In the spirit of the millions of other travel blogs that list the top 10 or 5 or 17 things to do/see/eat in some place, I am writing the top 5 things to do in Galera, Spain.

#1- Stay in a cave house.

Obviously, as someone who bought a cave house, I like them. But, even if cave houses don’t happen to be your thing, staying in one is a very interesting experience, and one you won’t likely forget. The soft, curves of the thick walls give a very different feeling to the rooms than standard square ones do. They are also an integral part of Spain’s history and culture, in the past as traditionally Moorish dwellings and more recently as Gypsy ones.

#2- Take a walk.

The hills and valleys that make up the village of Galera are perfect places to wander. The walk up to the lonely white chapel at the very top of the village not only gets your heart beating, but rewards you with a panoramic view of the whole area. At the foot of this hill, you can find La Posa Restaurant and Bakery where the bread is fresh, the beer is cold and the tapas are free. They also do a very nice daily menu, if you’re feeling really hungry. You could also take in the museums, the church and the town square where the weekly market is held. The Necropolis is rather interesting but a bit of hike from the village proper.

#3- Take the vineyard tour.

Many of the little houses that make up the main part of the village hide a delicious secret in their basements: small and not-so-small vats of wine lurk behind the unfriendly gray roll-up garage doors. These very small producers offer their vintages for sale when they feel like doing so. There is even an organized vineyard tour. But, if you’re not interested in group sports, you can simply wander through the streets looking for an open door. Just inside, you might find a couple of well-aged bottles of wine being coyly offered by a bevy of young women. Or, perhaps more likely, you might find a bevy of young wines being coyly offered by a couple of well-aged women.

#4- Watch the sunset. Then, check out the stars.

Climb the nearest hill and wait for the sun to go down. The mountains make a nice frame for the red orange glow of the setting sun. If you wait long enough, this will fade to black and billions of pinpricks of light will fill the immense sky. Will little light pollution, it is a pretty darn good show. This, of course, depends on the weather. It is best enjoyed with someone you love and a bottle of something cool and nice. If it’s chilly, bring a thermos of something warm and nice instead.

#5- Nothing.

One of the best things about a village like Galera is that there really isn’t very much to do. In one or two days, you can easily take in the sights. Then, you are free to find a good spot to read a book, drink a glass or two, take a siesta, or work on your watercolors, knitting, guitar playing, or finish that novel you’ve been meaning to get to.Too often, a holiday turns into a death-march of must-sees: museums, famous buildings, churches, open-air markets, and castles. Each monument becomes just a check mark on the bucket-list. Footsore and exhausted, your head spinning with art and architecture, with history and culture swimming behind your eyes, the best part of the vacation is when you fall into bed every night.

*Bonuses*

Galera is15 minutes away from a free, freshwater swimming pool- Fuencaliente de Orce (you literally swim with the fishes).

15 minutes beyond the swimming pool is the lovely village of Orce with its Alcazaba de las Siete Torres, and lovely museum- Centro de Interpretacion Primeros Pobladores de Europa “Josep Gibert.”

Galera is 37 minutes from the town of Baza which has Arabic baths-Banos Arabes, its own archeological museum- Museo Argueologico de Baza, an interesting street market, and some very nice restaurants.

Galera is also 40 minutes from the stunning Rio Castril.

It is an hour away from the rather massive, turquoise Lake Negratín with its nude beach where you can swim, go paddle-boating, and perhaps sailing as well.

And, if you wanted to go a bit further afield, it’s 90 minutes to the sparkling Mediterranean and 90 minutes to the magnificent city of Granada.

-S