Gaucín

Our next white village was Gaucín. Set in the mountains of Ronda, it has fantastic views of the coast. On a clear day you can see Gibraltar and the Rif Mountains in North Africa. It is set some 600 metres above sea level and has a strong ex-pat community.


Gaucín.

We parked up on the West Side of town and headed towards the centre. The first thing that stuck us was the Castle, El Castillo de Aguila, The Eagles Castle. Walking towards the castle and another noticeable feature of Gaucín was the decorative Geckos affixed to the walls of most of the houses.


El Castillo de Aguila.

The Geckos of Gaucín became a feature of the town last year. The idea, known as the Gecko Project, was inspired by the “Cow Parade” in Switzerland, where life sized cows were made from Resin and local artists were encouraged to decorate them to boost tourism. So Gaucín ordered 400 resin Geckos, giving 175 to local school children to decorate. A competition was held and the locals displayed their painted Geckos by hanging them on the outside walls of their houses. Gerry was so impressed she made enquiries to purchase one and intends to decorate it herself.


Gecko de Gaucín.

Another poster seen in the town advertised a local festival to commemorate “la toma y reconquista de Gaucin”. This is a recreation of the French Army taking control of Gaucín in 1810. The French were overthrown by a group of mountain guerrillas. The whole historic episode was to be celebrated the following weekend. It may well be worth checking out the 200th centenary next year.


Calle de Gaucín.

Gaucín turns out to be a town steeped in history. A ceramic portrait of Guzmán el Bueno can be seen in the Plaza of the same name. Guzmán dates back to the 14th century. He died here defending the town from the Moor invaders. It would take until 1457 before the moors were driven out of Gaucín by King Henry IV of Castile.


View of the Church and roof tops of Gaucín.

Back to the 21st century and Gaucín boasts a great tapas bar, “Paco Pepe”. It proudly claims the title of the best tapas in Gaucín 2008 and it was easy to see why. We ordered a few raciones and each one was a delight. Better still, they were showing the Man Utd v Liverpool clash. Gerrard scored the penalty to take a 2-1 lead before we left. Quite simply one of the best tapas bars in Andalucia. You want more proof? Follow the link.
Even the Times says so