Riding across Andalusia on horseback
Spain's rural south is comprised of many "cultural layers"

"This sort of landscape gives you an insight into Eternity," wrote Penelope Chetwode of Spain's rural south in her classic travel book "Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalusia". The region's rugged hinterland remains as "vast" and "beautiful" and "still" today as it was when she rode across it in 1961, said Sophy Roberts in the FT, and there's no better way to discover it than on horseback.
I joined a group riding trip with a guide – George Scott, who grew up in England but now lives near Cazalla de la Sierra, a village north of Seville. From there, we rode west through the Morena mountains to the Portuguese border – a journey of about 100 miles along old cattle trails, mule tracks and pilgrimage routes, on which we met just one other tourist in the course of a week. Scott's staff went ahead of us to set up bell tents "festooned with hurricane lamps", and dining tables "dressed in ginghams and antique damasks". But Scott improvised the routes in between these camps, apparently trusting in "the poetry of serendipity". (Chetwode herself wrote that she had made many discoveries owing to "the splendid inaccuracy of the maps".) The journey felt more "difficult" as a result, and we occasionally got lost, but for me this only made it more dreamlike – a sense that began on the first night, when we arrived at Scott's 16th century farmhouse to find its "crumbling courtyards" illuminated by hundreds of candles.
Scott proved a good guide to the region's "cultural layers" – from bullfighting and shepherding to the "unspoken atrocities" of the civil war. We rode through pine forests and groves of evergreen oaks, along riverbanks "bejewelled" with birds, and through wildflower meadows alive with butterflies. Deer staring at us from the woods called to mind a renaissance tapestry, and one day we were joined by a muleteer who sang flamenco beside our campfire – two timeless scenes among many on an unforgettable adventure.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The trip costs €7,000 per person (georgescottrides.com).
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?
The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate branding
In the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid: 'more than just a novelty'
The Week Recommends Europe's first plug-in hybrid pickup is 'surprisingly agile'
-
6 lush homes in the trees
Feature Featuring a glass house in Texas and a home built for a Broncos quarterback in Colorado
-
Brooklyn vs. the Beckhams: trouble in paradise
In the Spotlight Scion of the Beckham clan and billionaire heiress wife Nicola Peltz staged an elaborate vow renewal – and none of his family were on the guest list
-
Alien: Earth – a 'bold' prequel to the space horror classic
The Week Recommends Set two years before Alien, new Disney show pays 'homage' to the original
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black Keys
Feature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
Film reviews: Highest 2 Lowest and Weapons
Feature A kidnapping threatens a mogul's legacy and a town spins into madness after 17 children disappear
-
Book reviews: 'King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution' and 'Gwyneth: The Biography'
Feature How the Iranian Revolution began and Gwyneth Paltrow's life in the spotlight
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War II
Feature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more