The Rings of Poseidon
Page 44
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"I don't think anyone saw us," said Alan as they reached the car.
Manjy unlocked the doors and Gill scrambled in the back. "You drive Alan," she said.
Alan headed the car back along the winding side road towards the main highway. "Where to?" he asked.
"I don't know," answered Gill. "I feel too drained to think straight yet."
"I'll go to Vejer de la Frontera," Alan decided. I fancy going up the hill to take a better look at it, and there's an advert on the main road for a good hotel. We can rest there during the day, get up and have an evening out, then sleep the night there."
"Sounds like a great idea," said Gill and yawned. "Mind you," she added, "I could sleep anywhere."
"We can drive to Jerez tomorrow and spend the night there. We don't have to fly back until the day after," he continued.
"Sounds great," said Manjy.
The road up to Vejer de la Frontera from the main road was very steep, it twisted and wound up the almost sheer hillside like something from the Alps and it was none too wide but, when Alan parked at the top, the view was stupendous. There was a small car park and viewpoint rather like a seaside promenade. Facing the 'promenade' were several shops and a restaurant-cafe-bar. Above the viewpoint a narrow road led back and up towards a church and a castle, which looked to be not so much a ruin as part of the houses. From the viewpoint you could gaze out across a land more hilly than around Medina Sidonia and gaze down upon the steep sloping drop to a river and the main road below.
After a few moments looking at the view they crossed the road to the cafe. Alan ordered coffee and churros for them all, and they sat down.
"What's churros?" asked Gill, still yawning.
"Sort of crisp fried pancaky things. The Spanish often eat them for breakfast or a snack. You'll probably like them. I like them dipped in chocolate."
"Sounds fattening," said Manjy.
"Indigestible as well, I should think," said Alan, "but I still like them."
"Everything I like is either fattening, immoral or illegal," remarked Gill. "The castle here looks Moorish." she added, changing the subject entirely.
"This part of Andalusia is a mass of walled towns on hills with a castle at the top like this one," Alan said, "And the names: This is Vejer de la Frontera but it's Jerez de la Frontera too. There’s Chiclana de la Frontera just down the road and Arcos de la Frontera just beyond Medina.
The 'de la Frontera' bit refers to the frontier between Moslem Spain and Christian Spain. There are literally hundreds of place name like that, created by a frontier that moved around for several hundred years."
"I remember that Charles Martel defeated the Moslem attempt to spread into France," commented Manjy.
"True," agreed Alan. "That was somewhere in the late ninth century. El Cid recaptured Toledo from the Moors in 1057 - that's nearly two hundred years later. Granada was the last Moorish stronghold to fall, and that was not until 1492. The re-conquest went on for centuries."
"These churros are really good," said Gill, bringing them back to the here and now. "I didn't realise how hungry I was."
Manjy was nibbling cautiously. "Mmn. Not bad if you like fried cardboard," she said, "I think I'll try them dipped in Chocolate." and she dunked hers in Alan' steaming glass. For a time the talking gave way to eating and a second strong, milky coffee.
As the waiter brought the second cups of coffee he asked Manjy, "¿Es Española?".
She looked desperately at Alan. "He asked if you're Spanish," he said.
Manjy did look rather Spanish with her long black hair tied loosely back, her dark and quite Spanish eyes and her jeans and T-shirt. Alan explained that no, she wasn't. She was English and actually she didn't even speak Spanish. He didn't add that Manjy was already bilingual, because the explanations involved talking about minority ethnic communities in England and he didn't feel quite up to doing that in Spanish.
The waiter said that she certainly ought to be Spanish. He said, "Momentito!" - just a moment - and disappeared behind the bar. He returned with a phrase book which, he explained, some English tourist had left behind, and gave it to Manjy, who was surprised and touched when Alan explained.
Alan took the opportunity to ask about the hotel. The waiter told them it was just around the corner from where they were at that moment. Manjy studied the phrase book, the three finished their churros and their coffee, paid their bill and left.
The hotel was a converted monastery and seemed to retain some of the peace and calm of its former use. It wasn't cheap, but it had rooms free and didn't mind at all their wanting to sleep almost immediately - the concept of siesta was well-established.