memories of my latest journey down to Andalusia still linger in my mind now that I’m back home: the pleasant, sweet scent of orange blossoms; the bright green rolling hill landscapes, where even a lonely white cottage becomes a monument; those pretty whitewashed villages perched spectacularly atop crags; the Western-like atmosphere sheltered in the spectacular, badlands-like Tabernas Desert, one of the wildest and driest parts of Europe.
I traveled extensively for a couple of weeks, from Málaga to Seville, from Cádiz to the dramatic cliffs of the Cabo de Gata promontory. I passed through the lovely pueblos blancos Andalusia is famous for, as well as that dramatic desert landscape where Sergio Leone’s movies were filmed in the 1960s.
Spring is a great time to travel in southern Spain: blooming trees, green fields, and a sun that is not yet fierce.
Andalusia is still, in some way, home to the stereotypical essence of Spain: easygoing and relaxed people, a fiesta-loving land, bullfighters and flamenco performances, afternoon siestas under a fierce, sun-dappled sky.
Though this simplistic portrait of Spain’s deep south may sound outdated and somewhat romantic, it does carry some truth.
Neither growing modernization nor mass tourism has been able to root out the authentic, spirited, and passionate atmosphere born of a historical mix of faiths and cultures—Christianity and Islam—that this land has hosted for centuries.
This curious mix still survives in everything you see in Andalusia today: food, language, and architecture. Everything here seems connected to what was once a mobile frontier between Christianity and Islam.
What Andalusia inherited from that past remains a precious treasure, made of enduring values and deep roots.
That is why I love Andalusia—a gentle land where the beauty of nature seems to blend elegantly with what humankind has created and built.
Enjoy my Andalusia photo gallery.