El Chorro to Carratraca

El Chorro to Carratraca, 14 km - Casa Pepa
We've left the land of olive trees and entered the land of sheep! We made it up the 1100-foot cliff opposite the hotel in two hours with no problems, and got to the abandoned Mozarabic village of Bobastro only to find it is only open Fri to Sun in the winter. Too bad...we really wanted to see it. We consoled ourselves by having lunch out of the wind in the information booth across the road from the ruins.

We are in the tiny village of Carratraca tonight. I don't think many tourists find their way here. The whole town is full of Spanish families that are gathered for the holidays. Casa Pepa is a real find. Dinner here is a must if you are anywhere nearby. When we dragged ourselves in about 4 pm, the narrow street in front was filled to overflowing with local people waiting their turn to eat in the tiny dining room. We put our packs in the bedroom (don't sleep here unless you like beds like hammocks), and joined the crowd. The afternoon meal is all served family-style in what must have once been the family dining room, complete with photos on the walls. Every table gets the same menu of dishes. And they keep coming and coming! Maybe 10 courses in all. The family at the next table was celebrating a one-year-old’s first birthday. Great fun with everybody from great-grandparents to the baby. They included us too! We would love to stay here another day just to be able to eat here again, but bad weather is coming, so it is off to El Burgo tomorrow.Read more