Drove about an hour and a half northwest ish this morning to a very different area of Andalucia.
The air is cooler and the landscape full of cork oaks, chestnut and olive trees.
As we came into Aracena, we were surprised at the amount of people here and wondered what the big attraction was. Even the big carpark had a ‘full’ sign up, but luckily for us there were still dedicated motorhome spaces so the nice policeman moved the barrier for us.
Set off for a little wander around the town only to find three big tents full of people just outside the carpark – there’s a ham and Ibérico pork festival on!
So many people…it could have been the beer tent at Moorgreen Show! Everyone dressed up for a day out and queueing up for a plate of the best ham and cheese. Behind the counter, men carved furiously to keep up with the demand.
Of course, we had to try it, so fought our way through the crowds for our very own paper plate and a beer and some red wine. Stood outside in the sun at one of their ‘stand up tables’ …it was delicious!
Afterwards, we walked through to the next tent, where people were sat at tables, tucking in to the same thing. Up on stage, five or six men carving like mad in competition with each other – even a compère to egg them on.
During the time that we walked up to and around the castle, they continued, and it was only just nearing the end when we returned!
The men looked exhausted and we think the game was, who could carve the whole ham fastest. But, of course, they must be wafer thin slices!
Passing what I thought was a churros van, I was thinking ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’ when we suddenly realised they were pork scratchings. Guy had purchased a box full before I realised what was happening. Very different to any pork scratching I’ve ever had in the past! For one thing, they were red hot and quite surprisingly, tasted of pork.
We came back to the van for coffee and returned in the early evening. The town is still busy, but everything is being packed away and no doubt the street sweepers will be around in the next hour. We love Spain!
