A little history before lunch never hurt anyone

The town of Almunecar, which is about a 10 minute drive from our apartment, is an interesting mix of old and new. They have a McDonalds and cellphone shops and clothes stores in the more modern part of town. In the ancient part, there is a "white city" like in many regions of Spain, Italy and Greece, and also a hilltop fortress that was just begging us to climb up and check it out. 

The Castillo de San Miguel was begun by Romans, altered and expanded by Muslims, then later stolen and further modified by Castillians. Each layer of history is present--the grain bins of the Romans, the Mosque of the Muslims and the design elements of the later conquerers all come together to tell a centuries-long tale of accomplisment, wars, more wars and later rebuilding.

The fortress still has intact walls, towers, a parade ground and a very well done museum that includes  a video of three actors, each representing their era of ownership, telling how they were the ones who truly shaped the region as we have come to know it. The best feature is the endless view, now encompassing miles of beaches and posh hotels, but those same views once ensured that whoever was in control of the fortress certainly knew of the approach of marauding bad guys well in advance.

Of course, fortress exploring can work up an appetite, so we headed to our favorite beach bar in La Herradura for an all afternoon string of tapas: grilled sardines with peppers, followed by skewered shrimp in a spicy marinade, followed by Gallician-style octopus, followed by a platter of mussels in a tomatoey broth.  We just sat for hours slowly enjoying some local refreshing white wine, watching the beach-goers and the after-church ladies talking on the sidewalks. Listening to the happy chatter of a sunny Sunday.