On the Sergio Leone Trail | Rodalquilar Gold Mines | España 2019

On location.. At the church from,  'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' 

Cortijo del Fraile

The diary entry from the day of the epic journey..

The sea glistens at La Isleta as we prepare to hit the road for the day..

Stopped off for a break en route at Albaricoques

Albaricoques, or 'Aguas  Calientes' from 'For a few Dollars More'..

On location with Rio..

The same street as featured in the film.. Lee Van Cleef as Colonel Douglas Mortimer,

 and Clint Eastwood as Manco..

The scene of the standoff with the Mexicans..

You can see how much has changed since 1965..

Some legends now name the streets..

The modern sign.. Looking like a scene from 'Breaking Bad'

Paul leads the way onward into the desert valley..

We stopped at a ruined outpost in search of the 'well' from 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly but could not find it.. An amazing location none the less..

Lots of water storage but no sign of the well..

Fascinating ruins with bamboo ceiling construction..

We approach the church location at 'Cortijo del Fraile'

Blondie and Tuco ride past the church..

A few scenes from this location from the information board..

The sign reads 'Rodalquilar' we will pass through the old gold mines to get there..

Another agave lined track..

The Agave plants originated in Mexico.. 

The sturdy pita stalks were often used in construction..

Passing through the mining area.. 

The surface is hard and dry, very rough and stony..

These hillsides were mined for gold from around 1914 - 1966

Driving into the mineral processing area just outside Rodalquilar..

In the 1960's this area produced 90% of Spain's gold..

Parked for the night on the track to San Pedro at Las Negras..

This really was an epic drive from the coast at La Isleta del Moro,

then heading inland to Albaricoques to see the locations there. 

The drive through the valley to reach the church location at Cortijo del Fraile

then led us on into another area of interest.. passing through the extensive old gold mines..

Finally coming back onto surfaced roads to enjoy the drive to the coast again at Las Negras,

 to our viewpoint camp on the track to San Pedro village.

A varied route with so much to see, definitely one of the best of the trip!