Córdoba - Long Bridge of Volantis

I was all excited at the prospect of actually standing on the Long Bridge of Volantis, where Tyrion Lannister and Varys were seen travelling incognito, (for Tyrion was a wanted man,) from Pentos to Meereen. After travelling inside a carriage for days Tyrion insisted on getting out. As the two men walked across the bridge crammed with ramshackle buildings, they passed houses, shops, a preaching priestess and a brothel.
Alas, they faked it as you can see in the photos. According to the Arab geographer, Al-drisi the Roman bridge 'surpasses all other bridges in beauty and solidity', but since it has been reconstructed frequently only the 1st C foundations are really Roman. The present structure is medieval, though the 19th-century cobbled paving does give a Roman feel. There is an irregular pattern to the 16 arches in size and abutment protections.
I took a couple of leisurely days driving from Granada to Cordova. The countryside is repetitive and the grids of olive plantation give the land the look of an old lady in a hairnet.
At one spot I found a lay-by concealed from the road with a nice olive farm extending from it. There were a couple of drivers having their siesta in their cars and otherwise plenty of free space. It was a lovely spot for a campsite and so I stopped even though it was early, taking the opportunity to sit and read in the sun for a while.
I watched a lorry pull up for a break and two men wander over for a chat in the typical, familiar way I saw Spaniards conversing with strangers in bars. They sauntered past my van taking a good look at the 'giri', (ie non-Andalusian,) as they did. Then one of them came over and asked me if I was alone and how had I found the place. I did my best in broken Spanish to explain my presence, wondering whether he was 'casing the joint' for anything of value.
In my innocence I had missed the warning signs of naked paunch and belt undone, but the penny dropped when he asked whether I was 'active' or 'passive'. It may have been a 'lay' by but clearly it was also a cruising ground not mentioned in the Nautical Almanac, so in order not to give offense I up anchored and bore away for another port.
My first view of Cordova was this old bridge.
In the centre of the eastern side's stone handrails there is a little shrine to St Raphael, at whose feet the devout burn candles.En savoir plus