The hills of Spain and boots of Spanish leather

View from the high speed train between Malaga and Madrid

Near Malaga, the hills of southeastern Spain are cultivated with citrus, olive and nut orchards.

Montserrat, the serrated mountain, is a sacred hill.

From the lush gardens and gorgeous palaces of Alhambra, the view over Granada extends to the snowcapped Sierra Nevadas

Spanish boots of Spanish leather

“When we were apprenticed to rovin’, we tried the hills of Spain.” So sang Mimi and Richard Farina in 1965, accompanied by his dulcimer. The following year, Richard, that promising musician, died in a motorcycle crash aged 30.

I’ve finally seen those Spanish hills, many studded with orange, olive and almond groves and various strange rock formations.

In 1963, Bob Dylan first sang his ballad of being left by someone going travelling. When she offers to bring him something back, he replies, “just carry yourself back to me unspoiled, from across that lonesome ocean.”

But when she writes from the ship to say her return is uncertain — “it depends on how I’m feelin'“— the balladeer changes his mind and requests “Spanish boots of Spanish leather.”