The village of Grazalema nestled in the Sierra de Grazalema mountains
The view from the bedroom of our AirBnB apartment near the top of the village
If our mothers lived in Grazalema, this is what their houses would look like!
Melissa's favorite local rock outcropping, situated near our apartment
Pines trees make the mountains around Grazalema look green all year
The main plaza at the bottom of the village, one of the few flat places in Grazalema
Looking down on the main plaza from a hike up a hill behind the village
See from above, Grazalema looks deceptively flat
The clock above the town hall works now, which it didn't when we visited in 2008
One of the few places with colored paint in this white village is the church of San Jose
Oranges are growing everywhere in March
The rocky land on the outskirts of Grazalema is good for grazing
The green valley stretching out in front of Grazalema
The few areas without rocks are precious land for growing vegetables and wheat
Sheep are an important commodity in Grazalema, producing the village's signature cheeses and wool blankets
March is lamb season!
Grazalema has four old public fountains with carved faces, said to date from the era of the Visigoths. This one, with eight faces, is the lowest, down by the river.
Each successively higher fountain has half as many faces as the previous one. This four-face fountain is in the main plaza.
A two-face fountain in the middle of the village. This one marked the dividing line between the village's two main neighborhoods.
And finally, near the top of the village, a single face fountain. (The water is drinkable.)
A carving of the modern coat of arms of southern Spain ("Andalucia by herself, for Spain and humanity")
The village cemetery (with such rocky land, coffins are placed in valuts rather than buried). Many villagers live into their 80s or 90s.
Banners in the church by the cemetery, ready for Easter Week processions
These figures of the Virgin Mary and Christ (the ones depicted on the banners) will be carried through the village in Easter Week processions
A hiking path above the village (one of several pretty hikes we took)
The challenges of taking a selfie in the wind!
One a sunny, warmish day, people and cafe tables appear in the main plaza
One of our favorite restaurants, Gastrobar la Maroma (a maroma is a rope tied around the horns of a bull)
A recent statue celebrating Grazalema's history of bull running
The prettiest gym ever: exercise equipment in an overlook above the village
A plaque showing what the main gate to the village might have looked like in Moorish times (700s to 1400s)
Leatherworker extraordinare Fernando in his little shop in Grazalema