Save The Best Till Last

I cannot really claim any credit for this. When you book hotels solely from spec on the internet, it can be a bit of a hit and miss affair.

I must say, however, that all of our stops up till now have been pretty good and La Lobera at Arroyo on the lake was a particular success.

But this has to be my favourite. We drove across vast plains and then higher and higher into the mountains, and even though all I could see was more mountain and more plain, with Cordoba simmering in the afternoon heat below us, suddenly (exactly as Sally Satnav said), there appeared what was truly an oasis of comfort and civilisation.

The hotel consisted of a big old house with various extensions. Our room was small but comfortable, but best of all it had a lovely big terrace out of the sun where His Nibs could cool off.

We settled him in after a brief walk into the campo, and headed for the pool. There was a snack bar, two pools and plenty of sunbeds as the hotel seemed quite quiet.

Dinner tonight was outside on a huge terrace overlooking the plain and Cordoba (although it was so hazy we couldn't actually see very much) and a delicious breeze was blowing. The food was my favourite of the trip and we have decided this will be somewhere to return another day when it's cooler, a base from which to explore Cordoba itself.