Plaza del Frontón

You know from our earlier posts that I am happy to make a trip all the way to Spain just to see a book that has historical information in it that can come to life in my mind as we are walking. So when I tell you the story of what happened this morning, you will know why today was a stellar day for us.

We ate breakfast at the Venta El Molino with the family Fernández-Cervantes. They shared some more wonderful stories about their lives here in the province of Almería. When we told them how much it meant to us to be able to get to know them during our stay, Sonia (the motorcycling granddaughter) hopped up, left the room, and came back with a treasure that she put in our hands: a book that she herself wrote with Fran Martin, a professor of history. It is a gorgeous volume full of photos and drawings that lays out the story of her grandmother during the years of Spain’s Civil War. Her grandmother was a child in Malaga when the war began. She was part of the infamous exodus to Almería, walking the road between the two cities with hundreds of other refugees, all being strafed by German planes. She spent part of her childhood in the air raid tunnels under the streets of Almeria; moved next to Orán in Algeria, and then on to Barcelona and Valencia; and finally back to Almería. Sonia showed us photos on her phone of the interviews her now 94-year-old grandmother gave in Madrid recently. The book is such an incredible gift that tears come to my eyes as I describe it to you.

And then to top it all off, we had our last day of walking in the protected area of the Cabo de Gata Parque Natural under blue skies and warm sunshine. Now we are in Mojácar, ready to explore the old part of the pueblo tomorrow.

Link to today’s Wikiloc track:
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/sopalmo-m…Read more