Page 16 - DreamScapes Magazine | Winter/Spring 2026

Inside another old sherry cellar, now a museum, I found a trove of horse-
drawn carriages, velvet-lined and a horse-care centre for more equestrian
encounters.
Lunch at La Carboná sealed the deal. At this old sherry bodega, every dish
was an ode to sherry from the caramelized reductions to the smoky infusions.
ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA: WHERE MY SPIRIT MAMA AWAKENED
Arcos de la Frontera spirals upward like a white crown atop sandstone cliffs.
Here, amid Moorish arches and Christian bells, I met Ana, my spirit mama. A
local guide, her laughter echoed off the medieval walls as we ascended steep
streets, pausing to watch a car precariously navigate narrow alleys.
At the top, a peculiar stone circle in a plaza near the Basilica of Santa
María de la Asunción captured my attention. Locals say it holds mystical
energy. “This magic circle has special energy qualities that some women
identify. But really, it’s Sufi in origin,” explained Ana about the Islamic spiri-
tual order that practiced meditation here. I struck a yoga tree pose, letting the
energy flow. Later, we snacked on pastries made by unseen nuns, their
sweets sold through a Lazy Susan that preserves anonymity. If heaven has a
hilltown, this is it.
CÓRDOBA: ART, WOMEN AND MY FIRST COLD PLUNGE
From flower-filled patios to the women weaving stories in ceramic studios,
Córdoba pulses with history and creativity. Inside the Mezquita Cathedral,
amid a forest of candy-cane arches, it’s here where I observed Islamic artistry
and Christian devotion coexisting in breathtaking dialogue.
My hotel, across from the train station, underscored Spain’s astonishing
rail network. Trains arrive nearly everywhere, making car-free travel possible
and pleasurable. Motor coaches zigzag toward remote villages, so no hillside
haven is off-limits.
I arrived seeking art but left having achieved a personal milestone, my
first cold plunge. At a local hammam, I dipped into icy water that awakened
every cell with influencers from Los Angeles cheering me on. The plunge felt
like a rebirth in a city that has reinvented itself countless times.
MÁLAGA: A MUSEUM OF SOULS
Málaga, Picasso’s birthplace and home to Antonio Banderas, pulses with
artistic bravado. The Picasso Museum is a pilgrimage site where you trace the
brushstrokes of a man who redefined expression. Nearby, the Centre Pom-
pidou Málaga, a rainbow-cube gem on the waterfront, pulls you into a
kaleidoscope of contemporary art.
I wandered along the port past La Farola, one of Spain’s few female-named
lighthouses, standing like a guardian goddess over the sea.
At night, Málaga swells with possibility. Wine bars spill into hidden court-
yards, theatre-goers file into Banderas’s new theatre, and the sea stretches
out to what feels like eternity.
NERJA: CAVES, COASTLINES AND A HINT OF TV NOSTALGIA
Nerja is a seaside escape with a cinematic past made famous by a beloved
Spanish TV series, “Verano Azul” (Blue Summer). Its beaches shimmer
beneath towering cliffs, while its annual fiesta for the Virgin Mary unfurls in
a riot of music and devotion.
I checked into the cliff-hugging Parador de Nerja, where the infinity-blue
sea made time dissolve. But nothing prepared me for the Nerja Caves, where
million-year-old stalactites drip like frozen waterfalls. Time moves differ-
ently underground.
Standing in that cool cavern with its vast universe, I felt simultaneously
small and infinite, the paradox at the heart of Andalusia.
TRAVEL PLANNER
Best Time To Go: Spring / Fall • Suggested trip length: 7-10 days
For more travel information about Spain, visit spain.info/en/
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DREAMSCAPES WINTER/SPRING 2026