My recent trip to Andalucía, Spain, was my second Light & Land tour. (The first was to Santorini, last year, also led by Astrid.) Since I live in the US, a photography tour in Europe represents a significant financial investment once airfareis included and also a greater investment of my limited paid vacation time. Since this was my second Light & Land trip, I obviously was not disappointed by the first! It was every bit as wonderful and it was great to have Astrid and Charlie as leaders. They continually cycled through the attendees offering encouragement, ideas, and as much adviceas you desired. Both of them are kind, good-humored, and generous in every way. They really set a great tone of camaraderie for the group that lasted the entire trip.

I had never been to Spain before, and after visiting Andalucía it was clear that this was a sad thing indeed. The terrain was rugged, beautiful, and a little on the arid side—it reminded me a bit of southern California without millions of people. Trees were well-featured in the itinerary: hill-side almond orchards, endless groves of olives, winding roads flanked with cork oaks, and neat rows of poplars. Charming white towns and villages were nestled up on hillsides and down in valleys. We were fortunate to stay in the beautiful cliff-side city of Ronda with its views, bridges, andarchitecture. And both the Plaza de Espana in Seville and the Alhambra in Grenada are truly spectacular. Flamenco dancers, horse-drawn carriages, stray cats, griffin vultures, hanging hams, miniature houses, etc...lots and lots of variety!

There is, however, a dark side: 2,400 images is going to take a long time to get through! If seeing more than the five included here will help convince you to join the 2024 trip, I am currently publishing a series of articles on my blog athttps://theartfulengineer.com/series/andalucia-trip-2023.

Taken during a Light & Land Photography Tour Andalucia Almond Blossom and Architecture 2023.

Join Astrid McGechan on the next Andalucia Tour 2024.