MAGICAL VEJER DE LA FRONTERA

It was just a little stopover on my journey through Andalusia; essentially I only came to this town to spend the night, because it simply happened to be on the way. I was heading from Cádiz to Gibraltar, and Vejer is halfway between these two towns. On booking.com they had a good accommodation deal in this place, and so, as it happened, I arrived here late in the afternoon. Vejer has an old part and a new part. But from a distance you'd struggle to tell them apart. Both are bright white, and with their right angles the little houses look more like some kind of building set.

The accommodation was exactly the kind I'd want to have for the whole journey through Andalusia. A modest, clean room that was nonetheless nicely styled. What was best, though, was the terrace set up on the roof of this little hotel. Not only could you stretch out on a lounge chair there and properly rest after a hot day, but above all there was an amazing view of part of Vejer and its surroundings. I only discovered the terrace in the evening, when I got back from scouting the town, so I immediately set my alarm for just before sunrise, to photograph that view in ideal lighting conditions.

That same evening I managed to take one successful photo from the viewpoint where the statue of an Arab woman stands. There's a beautiful view of the town from here, and in the oncoming night this place looked truly magical. You walk through a small passageway to the lookout by the statue, which comes across as rather eerie, and before you there are only uniform white houses preparing for the arrival of night.

At half past six I got up and headed for the rooftop terrace, bundled up in the warmest clothing I'd brought with me. At first it was still too dark, but the sun was slowly appearing and so I could shoot. The great thing was that the town was still lit by street lamps, so the blue colour of dawn was beautifully complemented by the warm yellow from the lamps' bulbs. It's interesting how the current technology influences the appearance of our towns. In Europe things are still lit with the yellow colour of the discharge lamps in use now, but Japan, for instance, is already entirely blue, as its streets are lit by cold, bluish LED diodes.

In the background, mist still drifted across the hills, and the sun demanded attention ever more strongly. In about an hour it was all over. I was thrilled that the day had begun so nicely, and I could go pack up and set off on the road to Gibraltar. A stretch of driving awaited me, and then entry into this English territory tucked away on a small piece of the European mainland. But about Gibraltar some other time.

Vejer de la Frontera still falls under the province of Cádiz, and the Barbate river flows past it. When you're lucky with good conditions, you can look across the Strait of Gibraltar and see the shores of Africa. You'll find several old churches and monasteries here. The architecture of almost the entire town is influenced by the era of Moorish rule over this region, so in places you get the feeling you've already crossed the Mediterranean Sea and are somewhere in Morocco. Moorish rule lasted here from 711 until 1248, when the town was taken by Saint Ferdinand of Castile.

The surrounding area is used mainly to grow fruit and to raise bulls. Every year, in fact, a \"running of the bulls\" is held here. A celebration you'll still encounter in Spanish towns today. Over the course of the year several interesting celebrations and festivals take place here, such as the carnival, the night of candles, a jazz festival, or the Spring Feria, which is the town's main event and includes equestrian and bullfighting contests.

Tip 1: On my phone I have a special app called Sun Seeker (there are a number of others too), thanks to which you can see at what time and exactly where the sun will be in the sky. That way you can brilliantly plan out your shot and just wait until the sun rises or is about to set. Or check until when it'll be possible to shoot in a given area before the sun disappears behind a nearby hill. I've genuinely been grateful for this app many times, so I can only warmly recommend it.

Gear: Well, what would you expect - if you want to shoot dawn or the town at night, you'll simply have to bring that tripod with you. Otherwise the sharp Spanish sun and the white buildings throughout the town literally invite black-and-white photographs, so if you feel like it, bring along, say, an old Flexaret and some black-and-white film - you'll surely enjoy it.