A couple of weeks ago I was out in Spain with my travelling companion Bettina. We are both feeling poorer than we have previously but wanted some sun, something a bit different and a bit of exercise. Bettina can always be relied on to find a bargain, sometimes to the detriment of having a good time, but this time she came up trumps!
We went on a 3 day break with Inntravel, a company I hadn’t heard of before. However all the people we met while we were away on similar packages have sworn allegiance – many return to Inn Travel again and again – so they are doing something right.
We flew to Malaga individually, as I left from Exeter and B from London, met and moved onto Seville by train. Our first evening was in a smallish hotel (that we had booked) in town, but we were able to wander around until fairly late and get going on Tapas – which along with coffee kept us fuelled throughout the trip.
Seville
Day 2 we got ourselves to the train station and picked up our car, part of the deal, a Seat Leon (diesel). We made our way out of Seville, following the excellent directions supplied by Inn Travel to Alajar and the Poseida de Alagar (full trip here). The room was clean and adequate but would not have been great if I had been planning a luxurious break away, but that was not the purpose. Excellent ,meal on the first night, as part of the package and breakfast everyday was also provided.
Alajar
We walked for two days, one day out of Alajar on a circuit taking us into the hills, around the red cork oaks and through pig territory and then back to the village. I was very taken with the area. Maybe the warmth at this time of year, but the food was marvellous, an area where people are concerned about the provenance of food. Having seen the pigs we felt we ought to see the museum of the ham – we possibly lost a bit in the translation, but it was still an interesting place, We were delighted with the smellorama which gave us the scent of the hams drying. After 3 days we could smell it on the air, not to mention seeing pig legs (with hooves still attached, and daintily painted in gothic black) in every hotel, bar, shop, meal….
Pigs snuffling for acorns
Our second walk was around Almonaster an intriguing town with a Islamic past, still evident in the church which was converted from a mosque, next to it the towns bullring.Our route back to Seville took us via a lovely last meal, shopping for treats to return with and wonderful Show caves in Alajar.
Almonaster
A few days more would have been lovely to fully relax, I would certainly go back, an unusual situation for me who rarely wants to return, but I think the full blast of summers sun would be too much. I would love to see the olive season and the chestnut season and there are bound to be fabulous foods around during the citrus season.
Have a look for more photos in Spain Oct 2008