Cuevas Rebellion and Motera Rock

Hey, it only took me a month to post a few more photos from Spain. Knowing me, that ain't bad.

The first one of a moi was taken while parked alongside an outlook point somewhere in between the village of Villaricos, where we were staying, and (I think) Mojacar, a nearby beach village. Spectacular views like this were amazingly common throughout Almeria, the region of Andalucia where we were traveling.

Below that is a closeup of the Cuevas del Almanzora. You guessed it: caves. Neato, eh? We were supposed to have a guided tour, but got to the town after the tour ended for the day, so we sneaked in and walked up to the caves away from where the guard may still have been. Yeah, I'm such a rebel.

On the bottom is the Odalisca Viewpoint at the Alcazaba. The Alcazaba is an awesome (and I mean that in the true sense of the word) fortress/palace built in 955 by Muslim conquerors of southern Spain. This was a wall remaining, I believe, from its original construction. Eventually, as the Christians reclaimed their country from the Muslims, they demolished parts of the fortress, and built additions (even a cathedral right within the gigantic hilltop structure). To be honest, I still haven't figured out exactly what those round things are, but we've guessed they were used to drop on would-be intruders, or maybe fling at them or their boats with catapults.


Hey, and how cool is this? Actually on our way back to Villaricos from visiting the Cuevas, we drove along a highway where I spotted this kick ass motorocycle gang graffiti. I found a Web site for the organization, but don't have a good translation of the name of these psycho cyclists. According to one translation, The name of the group translates as "Motera Rock Fine Coal."

I've got a few more pics from Almeria here.