Day 90, 2 October 2012, Arcos de la Frontera.... Three months on the go. After a wonderful 8 days in Arcos we are both a little sad to be farewelling it. It is ancient, quaint, startlingly white due to frequent painting, 20% of the old town seems to be for sale or rent due to the general misery of the Spanish economy, but it's been our longest stop since we left home. Over our time here we explored the old town with the assistance of a walking tour brochure put together by a local cafe/guesthouse called Casa Campana (www.casacampana.com). We finally went in today for a fruit smoothie and a chat with the British couple who own it. Well worth a visit if you're ever in Arcos. Having done the walk in alternately drizzle and pouring rain, we took the route today in blazing Spanish sunshine. Some of the highlights for us are the quirky little things that tourists might miss - under their feet and over their heads. The big things are unmissable - the view from the Plaza de Cabildo lookout/viewpoint "mirador". The square was once used as a bullring, but is now the central spot for carparking next to St Mary's/Santa Maria's. Built over 5 centuries and constructed on the foundation of a mosque it has so many different styles that from each side it can be mistaken for a different building. On the side of St Mary's there is a large block of stone of Arab or Roman origin with an engraving of the Tree of Life. Or a face. Depends how you look at it. Outside the church is a 15th century magic circle of stones laid into the ground - it was laid within St Mary's originally, dating to the 15th century. When a child was brought to the church for baptism the parents would employ an exorcist to stand inside the circle, which acted as protection, to cleanse the baby of evil spirits. Good work if you can get it. Continuing on with our walk we come to several buildings with "window ears" or as James and I have christened them, the whisper windows. Apparently, not so long ago, when women didn't leave the house a lot, having the sides of the windows hollowed out gave them a better view of what was happening in the street. And it helped out the local Romeos who could stand their innocently and talk to their girlfriends inside.... We were feeling a touch peckish by then and one of the traditions for Arcos tourists is to visit the last working convent in Arcos, a closed order, and via a revolving cupboard utter the magic word "cookies" (or I suppose its Spanish equivalent) and the cupboard turns showing you a selection of the nuns cookies. €6 a box of 24. Take box out, put money in, cupboard turns. Happy nuns. Voila! One of the easy to miss "look ups" in Arcos is on Calle Boticas on the corner of a tiled roof. It is a small white mask and is part of a tradition that lasted till the mid-1800s, to scare evil spirits from a house. Apparently the Halloween masks of today are rooted in the same tradition. We moved right along, toting our cookies until we got home for a coffee. The walk concludes after taking a loop around St Pedro's church. One of the stunning features of the church is actually outside, along the side, where there is a tiled panel of sevillano tile from the 17th century showing the Virgin standing on a pedestal with a ship in her right hand and a child king cupped in the other hand (pictured). Final stop on the tour is finding our way to the Mirador or lookout over Arcos and the countryside... then wending our way back to Calle Bovedas - our home away from home away from home. Travel day to Granada tomorrow and seeing the Alhambra's Nasrid Palaces by night... must ensure siesta on the bus.... sweet dreams.