Cañete la Real
Written by Geoff Forster
Cañete la Real: We drove to Ronda along the A369 road. We spent a few hours shopping in Ronda. Then we decided to spend the afternoon visiting Cañete la Real and nearby Teba. We took the A367 Campillos road out of Ronda and drove passed Cuevas del Becerro and turned left onto the road to Cañete la Real. This is the view North from the A367 near the Cañete la Real junction.
We passed the cemetery which was a hive of activity as it was October 31st. Tomorrow is All Ssints Day, a fiesta day in Spain.
This is the view of Cañete la Real from the road into the pueblo.
We parked at the edge of the pueblo and walked into the town.
This is the tower of one of the churches in Cañete la Real.
The streets were very pretty, typical of the area.
This brightly coloured church dominates the lower part of the pueblo.
The portico is very grand.
Some of the nearby houses were very grand as well.
Just around the corner is the main plaza. It is lined with palm trees.
The Ayuntamiento (town Hall) is at one side of the plaza.
We crossed the plaza and walked up this long street.
The houses were quite grand and in good repair.
We walked on, the street began to taper as we neared the edge of the pueblo.
Looking back.
On the left one of the few houses still in need of renovation.
At the top of the pueblo, El Castillo. Which looked as if it had been over renovated as is typical in Spain.
This steep street led down to the bottom of the pueblo.
Some of the new buildings were a storey too high. They spoiled the street making it dark and gloomy. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon.
Back in the plaza a pretty statue to the Virgen.
We walked through the archway up this street towards the castle.
We weren't at the top and the view over the pueblo was good.
The road to the castle was closed. The renovations were still in progress.
We climbed up and reached the Calle Barrio Alto.
You can see the house in the photo above and the winding road we climbed up in this photograph looking back and down.
We liked the feel of the Barrio Alto. In fact we both really liked Cañete la Real a lot ... if we ever move ...
We walked along the last row of houses in the Barrio Alto and walked around the back. There was a lovely limestone outcrop with some windswept trees struggling to survive on the rocks.
Sitting at the foot of the rocks was an old man. He was shelling almonds.
We walked over to say 'Hola'. He gave us both a handful of almonds.
His son came out of one of the two bars opposite the rocks to talk to us.
He told us if we walked down the street (a dead end) we could get through a hole in the fence into the castle.
Not wanting to waste the effort of the climb we went to have a look.
We're not sure which century the original castillo dated from. This one is definitely XXI st. Spanish renovations are rarely if ever sympathetic to the original building or the original building techniques.
The views from the castle walls were fantastic.
The view East. We watched a group of Griffon Vultures circling this distant crag.
Cheese. Queso.
The view South is especially beautiful.
This is a favourite photograph.
More of the castillo.
The view to the North.
The houses of the Barrio Alto from the castle.
Blue, blue skies, twisted and gnarled trees and the weathered grey limestone outcrop above Cañete la Real.
Here's Jane coming through the hole in the fence. Our covert surveillance mission was successful. The things poor Jane does for this website!
We called into Bar El Castillo for refreshment.
Refreshed we headed down the hill. We saw this black cat on the pot tiled roof of an old casa.
Looking back up to the castillo.
The large building was or is a convent.
We walked back out of the pueblo to the car.
We'd really enjoyed our first visit to Cañete la Real. The views from the Castillo were excellent. We will return to Cañete la Real it is now a favourite place.
Hi again,
your articles are indeed useful and very interesting. I’m possibly searching the same charm and authentic atmosphere as you are, and thus I feel “I am there” when reading your articles. And many of these places I have already been to, feeling I am back there again when reading your impressions. Thanks again for a fantastic and useful page!
Have a nice summer,
Best regards Mr. Frode Varn, Norway
Hola Frode,
Yes some villages have ‘it’ whilst others don’t.
Although first impressions can be misleading and occasionally completely wrong.
I think I could live in Cañete la Real.
There’s not many towns and villages which we’ve visited I can say that about.
Geoff