Parauta
Written by Geoff Forster
Parauta: We set off from Benarrabá one beautiful August morning. We noticed as we drove along the A369 Algeciras to Ronda road, that there were more people sitting around the villages than usual. As we passed through the normally quiet and deserted pueblo of Atajate, there were lots of card schools and dominoes being played outside the bar. It turned out to be a fiesta day, a Spanish August Bank Holiday.
We turned onto the A376 San Pedro de Alcántara road for a few kilometres before turning onto the road to Parauta and Cartajima.
We soon turned off the road and headed down to Parauta. We parked just before the pueblo and walked down. We passed a wooden sculpture. Was Parauta another pueblo like Genalguacil? The sculpture was quite abstract and with the beautiful mountains behind it was in a wonderful setting. 
The sky was blue. The temperature around 100F in the shade. We passed this lovely house on the way to the Plaza area of Parauta. 
We found another abstract wooden sculpture around the corner. Parauta had a good feel to it. we both liked it a lot although we'd only been there a few minutes and had only seen two streets! 
The Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) was above this bar. Which had a large green awning to protect its patrons from the now fierce sun. There were quite a few people in and outside the bar enjoying the Fiesta day.
The next three photographs are of the plaza area and the wooden sculpture in the centre. This one's not quite as abstract as the previous two, that's a bird on top isn't it? 
We headed through the plaza to explore the streets of Parauta. We found this Spanish fir growing on the outskirts of the pueblo. There were also some new houses being built in this area of the village. 
The church was in a small square with a large palm tree. The church itself was quite impressive for such a small pueblo.
Lots of photographs around the pueblos are spoilt by the Spanish electricity supply being above ground, it hangs across streets and plazas. Parauta was no exception the electricity supply to and around the church made it impossible to photograph the tower without the wires. 
Trying to make the most out of the situation, this is an arty farty attempt at using the wiring to frame the church tower ... okay it seemed a good idea at the time! 
The next series of photographs are of the streets of Parauta and more sculptures. Parauta is a pretty place lots of quaint corners and rustic buildings it was well planted with trees and lots of houses had vines.
Most houses had pots outside. As we walked around it was tranquil and the few people we met smiled and said 'hola'.
We had a lovely morning in Parauta. It is definitely one of our favourite pueblos.
The next four photographs were taken by pushing my camera through iron railings and photographing things I probably shouldn't have.
The first is the contents of a religious shrine, these are quite common in the pueblos.
The next three are part of the contents of a wood carvers workshop.
Jane had read an article about a wood carver in Parauta and was keen to find his studio. We wondered if he'd done the abstract work around town but as he specialises in human form and faces we were doubtful. As we drove out of town there was a building next to the cemetery so we pulled over. of course it was Fiesta day and there was no one around. The wooden doors were open but the iron gates were locked. We could see into the workshop and were amazed by the contents.
I took these shots with flash and was so pleased that they came out as well as they have. This man is highly skilled!!! His name is Ricardo Dávila a visit to see his work is a must if you have the time. 
