Eagle Aqueduct

Today was overcast so we decided to visit the caves just outside Nerja. These are huge caves which house the world's largest stalagmite - a column that you can walk all the way around and which is 32 metres high and 13 metres by 7 metres at its base. There are cave paintings in the upper gallery but sadly, if understandably, no access to them for fear of damaging them.

A botanical garden is being landscaped around the area of the entrance to the caves and there were stunning hibiscus and birds of paradise in flower.

I very much wanted to walk back to Nerja to see the aqueduct, and the old Joaquin Sugar Factory that it was built to serve, en route. There was more to see too: vast plantations of nespole (medlar fruit) and lots of sugar cane growing wild in amongst the late spring / early summer flowers.

The 19th century aqueduct is still in use and is an impressive sight. The sugar factory is an architectually interesting old ruin - sugar plantations had been big business in this region from the 16th century until fairly recently.

It was difficult to choose one blip for today but in the end I chose the aqueduct: it is a good example of what is called the Mudejar style (copied from the style used by Muslim craftsmen in Spain between the 13th and 15th centuries). The brick archways are topped with a mudejar-style spire, on the pinnacle of which is a weather vane in the shape of a double-headed eagle, from which the aqueduct takes its name.