Mojácar hosted this weekend a meeting of the 'Pueblos Más Bonitos de España', which seems to be a (very incomplete) list worth taking notice of for future trips around this beautiful and fascinating country. Mojácar is, without doubt, worth its place on the list - even if our main strengths - the view from the village, the narrow white streets and the increasingly rare 'old building' were all in evidence long before anyone thought of tourism, marketing, drunken Indalos or souvenir shops.
There are currently 57 'Pueblos Más Bonitos' and a further eleven are joining the club: Segura de la Sierra (Jaén), Mondoñedo (Lugo), Ledesma in Salamanca, Briones in La Rioja, Lerma (Burgos), Castro Caldelas (Orense), Almonaster La Real in Hueva, Mirambel in Teruel, Guadalupe (Cáceres), Zahara de la Sierra (Cádiz) and Bubion in Granada (Photos of them here).
In reality, there are hundreds of other beautiful pueblos in Spain - perhaps a little less focused on tourism - and many in our own Almería: Bédar is obvious; then there is Agua Amarga, Senés, Vélez-Blanco, Sorbas, Nijar, Abrucena, Fondón, Laujár and Serón for example...
Later: In case you were wondering, 'the object of the Pueblos más Bonitos in 2018 is to bring international tourism', says Radio Huelva here. There are now two official Pueblo más Bonito festivals - held, presumably, in each and every one of the towns involved. The 'Noche Romántica' on the 23rd of June, and the celebration of the association on 1st October.
I have visited quite a few of these villages and towns, and some of them are indeed stunning. Others - no names etc. - may have once been stunning, but have been white-washed and touristified till very little of the original beauty is left. Some 1700 years ago the Goths, Visigoths and Vandals came to Spain - only the Goths and Visigoths went on to despoil Italy.
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