Our Spanish Culture & Cuisine group left Javea last Tuesday morning, 1st October, in lovely sunshine and our first visit enroute was to the Finca Los Aljibes.
We learned all about the Spanish horses which they breed, tried out many of the coaches, and had a tour of the winery after which we enjoyed a tapas lunch with generous tastings of white, rosado and red wine.
Time for cake and coffee and after thanking our hosts, we travelled on to the Hotel El Curro, a family-run hotel within the Cazorla National park. On our first evening we all had dinner together in the hotel’s restaurant which had been set beautifully for us.
On Wednesday we spent a lovely day at the Collado del Almendral Wildlife Park, a tourist train taking us through a trail where we were able to see some of the resident wildlife. After the train tour we had a walk through the park with a bird display.
Time to enjoy a drink in the lounge before dinner – one thing we quickly learned about the region of Cazorla is that the portions served are simply enormous!
Our trip on the solar powered boat at El Tranco looked out of the question on Thursday when we woke up to rain and fog, but the company assured us that it was not raining at the reservoir and to come!
Eventually the rain stopped and the sun shone through as we made our way, and the captain of the boat was very pleased to see us.
A tranquil and scenic ride, followed by lunch in the restaurant over-looking the reservoir. A stop at the Visitor Centre on the return journey enabled us to have a short walk through the woodland , and the day culminated with a beautiful sunset back at our hotel, overlooking the valley. How lucky we all were!
With energy left to spare, our evening concluded with flamenco dancing, led by our host Maria!
Friday began with a guided tour of the Cazorla olive oil factory and an interesting presentation given by our guide, Laura, which concluded with several tastings. There are more than 4 million olive trees in the Cazorla region and our visit was to one of the largest oil mills in the world. As we walked through the factory and grounds, Laura explained each stage of olive oil production and revealed to us the best kept secrets to be able to select and enjoy the best oils. From the moment the olives are harvested to the final bottling, every step of the production process was revealed.
After time buying lots of oil, chocolate and face creams in the factory shop, we made our way to Cazorla with free time for lunch in one of the many cafe bars, before boarding the tourist train for a panoramic tour of Cazorla.
Our last visit was to the ruins of the Santa Maria church, which was damaged by floods in the seventeenth century and then later burnt by French troops. Underneath the church there is a “boveda” – a stone vault running under the church and plaza through which the Cerezuelo river is channelled down to the Guadalquivir river.
Our day concluded with another lovely sunset, and a presentation to thank our wonderful hosts, Maria & mum, after dinner. Nothing had been too much trouble for them to ensure that we all had a very enjoyable stay in their beautiful family-run hotel.
Saturday and finally it was time to depart and we commenced our journey back to Javea, stopping at Alcaraz enroute to visit the Royal Monastery and Sanctuary of Cortes, one of the most important Pilgrimage Centres in Spain. It was inaugurated in 1222 and has a circular layout with a baroque altarpiece made in 1727.
Lunch was in the Sanctuary restaurant, and these were just the starters! Paella on the left and Manchego Gazpacho on the right (yes, it was nothing like the gazpacho we were expecting!).
My thanks to all the members on the tour for making it such a fun and memorable holiday and for sharing your photos and videos. I will look forward to seeing many of you again on a future Spanish Culture & Cuisine trip!
Report by Angela Chantry – spanish.culture.cuisine@u3ajavea.com
