Hitting the road from Malaga we’re heading for our next destination – Seville. One route I spot several of these iconic bull silhouettes high on the hillsides along the way.
The Osborne Bull is the black silhouette of bull that stands on hilltops and along the roadside in many Spain.
It began life as an advertisement in 1956 when the Osborne Group wanted to promote ‘Veteran’ brandy. Artist Manolo Prieto suggested the bull and the rest is history.
In recent times there have been attempts to remove the bulls on traffic safety grounds but this raised such a stink that they have since been classed as Andalucian heritage.
West of Alora you will find Malaga’s “Lake District”. A series of stunning turquoise lakes surrounded by fragrant pine forests.
It’s actually three artificial lakes created by a dam built across the incredible 200 metre high Guadalhorce river gorge, known as the Garganta del Chorro.
The Conde de Guadalhorce dam was officially opened in 1921 by King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
During the visit he took a walk along a specially constructed catwalk, called El Caminito del Rey meaning The King’s little Path.
The elevated walkway hugs the cliffs in a vertiginous, adrenaline junkie’s wet dream.
Below is a close up of the Guadalhorce river gorge with its vertigo inducing, bridge strung precariously across the middle.
