Andalusia (spelled Andalusia in Spain) is one of the most charming regions of Spain. Land of flamenco, jamón Ibérico and rugged fortified mountain towns, this is a wild, historic and remote country filled with history, adventure and magnificent scenery. on his websitetravel expert Rick Steves describes Andalusia as a “Yankee dream of Spain”, an almost stereotypical vision of classic Spanish imagery. He writes that he adores it for its “string of whitewashed mountain towns, sunny skies, vibrant festivals and tempting tapas… it feels more quintessentially Spanish than anywhere else.” This the perfect place to immerse yourself in southern Spanish culture.
According to Rick Steves, the most popular places in Andalusia are its three largest cities: Granada, Cordoba and Seville, as well as bustling resort towns of the Costa del Sol. But the true, unspoiled beauty of the region is best found by exploring the small mountain towns, the Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos (Route of the White Cities). According to Steves, “The mid-sized towns scattered along this hilly route are more accessible and friendly than the big cities, but still contain a ton of deliciously pure Spanish culture.”
From Arcos de la Frontera, one of Rick Steve's favorite cities. which he calls “a photographer's holiday.” [that] “grabbing the top of the hill, cascading down like the train of a wedding dress” to the rugged bastion of Ronda, on its “breathtaking perch above a deep gorge”, the small town of Andalusia is magnificent. But according to Rick Stevas protégé Cameron Hewitt, when it comes to getting information from the friendly tourist offices scattered throughout the region, you may find that they are not fully equipped.
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Tourist information offices without information
Tourists stand outside Ronda's municipal tourism office – 4kclips/Shutterstock
Rick Steves' guidebooks always highlight the tourist offices in the cities he visits, and he recommends using them as an excellent source of local knowledge and information. But in Andalusia, as Cameron Hewitt writes about Steves, blog“The lack of information in tourism information centers is as pervasive as it is intractable.” Hewitt says that as he travels through the region, he is “constantly reminded that traveling through traditional parts of Europe, especially this southern part of Spain, involves a certain 'dramatic tension': between the old and the new.”
Hewitt tells the story of visiting Arcos de la Frontera, where “the tourist office tasked with informing tourists has little idea of the bus that virtually every arriving tourist is likely to take,” which he says is “typical of my travels in small-town Andalusia.” He mentions several of the other most popular towns along the Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos—Sahara, Grazalema, Setenil de las Bodegas—where he was “struck by the almost complete absence of major signage to help approaching travelers find their way.”
Of course, for many travelers, conventional tourist information points are something of an anachronism, outdated by the sheer amount of information available on the Internet. Most modern tourists have everything they need to know at their fingertips on their smartphone or tablet, and they can call up a world of knowledge in a matter of seconds. But when it comes to old-fashioned places like Andalusia, that's not always enough. During a meeting at the tourism office, when Cameron Hewitt asked if the bus ran twice an hour, the answer was: “No. Sometimes. Not really. You might need to check with the bus company.” In such situations, the Internet is useless!
Accept Spain on Spanish terms
Tourists look at the famous Puente Nuevo bridge in Ronda –
Cameron Hewitt writes: “As a visitor to Andalusia, I have found that Spain retains a certain suspicion and stubbornness when it comes to us travelers.” He feels there is a contradiction between the dependence of a town like Arcos de la Frontera on tourism and the attitude of local residents towards tourists themselves. He describes it as “a land where tradition trumps modernity, until that happens”, meaning that the old customs of afternoon siestas and a relaxed approach to timekeeping do not fit well with the transformation of small towns into almost exclusively tourist attractions.
This is what Spain and many countries around the world are facing. Overtourism is a problem in many places, but it is particularly noticeable in Spain, where mass protests and water pistol attacks on tourists have caused a stir in recent years. Hewitt says: “I don't blame them at all for asking tough questions about how to sustain the breakneck growth of the tourism sector,” but also worries about the future of Andalusia's smaller towns if tourism declines. After all, it's only been a few years since the Spanish government launched the National Network of Welcoming Cities, an initiative designed to attract remote workers to small communities across the country that are struggling with population decline.
Ultimately, Hewitt admits that “if you go to Spain, you should expect to receive Spain on Spanish terms.” And in Andalusia, long known for its mañana attitude, this may mean putting up with friendly tourist offices that lack reliable travel information.
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