Walking through rural Andalucia
This is a photo taken in May 2009 on our Andalucia Inn to Inn walking holiday.
This scene looks almost exactly like a print of Sancho Panza I have in an early edition Don Quixote. I just love the fact that you can still see this stuff in 21st Century Europe.
The old boy on his mule checking in on his ‘dehesa’ or woodland. Most probably looking after his pigs which roam freely through the hillsides, feeding on a diet of acorns, grass and wild flowers. Ever wonder why the ham from this area tastes so good? Now you know. This area produces some of the most highly prized hams in Spain.
This was taken up in the Aracena hills/Picos de Aroche which is to the west/north west of Seville. Basically half way between Seville and the Portuguese border, the place where Extremadura meets Andalucia.
It is a hilly to mountainous landscape, largely wooded, punctuated by the occasional whitewashed, cobbled village. Not touristy, Costa del Sol whitewashed villages but places where some people still wash clothes in the village spring. Villages where people sit out in the evening to watch everyone else watching the world go by. It’s a world away from the bustle of everyday.
If you go in spring, anytime from March through June really, the chances are that you’ll be treated to meadows full of flowers or orange trees covered in blossom making every village smell spectacular.
This is where I’d like to be today…walking along a shaded path with the smell of wild flowers in the air, heading towards a cold beer in the village square with a plate of thinly sliced bellota ham.
Read more about this walking holiday to Andalucia