“Castle,” I say as I point out yet another ruin on a distant knoll. And like the quote, “If you drive past horses and don’t say horses you’re a psychopath,” the same applies to castles in Spain. And they are everywhere! Each time I want to pinch myself.

We arrive in Cordoba after three and a half hours of driving, using two gps apps to make the best decisions. Pulling into Cordoba we went to the first recommended parking garage and it was full. Bummer. So off we navigate to the next one, deeper into the old part of town where the streets are one way, cobblestone and VERY narrow. I missed a turn and ended up down an impassible street and had to back my way out, missing parked cars and curbs and pedestrians. Susanna got out and marshaled me backwards onto the correct path. Ugh. Not fun. The pressure from the rental agency to not put a scratch on the car was profound. They said they charge $1250 for each little scratch, and that’s even WITH the extra insurance paid. So we were always on pins and needles. But we made it to the garage and pulled in our mirrors to make it around all the tight corners inside. Driving here is not for the faint of heart. 

Traveling off season has great perks though, less crowding, reservations are easier to book last minute and prices are cheaper on just about everything. We stayed in hotels that I would never have looked at without the great seasonal discounts. One of these was in Cordoba, where we enjoyed our poshest stay. Nothing too extravagant but wonderful quality and in the heart of the action, so walking with my blistered feet was much kinder. It had a lovely rooftop where I could hang out and write and watch the sunset.

Cordoba was also one of the few stays where the landscape was flat and much easier to navigate, quicker to pop back to the hotel for a break midday, or to grab something I forgot, like gloves or passport.

I think I’ve mentioned that dining hours are later than what we are used to. Cordoba is no exception. Tonight we stroll the dark streets, get our bearings, circle the mosque-cathedral and have our first taste of tortilla de patatas (an egg, potato delicacy) that we eat sitting on the back steps of the cathedral while the town strolls by. 

This town is full of happy people.There is so much chatting, laughing, families out late visiting in the streets, it feels festive. And on our walk back to the hotel, we run into crowds stuffing the streets so we could hardly move. Up ahead we see gold glittering and hear a band playing, we are in a procession of people following a relic through the streets! We smell incense and beeswax candles and follow a full band playing dirgy music.

We were swept along for at least 45 minutes (stopping for gelato along the way). It was slow going, the “float” was all gold with a life size Virgin Mary and vases of flowers, and covered with silver and gold. It was heavy and moved very slowly, carried from church to church through the tiny streets that I tried to drive through earlier. 

Back at our hotel we asked a staff member what it was that we saw, and he smiled and said that it is a normal part of their culture to have these processions. He called them religious relics that are paraded through the streets and it is very common but the most unusual thing we have come across so far.

Procession in Cordoba