Riogordo, Axarquia - pretty town with a fab museum

We headed inland at the weekend (not that far, admittedly) and visited a town which I've circumnavigated many times, and even considered as a possible home when I first moved to Spain / Riogordo.

 Riogordo was preparing for their feria week with bunting strung between the houses, a stage erected outside the town hall, but the atmosphere was the usual Saturday morning routine of cleaning and shopping - the bustle contained within the cool, dark interiors of houses or the warmer inners of the shops.





We popped into the small hermitage dedicated to Saint Sebastian (my adopted saint - if I ever become a nun I'm going to be Sister Sebastian), where the trono with Christ carrying the cross sits; this would be paraded through the streets as part of the Good Friday procession.


Then having had a decent coffee, we headed to the ethnographic museum - and were enraptured. Set in  a 17th century mill house, it shows how the town's main economic trade of olive oil and wine was produced in yesteryear and also how the people lived.

It was so quaint, and helped by the fact that we were the only two in the building we could browse to our heart's content.

We walked out of there smiling, and it's not every museum you can say that about!

There are a number of fabulous walks outside the town - best suited for when it is not the height of summer - Ruta de la Sierra, Ruta de los Tajos and Ruta del Rio, taking in the wonderful scenery from mountain to river.

The town also holds several festivals a year, and this week it is their Fiesta patronales when they celebrate the patrons of the town. Details of their fiestas can be found here.

We'll be back in the autumn/winter for some serious dog-walking and a plate of a local dish, perhaps porra or migas, flavoured with the local oil.

For information, visit http://www.riogordo.es