Monday, October 10 "Fall, Aracena and Jabugo"

As the warm weather comes to an end and the rain begins the Sierras de Aracena seemed to be calling me. So we happily tagged along with family for a short trip to Aracena and Jabugo on a rainy Sunday afternoon. All of the towns around this area have their charm, but Jabugo’s one charm is Bodega Restaurante Jabugo (tel: 959 121 596. Here you will find some of the finest meats, all from the pig. Take your pick of cured meats, or chacina – jamón Serrano, chorizo, morcilla, caña de lomo, salchichón, cabeza de lomo – or grilled meats– presa, pluma, secreto, solomillo – and you will be certain to enjoy. The restaurant is located on the main street of “downtown” Jabugo. Afterwards if you liked what you ate you can purchase something to take home just down the street at their store. More info can be found (in Spanish) here: www.dejabugolacanadasl.com. Don’t forget to stop and see the statue in honor of the men behind the production of jamón. And no, I am not getting paid for this advertisement!

After lunch and a shot of orujo to aid digestion we headed back to Aracena for a view from Knight’s Templar Church and castle overlooking the town. Orujo is a wonderful liqueur for consuming after a large meal. Not only does it help with digestions but it puts some legs under you so you can walk around. Just make sure you are not too far from coffee in the next two hours - you'll need it. On a rainy day don’t expect to see much in the church, which has limited lighting. But the view over the town was nice and the rain not too heavy. We made our way down the hill and walked around, occasionally looking inside a ceramics shop in search of a gazpacho set (large bowl with several smaller serving bowls). While there is plenty to see and pick up (making the store owners nervous) we didn’t find anything we wanted to bring home. The style we were looking for was declared to be “not from Aracena”, although we know it was. We must return to find more shops. We made our way out of the shops and parked along the main plaza for coffee. While coffee was being ordered we waited in line at Confiteria Rufino, famous for it’s pastries as well as the long lines on Sunday. After 20 minutes we left with two boxes – one for now and another to take home to family. Along the ride back we took in the scenery: cork trees painted red where the bark (or cork) had been stripped, plenty of sheep and the occasional pack of black pigs eating acorns. We arrived to Seville with more rain around 9pm, happy to have spent the day outside the city.