A Short Sojourn in Sayalonga

December 25, 2024

For Christmas, I visited my mum at her new home in Sayalonga, a mountain village to the east of Málaga. Reaching this village is no easy task: it takes almost an hour’s drive from the airport, and the last stretch is composed almost exclusively of winding and steep roads. I spent the 23^rd and 24^th participating in the joint efforts to prepare for Christmas Eve by making sweets and hanging decorations. On the morning of the 25^th, I decided to explore the neighbourhood and take the 45-minute walk to the centre of Sayalonga.

From the road, the contours of Sayalonga are striking. The whole village sits on an escarpment overlooking the valley, its white houses contrasting against the brown and green hillsides. These rise above the village itself, becoming taller and taller all the way to the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama, a natural park with snowcapped peaks throughout much of the winter. Sayalonga has all one can expect from a small settlement in this region: a cosey town square, narrow streets, and white buildings. Its attractions include a walled cemetery with vaulted white crypts, a small museum, and a spring. Although this spring is called the Fuente del Cid, it was already known to the Romans, who built a large tank in the hillside to ensure there would be enough water throughout the dry months. At least that is what the information board says.

Just a short walk along the winding roads from the centre stands the Monument to Peace, erected to honour the victims of the Spanish Civil War. It is a surreal white structure with irregular arches and decorations like hearts, stars, and big green lizards. The road there does not have a pavement for pedestrians, which feels a little dangerous with all the twists and turns; it is inadvisable to stop and pick almonds from the trees growing along the sides as I did. I should remark, however, that the predominant fruit tree around Sayalonga seems to be the olive.