VILLA TURISTICA de PRIEGO

June 2 and 3, 2004

In the last report, Don and Geralynn were haplessly roaming the olive tree studded hillsides of Spain trying to find any kind of lodging for the night.

We traveled along the scenic route, up and around and around and down, through the olive groves.  Five miles, eight miles, twelve miles…still no inn, hotel, hostel or any type of lodging.  The houses are sparsely scattered among thousands of olive trees covering every rolling hillside.  The few villages are very small and offered nothing in the way of lodging. 

After studying the map I suggested one town up the road 15 miles, Algarinejo, that was a bigger dot on the map and would, hopefully, offer lodging. After zigging and zagging up and down the hillsides we finally arrived at the town, only to find that the main road was closed for repairs.  We took the low road, which went through the residential area, and we ended up going out on the other side of town with no sight of a hotel. 

Don was starting to panic!  We were out of the town before we knew it, and winding down another minor back road to nowhere.  I held out hope that there was surely lodging in the next town as the Michelin mentioned a place nearby.  As we turned on to the next “highway”, A333, there was a big sign that said, “ROAD NOT IN GOOD CONDITION”. 

Boy, were they not kidding.  We swerved and skittered along, avoiding the deeper of the plentiful potholes.  Don was rapidly loosing faith in my navigation skills.  All we could see for miles were olive trees and a few houses.

Suddenly the town, Priego, appeared, and we franticly searched for a hotel, inn or hostel, anything to put up in for the night.  We saw nothing!  I timidly mentioned that the Michelin recommended a place in a teensy little town about 7 kilometers out in the country, expecting Don to finally lose it.  He impatiently demanded to know where to turn, and luckily, I saw the sign for the Villa Turistica de Priego and told him where to turn off the highway.

Once again we were out in the olive groves, twisting and turning our way through the hillsides.  Things were looking very bleak when we turned the corner and there was a 4 star hotel!  We both immediately felt better and decided to travel on for a few more miles to the town of Zagrilla in search of the Villa Turistica.  Soon we saw the sign announcing Rio Zagrilla, then we saw a signpost for Zagrilla Baja, then Zagrilla Alto, and finally a sign pointing out the turn for the Villa Turistica, and then, just when we were loosing hope, there it was, a cluster of whitewashed villas nestled cozily into the hillside.

We drove in through the gates and parked the car.  It was with trepidation that we went into the reception to see if they had a room available so late at night.  Why, yes, they could accommodate us with a villa for e67, including breakfast!  Dinner would be served in half an hour.  We were never so happy!  We went to our villa, (two bedrooms, kitchenette, living room, bathroom), and happily settled in. 

Well, the Villa Turistica de Priego has turned out to be one of those wonderful finds we happen upon from time to time during our travels.  Not only do they provide comfortable, roomy lodging for a budget price, but also it includes a huge, beautiful swimming pool, fabulous views and quiet.  It is so quiet here—no airplanes, motor scooters, or traffic noise.  Just silence, serenity, the sound of olive trees growing, a twitter or tweet from the birds, and once in awhile a sheep’s baaa.  I love it here!

We slept like logs and awoke the next morning refreshed and contented.  We went in to the dining room for breakfast and then I made arrangements to stay another night and we jumped in the pool for a swim.

For the day we went in to Priego de Cordoba, where we visited the old section of town, the walls of it’s narrow alleys covered in cascading flowers.  Then we strolled along the Adarve, a promenade overlooking a deep valley and beautiful vistas of mountains and rolling hills. 

After leaving Priego we went up a mountaintop to the Ermita de la Virgen del Castillo.  This is an old castle, way up on the top of a hill, with fabulous views from every side.  While we were there we watched the workers installing yet another satellite relay disguised to look like a pine tree.

That evening we enjoyed a delightful meal in the town of Zagrilla at the Restaurante La Fuente de Zagrilla.  Our outside table was right next to the stream and as we ate our meal we watched the locals come to the spring (fuente) with their jugs to get water.  The local laborer brought his donkey down for a drink in the runoff stream.  Don says there was a woman in the central lavanda scrubbing her clothes on the rocks.  After dinner we took a stroll around the town and then returned to our villa for a quiet night’s sleep.