Casarabonela area guide: quaint village streets and a wonderful climate
Picture postcard, rural, relaxing and recuperative: all platitudes that have been thrown Casarabonela's way over the past few years, as more and more of us seek that unspoilt Spanish pueblo that can offer it all. Casarabonela can offer most of 'it', if 'it' is a traditional Andalusian way of life, beautiful scenery, clean air, quaint pretty streets and a wonderful climate.
The village is located, like all good Spanish pueblos should be, in a secluded valley, surrounded by mountains and reached only by one road in, and one road out. At 48km from Málaga and bordering both Antequera and Ronda country, there are few more rural settlements than this in Andalucía; a setting that lends Casarabonela a certain charm.
Little different from the reputation, in all honesty. Casarabonela has the staple Moorish roots, Christian past and agricultural makeup that defines much of this part of the world. It differs by being even more off the beaten track than most pueblos in Southern Spain, but still boasts attractive scenery, a reassuringly cluttered cluster of whitewashed homes, a central church, steep slopes and narrow thoroughfares.
The village has the usual customs and ferias, celebrating Easter with their unique 'Passion Play', honouring the Apostle Santiago at the end of July and embarking on a village procession on December 12th to mark the end of the olive harvest. Speaking of which, olives play a big part in the village's economy: the surrounding hills are almost exclusively given over to olive groves.
With such an abundance of natural resources all around, it makes sense for the villagers of Casarabonela to make the most of their surrounding terrain, and you can too if you choose to move there. The mountains are a veritable playground for hikers, horse riders, mountain bikers and casual walkers, rewarding the intrepid with rarely glimpsed views of the neighbouring valleys and distant horizons. A trek through the cool shade of the forest is the perfect way to enjoy an invigorating start to your morning.
In the centre of the village, the strong sense of community has helped engender a good range of local commodities, so a couple of hours spent idly browsing the 'High Street' is the perfect way to pass an afternoon, as is enjoying the sunshine and delicious local cuisine from one of the many al fresco dining terraces scattered throughout the village's many plazas and courtyards.
Nightfall in Casarabonela brings with it a conundrum. This being a sleepy village nestled deep in the mountains, the sensible thing to do would be to knock proceedings on the head come 10pm, and retire indoors with a good book and a milky hot chocolate. This being Spain though - and Andalucía at that - things don't always follow the route marked 'sensible'.
Casarabonela, despite its small size and sleepy disposition, knows how to party, whether it's a religious festival or simply a Friday night. Most licensed places will stay open - and busy - until at least 3am at the weekends, and there are surprisingly plenty of establishments willing to swap your Euros for intoxication dotted all across the village. Life here is there to be enjoyed, and the locals intend to do that, it seems, every weekend. You could do worse than to join them.