DAY 3 Monday 3 September 2018
I start setting out the studio. Ben and Helma kindly lend me a lithography stone. I will start mañana!
It starts thundering around lunch time and I set out to explore the town once the rain has stopped. The route of the Washing Places (Ruta de los Lavaderos) meanders around the town; I find a few but loose the route at some point and will have to set out again tomorrow.
They are all very distinctive; some covered and others simple troughs with wash-stones. The common feature is the ringing sound of water as flows into and then out of the white-washed tanks.
The town has grown over centuries to accommodate as a series of populations; Arab, Moors, Jews and Christians. The Arab and Jewish areas have steep, narrow, winding streets with steps and overhanging tiled eaves, creating dramatic silhouettes and covered passageways open onto hidden courtyards; some alleys have blue and white painted paving. The old mosque with its porch still overlooks the square with fountain, but the building is now is a chapel.
After a second thunder storm I venture out with an umbrella up to the Plaza Mayor to buy food. Tonight it’s gazpacho followed by chickpea salad with garden herbs and tortilla with a glass of red wine. The sound of Miles Davis overlays the gushing of the waters... work starts tomorrow.