A month in Costa del Sol: Pueblos Blancos

Link to more photos!

The White Villages of Andalusia dot the mountainsides and valleys up and down the coastline. You spot them in advance as you travel across the countryside. They are big and small, always very hilly, and there's a great historical story, usually involving the moorish roots of the towns and the takeover by the Spaniards around 1500. It is said that El Cid drank from the fountain in little Sayalonga, near where we're staying. That would have been in the 11th century! So, these villages are old!

They all seem very similar; not "if you've seen one, you've seen them all" similar but they do have many common features.

They tend to be built up hillsides, as fortifications I would guess. They all have small plazas where there are small shops and cafes. While all the walls are painted white, doors and windows are painted every bright color imaginable with blue and green being most popular. Streets are narrow and always constructed of stone, sometimes intricately laid in beautiful patterns. Every thing is clean, clean, clean! Just check out the photos to see what I mean.

I get the impression that this area is mobbed during the tourist season of summer, but it's quiet here now. Delightfully quiet. Ex-pat Germans and Brits are very common and they seem to be residents as much as tourists. We haven't seen any Americans. As with everywhere we travel, English is very common but I'm practicing my Spanish so I can feel more comfortable shopping.

Here are some photos of the villages of Sayalonga, Frigiliana, Comares, and Competa.