The Indalo is a symbol that can often be seen in the Almeria region of Spain especially Mojacar on the coast. The symbol of a man holding a rainbow in his outstretched arms represents psychic strength and is supposed to bring good luck. I first became aware of the Indalo many years ago when I visited Mojacar as a teenager, I used to wear a silver Indalo on a necklace and I had a gold Indalo made for Keith which I gave to him on our wedding day. The symbol has special significance to us personally and if you visit our home or look at our motorhome you will see the Indalo in various places.
Until a few months ago I didn't know the origin of the Indalo, but reading through our DK Eyewitness guide to Spain I read about how the first Indalo was found in prehistoric cave paintings in a village called Velez Blanco in Andalusia. From that moment on I was determined that on one of our trips we would visit the area and see that original cave painting.
Being a fair way inland Velez Blanco is a bit out of our way but having stayed at Totana for a few days we realised we were only about 70km away so we checked out our Park4night and located a parking place by the castle in Velez Blanco, about a mile from the caves where the paintings are located.
The caves are only open at a specific time on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and as we arrived in Velez Blanco on a Wednesday we had a quick lunch before setting out to get to the caves.
As is often the case in Spain that was easier said than done as the signposting was, shall I say, inadequate. With a bit of luck we spotted two cars heading in the direction of where we thought the caves were and we were able to catch up with the small group heading up the mountainside to the cave. The Spanish guide was able to give us an information leaflet as she spoke a little English which was useful as there is a lot to know about the cave paintings.
When we arrived at the site we were surprised that the paintings weren't in a cave but more a concave surface of the rocky mountainside, it's amazing that they are still there and not been weathered away.
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| Indalo painted 6000 years ago |
The simple drawings were in random positions on the wall where we all sat on the rocks while she told us about them, as I sat there I tried to imagine what kind of people drew these pictures and what their life must have been like 6000 years ago
The shapes are just symbols and so the explanation we were given are only interpretations of the shapes - male, female, chief, animals and, of course, the Indalo man, but it was mind boggling to see paintings from such a long time ago as these were the first attempts of mankind to depict images, drawn with iron oxide using their fingers or a rough brush made from feathers.
Eventually it was time to go, we paid our 2€
each and left feeling really happy that we had
been able to see the original Indalo man
each and left feeling really happy that we had
been able to see the original Indalo man
