Gaucin

This morning we drove to Gaucin which is located in the mountains of Andalusia in the province of Malaga. The road leading up to Gaucin is long and winding (not for the faint hearted) and when you finally reach the town you're faced with a maze of narrow medieval streets and steep turns. A bit of an obstacle course - as I tried to avoid pedestrians, flower urns, cars and even a painter on his ladder! The town of Gaucin is beautiful, made up of tall, narrow houses and is spread over two hills and the valley between.

We walked up to Castillo del Aguila (Eagle's Castle). The castle was once a Roman settlement and was later expanded into a fortress by the Moors. It has been used as a refuge for threatened populations and animals over the years. The Church now owns the castle and the chapel within its walls. We climbed up to the top of the bell tower - the views of Gauchin and the surrounding countryside were spectacular and you could see as far as Gibraltar and even Morocco in the distance.

We then had a wander round the town - famous for its international artists' community. We popped into one gallery which was housed within the artist, Brenda Hartill's, home - the paintings on display in her living quarters. We were allowed to wander through the house and the gardens outside. Outside was a maze of courtyards adorned with flowers; there was even a small swimming pool carved into the rock. It was stunning. I couldn't resist buying one of the paintings of the town and Andalusian countryside.

We drove back to the apartment via a wind turbine farm, countless numbers of these huge turbines spread across the hillsides. The afternoon was spent sunbathing by the pool and later, another evening down in the port.