If one village epitomises La Alpujarra it is Capileira. Spectacular from afar
- a white crown on the great Poqueira Ravine - its architecture characterised
by 250 years of Moorish occupation and its culture by centuries more of hardship,
it has developed today into a pretty, friendly place, popular with visitors seeking
remote beauty coupled with good facilities.
Capileira is the second highest village in Spain, moulded
onto the mountainscape 1,435 metres above sea level. Its old streets - happily
too narrow for cars - entwine and criss-cross their way a full hundred metres
down the side of the gorge. It's an enchanting maze of ancient dwellings, their
cats and geraniums, hens and goats, nooks and crannies, fountains and sudden,
dramatic views - both down the valley to Capileira's attractive sisters, Bubión
and Pampaneira, and up to the mountain backdrop of Sierra Nevada, where blue skies
meet pure white snow cresting the peaks.
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While it has embraced rural tourism
with enthusiasm and has a host of small bars and restaurants to serve visitors,
craft shops and even night spots to suit differing tastes, it remains a village
with a strong identity, dedicated to the well-being of its own families. At weekends
the main Plaza is the province of local children playing, accompanied by their
mothers, grandparents, dogs and all, while you or I may stroll through to "La
Galería," for example, which exhibits and sells works by local artists and then
try a glass of fresh orange juice or costa wine and a tapa or two under the shade
of trees on the terrace of Bar "El Tilo."
Major fiestas are boisterous
affairs that everyone takes part in but there are also minor fiestas that knit
the barrios, or neighbourhoods, together. On one night in January, when
pigs have been slaughtered and converted into sausages, the inhabitants of each barrio gather quietly round a bonfire in the street to eat and drink, watch
the flames and share a few hours of company. The mauraca in November is
a more collective affair. Be warned, tradition demands that the hot roast chestnuts
be washed down by hefty measures of anis . . .
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The Alpujarrans are a hardy lot
with healthy appetites and they expect visitors to require feeding properly so
generous platefuls are set before you! A wide variety of meat and vegetarian dishes
are to be had, as well as revived Moorish recipes and excellent pizzas. An interesting
shop by the church, "La Alacena," is a cellar stocked with cured mountain hams,
goat's cheese, almond cakes, barrels of wine, honeys and pastries and has a little
bar tucked round the back for those who wish to sample first.
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An old wood-fired bakery is another lovely surprise,
in the morning the baker may be heard playing the lute or guitar while the oven
heats up. Another baker's, a butcher's, an estanco (tobacconist's, but it also
sells brushes and stockings . . . ) and two supermercados ensure that people
are well supplied. There's
also a 3* Hotel, "Finca Los Llanos," a Caja Granada bank with cash dispenser,
pharmacy, doctor's surgery, a museum and a number of shops selling clothes, rugs,
Moroccan lamps, ceramic ware and other artesanía. "Muy Buenas" pub has an Internet
service.
Behind the scenes and quietly making its own valuable
contribution, is an active community of artists and musicians, for which
thanks is due to Freddie Wildman Jr, a somewhat eccentric American who made Capileira
his home more than thirty years ago.
His generosity with free housing
for artists (including Vitor Eriche who went on to win the 1973 Cannes palme
D'Or) was matched by his generosity to the local community. He paid many
of the villagers medical bills because they were too poor to afford their own
care. In those far-off days, only he and the local doctor had motor cars, tough
subsistence farming was the lot of most men, laundry was still handwashed by their
garrulous wives in the outdoor lavaderos, and electricity (here only since 1956)
was a novelty. How times change!
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Perhaps the greatest of Capileira's assets is the opportunity for fantastic
hiking no matter which direction you go in. The village dwindles immediately into
marvellous mountain countryside all around. Tracks and mule paths are shared by
shepherds and ramblers alike, heading down to the river past cherry, walnut and
grand old chestnut trees, up to the head of the ravine where rivers meet in a
thunderous spray, or up higher and into the National Park, through pine forest
and scrub oak to protected lands, where herds of wild ibex roam, eagles and other
hunters soar above and an extraordinary wealth of wild flowers and butterflies
are close at hand.
Higher still, winter snows lie thick
until late spring, when the summit of Mulhacén can be reached at 3,481 metres
(over 11,000 feet). A refuge on Mulhacén provides a rest and overnight spot. Walkers
and horseriders on Rustic Blue's week-long holidays explore the very best of the
area.
Capileira is situated on the southern skirts of the
Sierra Nevada where it enjoys a Mediterranean climate without the humidity that
pervades the coast. It affords a relief and escape from the heat of high summer
and perfect walking temperatures in spring and autumn. There can be terrific sunny
days in winter, too, but being at high altitude it is cold at night so hearty
log fires are in order.
Lively in summer, mysterious
in winter, Capileira truly is a magical place.
