Albaida

The Campo is a rural area. I had the good fortune to stay with friends in El Palomar. The name of this small village suggests it was originally settled by Moors.
The 1st picture is a look at the countryside of the Campo. The 2nd and 3rd pictures are in El Palomar. The leaning stature of the tree refers to the annual village festival where a tree is cut and set up, roughly the equivalent of a maypole in the UK. The silhouette cutouts reflect some of the festivities.
The 4th picture looks up the hill to the medieval town of Bocairent. That picture was taken from the bridge in the 5th picture. The 6th picture is of the main square of Bocairent.
The 7th picture is a long view if the hillside that is laced with caves used as dwellings by the 1st settlers and probably as places of safety during attacks. I didn't get to visit these.
The 8th picture is another ancient bridge, but I can't remember which town it's near.
The last 2 pictures are both ancient laundries. The 9th picture is a communal washing area where laundry is done as people gather there. In the last picture, the local irrigation channel runs past the houses. These widows are set so someone can stand comfortably to wash in the irrigation water. If you look closely, you might see the small extensions from the sides of the channel just downstream from the windows where a board could be placed to back up some of the water.Read more