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Cold River, wider than a few metres

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  We are off to Riofrio.  What! I hear you cry. You mean the Palace built for Elizabeth Farnese, off 1980s A level question fame.  No, the other one. The pueblo which seems to major in somewhere people go to eat. Riofrio is the home of about 250 people. It is in the great commonwealth of Loja, and wiki tells me, has 1.2% of the people of that municipality. It is one of those places where the road and rail links go. Think of it of the Watford Gap of Southern Spain. Riofrio has many places to eat. It does well with trout but goes to town with a fish farm producing beluga caviar.  We will cross the elderly Puente Califal.  Jose got lyrical two years ago.  ‘ A beautiful bridge steeped in history. It's located at the entrance to the village. Bathed by the waters of the river itself, and home to local trout, ducks, and trees, it's a lovely spot for a stroll, a place to sit and enjoy the fresh air, and more. The area offers benches, swings, a restaurant, and both ...
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A day in the sol

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  On we go. We are wandering out of town and on its edge is Restaurante El Sol.  This seems to be almost the quintessence of a Spanish Restaurant name. Let’s go in.  It has a website. https://www.restauranteelsolloja.es/   The top review words are tapas, raciones, beer, breakfast and sangria.  A week ago Juan said ‘Good place to have a good time.’  Peineta was happy, in a four star way, three weeks ago.  ‘We had to stop unexpectedly, and it was a great decision. Delicious tapas, a menu with dishes and portions typical of the region, and friendly service who, despite not having a reservation and the place being full, made sure we were seated. We'll be back because the Loja-style doughnuts were a delightful surprise for dessert. Their beef sandwiches were also very tasty and tender.’ Going out we pass a series of units which are so of a period.  Of course there are a lot of auto businesses.   Repuestos Jose Maria is an car parts store with 28 r...
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The birth place of the long-sword, short-term.

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We are heading to Loja. We will edge around La Esperanza and as there is a Cafe Bar La Esperanza so let us go there first.  This one of those ones where the place gets 3.8 stars, from only fifty reviews. The mode average is 5, notably five. Four comes next, then three.  The four [8%] of one stars are very old.  Seven years ago Franqc reckons the place was dirty.  Five years ago jose complained of the covid risk of a lack of masks.  Two of the three two stars were six years ago.  Let's look at the recent ones. Nothing is more recent than a year. The most recent with comments was two years ago.  El empotrador Justiciero said ‘Good place to eat perfectly cooked roast meat, roast ham too, and especially the skewers were delicious grilled. I will go back.’ We will cross the river and enter Loja, about 21,000 people in the municipality.  Traces of everyone once lived here, even the Romans, although it wasn’t until 1991 that this was proved. It was the M...
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In the land of the festive asparagus

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  We are zig-zagging amid towns.  First to Venta Nueva. Nueva is the right word. It began in the 19th century when the road from Granada to Malaga was built.  885 people live here today - up on the 591 of 2003.  Wiki - which is available in Spanish and Cebuano, because someone thought people in Central Visayas in the Philippines needed to know this, said: ‘ Originally, economic activity was linked to the passage of the N-342 national highway , but currently, given its proximity to the town of Huétor Tájar, its economic activity is assimilated to that of the municipal capital, leaving the hamlet very integrated into the main town.’ Up the road to Huétor Tájar, well, the edge of it.  https://huetortajar.org/   It has almost 11000 people here.  We are in the land of asparagus.  So much so that the stuff is protected by a designation of origin but it was not always thus. People have lived here since people were invented but in 1483 the growth of the h...
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