The Balneario de Fuente Amarga (Bitter Fountain) was established in 1867 and its waters declared for public use in 1871. It is located in the village of Tolox one hours drive inland from Marbella or Malaga at 360 meters above sea level at the entrance to the Sierra de la Nieves Natural Park and has clear air, a splendid warm climate, abundant water and green vegetation - a sheer delight in contrast to the pollution and stress of modern life.

Dolmen remains across the Rio Genal valley record Neolithic habitation here. The town hall suggests that Roman and Visigothic remnants can be found in the area, although this claim lacks substance.

The sierras of this book are the Serrania de Ronda merging with the Sierra de Grazalema and the highlands of the province of Cádiz. Author Alastair Boyd first came to the region in the late fifties and made a series of journeys by horse into the surrounding countryside which were magically captured in his book The Road from Ronda. He returned to Ronda in the nineties to see if the Arcadia that he had discovered all those years ago still existed.

In the 1890's, a railway was built by the Algeciras (Gibraltar) Railway Company Ltd between Algeciras and Ronda and Bobadilla where it connected with the existing Cordoba to Malaga line to give access to Madrid and Europe. Nowadays the train journey from Algeciras or San Roque makes a lovely day trip through stunning scenery and historic sites, with gastronomic surprises en route. As well as the novelty of spotting British Victorian railway memorabilia the route passes the beautiful Genal valley, in a place where there is no road access.