Doing as the caveman, well, the sort who likes pots.

 I always think Spain does so much more with its population than Britain.  Maybe it is the later coming to modernity or the ambient temperature, which allows people to live outside a lot the year. We are entering Purullena. It has about 4300 people. It has bars and museums and rocks with people living in them.


Of the rock people. The first mention in written sources of people living in caves appears in 1554.  By the 18th century 600 people were living in excavated. The wiki Spanish page gives up at that point and switches to ceramics and we will pass a shop selling many pretty things.   To be honest someone on Purullena needs to flesh out what wiki has a bare bones.




Who can resist a nice pot.  Not I! Into Ceramicas Morillas.  Kathleen felt it was a ‘Nice ceramic outlet, better priced than on the A92. Didn't find exactly what I was looking for. There aren't as many traders in Purullena as there used to be. But still a good selection.’   Nikki was of much the same mind. ‘We always buy our pottery from Cerámica Morillas if we are going near Purullena. Someone recommended it to us many years ago as being better value than the other ceramic shops in the area.’

Down the road is La Inmaculada cave museum.   https://www.cuevamuseo.com/   To quote the website ‘Not just any place will do for excavating a cave. The La Inmaculada Cave Museum is located in Purullena, at the entrance to the Al-hama and Fardes River Valley, on the northern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Long ago, this land was covered by water and formed the ancient bed of enormous quantities of sediment from the erosion of the surrounding mountain ranges.’

Liane liked the place.  ‘We received a very warm welcome and were the only guests at the time. The museum is very authentic. It's fascinating to see how people lived in the past and how they live there now. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see how well the original artifacts have been preserved. The visit was definitely worthwhile, and the €4 entrance fee is well justified.’

Georges got extensive ‘A surprising little museum that we hesitated to enter, thinking that 4 euros to visit three cave dwellings seemed a bit like a scam... Not at all, it's totally worth it, as they say at Lidl!

Three homes, three eras, including today's, where the owners still live (which may seem disturbing to share the intimacy of an inhabited space, but that's their intention) and two from times gone by. It's more heavily decorated than Titi's mother's apartment (for those who remember Renaud's song), but it takes everyone back to memories of the past, as many little Proust madeleines as forgotten, vintage objects that punctuated the daily lives of the ordinary people of this little corner of Andalusia

A lovely view of the panorama from a large terrace concludes the visit, and the small ceramics shop (run by the owners) adjacent to the museum will allow you to take home some souvenirs of the region if you feel like it.

The only major drawback that prevents me from awarding 5 stars is the poor animals (ducks and rabbits) locked outside in a small cage in the summer heat... For me, it's "No Way!"’


We will had out of town and continue on what can not really be called a Camino de Servicos - but has much the same function.

Towards the end of today we will pass the Cafe Bar El Fardes - which appears to function as a general store as well.  Natalia said ‘’I stopped to buy some magnets, some delicious honey candies, and coffee ☕️ The guy who served me was super friendly. They have a lovely assortment of products and food.’


Near it is Tiendas de Ceramica. It gets 4.2 stars.  The three top comments are prices, handicrafts and assortment.  BimFacun said ‘I couldn't choose just one. Everything is very attractive and there's a great variety of pieces.’  Adam wrote [in Polish] There are several ceramics shops here. They have a very large selection: flowerpots, plates, jugs, sugar, salt, and olive oil containers. Most of the items are hand-painted. Each shop is worth visiting, as the products are similar but the prices vary. They're open until around 8:00 PM.’


Time to end for the day.






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