Aracena

Aracena is a small town in the province of Huelva in Spain, which is maybe an hour from Sevilla. I wanted to take a trip to a nearby town and Huelva fit the bill. And I'm glad it did, because it turned out to be one of my favorite places in Spain. It wasn't the most exciting, but it had a charm to it. On the long weekend in April (April 30-May 1), I took a day trip to see what it had to offer. I had read about the two main attractions: the Ham Museum and the Cave and planned to see both.

I don't think I have to tell you that I arrived at the Aracena bus station without a map. I took a few guesses on which way to go (namely, not uphill) and eventually found myself right where I wanted to be: in the center of town.

My first stop was the famous cave tour (La Gruta de las Maravillas). I had researched the tour times, and I came upon it just in time. I bought the package ticket with the Museo del Jamón. I also picked up a map of the city at the ticket office/tourism office, so I did well at my first stop. The tour was in Spanish and besides myself and a German couple, everyone on the tour was a native Spaniard. The tour was not strenuous in the least. It was a little slippery, but there were a lot of handles and stairs built especially for tourists and tours. The tour was a series of rooms with stalactites and stalagmites and underground lakes with the clearest water I've ever seen. It was hard to take photos since it was so dark, but Google it, it's worth a look. The last room you visit on the tour is called the 'Sala de los Desnudos' (the room of the naked people). Its famous because the formations look like naked (male) body parts.

The next stop was the Museo del Jamon (the Ham Museum). I think the name speaks for itself. The guide explained the process of feeding and caring for the pigs and why the ham tastes so good. I learned the words 'dehesa' (meadow) and that the pigs that eat acorns (bellotas), the most prized pigs, don't eat them all year round, they just eat them when they are in season.

Hams of the World

Ham stats. China has a lot of pigs.



Free Ham Sample!

After the ham appetizer, I headed out to find a restaurant recommended in a tour book. It wasn't supposed to be too far from the museum, just down the street. The streets were pretty empty because it was siesta/lunch time. The restaurants were open though and a few food shops. I found this one:

Mountain-Oak Cheeses

But found the place I was looking for near the Plaza Marqués.

The Plaza de Marqués.

The casino is straight ahead.

 And just to the left, in the direction of Portugal was the restaurant.

But I stopped to take a photo of this before I ate:

Iglesia Parroquial de Ntra. Sra. del Carmen (s. XVI)

The Rincón de Juan. (Juan's corner/nook).

The Rincón de Juan was the place I was looking for. It was packed for lunch, so I had to stand at the bar to eat. Even then, it was so busy it was hard to place an order but eventually I know I ordered some sort of pork, recommended by the bartender. The inside was a typical Spanish bar- small and decorated with tiles, wood and bricks.

Here's a photo from the Internet of the inside.

I wasn't particularly hungry, but there is a famous pastelería in Aracena that one of my Spanish friends told me I had to visit. It is called Confitería Rufino. So I sat in the plaza and waited for it to open after lunch/siesta time. It is my opinion that the Spanish are not really good at desserts, but I wasn't opposed to trying them anyway. I got an assortment of a few things. The store's selections were all bite-sized and most were filled with cream. I got something that reminded me of a cinnamon roll, something with 'yema' (egg yolk) and something with chocolate. They wrapped them up in nice paper and I took them to go!

This was the part of Aracena that I really liked. I had a few extra hours and I hadn't seen the part of the city at the top of the hill, so I climbed the hill. I ran into some traffic on the way up:

The view from the hill was amazing. The sun, clouds and blue sky were absolutely perfect. At the top is a 13th century Gothic church next to a castle. Underneath is the cave I toured earlier. The website said the hours of the church were 10-6, every day and they didn't close for lunch. It was closed when I got there though (no, it wasn't 6 yet). I think it was because it was a holiday weekend. I didn't see any signs though, which is normal. I guess Spaniards just know when things will be open and the outsiders just don't. It didn't matter though. The view from the top alone was worth the trip up.

This is what's at the top:
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Castillo

I wandered back down to the city, but still nothing was open and I didn't have anything else on my list of things in Aracena to see. So I found a plaza near the bus station and I sat and rested and enjoyed a view of Spanish life. There were a couple of adults sitting on a bench talking while their kids played in the plaza (I assume they were playing soccer, because that's what most kids do in the plaza, but I can't remember exactly). There was also a dog I assumed was theirs. He came up to me with a rock in his mouth and placed it at my feet. I kicked it. He ran and got it and brought it back to me. I kicked it again and he once again retrieved it. This went on for a few minutes until I got bored with it. He did not. He started to whimper because I stopped playing fetch with him. I kicked it again, but decided that was the last time. I got up and made my way toward the bus station. As I did one of the kids playing in the plaza shouted 'Adios' to me.