View from the top of the Baeza Cathedral of the Olive groves as far as can be seen.
We left Malaga headed back to Madrid with one more stop in mind. Little did we know that for several reasons it would be one of the most profound of our trip.
More olive groves around Beaza.
We left the coastal Malaga province of Andalusia that had a warm sub-tropical climate headed for Jaen (pronouned Hayen). The Autoroute climbed up into mountains driving past Cordoba to the town of Baeza (pronounced Baytha) to our hotel. Our mission was to visit the Olive Oil farm that produces the olive oil we have purchased in Annapolis and enjoyed for many years.
The street by our hotel In Baeza
The street side of our hotel. The building with the large brown door and the brown stone facade.
Back in July when we were shopping at the Seasons Tap Room in Annapolis,MD we had the opportunity to meet one of the family members that owns the enterprise. She and her husband run the regional chain of olive oil and balsamic vinegar stores that provide premium olive oil and balsamic
Checking in to our room in Baeza with our wonderful hostess. (Note the ceiling) (More about our hotel Appendix 1)
vinegar that we used for years before we moved aboard and now stock up with to bring to the boat when we can. The stores and the olive oil production are owned by her family and her brother, Andres, runs the olive oil production in Jaen.
The courtyard dining room of the palace that has been covered over with glass to improve the inside climate. All the rooms faced the courtyard.
For all of our driving around Spain we used the app WAZE to help navigate driving and we couldn't have done without it. The computer pronunciation of Spanish names was confusing as they mangled the pronunciation confounding us about the route we were seeking. But, it got us from Malaga to Baeza. However, driving through the narrow winding streets in Baeza it took us out onto a pedestrian way to our hotel.
Downtown Ubida
Ignorant of the driving restrictions we parked in front of the hotel and asked if we could unload and we met the manager of the hotel who was charming and amazing assuring us we could unload there and she helped to carry our bags into the hotel and then explained where we could park. The hotel was recommended to us by Soraya Aguilar when she coordinated our visit to their family farm.
The Village Square in Ubida
Our hotel was a palace from the sixteenth century that had been converted to a hotel. The rooms were furnished with artifacts that looked like they belonged in a museum but it was all very exotic with no windows but had a hot tub. When we left our room to go to lunch a local tour group had entered the hotel because it was indeed a historic and beautiful property. The courtyard had a ceiling installed over it to be used as a restaurant but the rest of the palace was intact.
Entrance to the Sinagoga del Agua ( more pics of the Synagogue in Appendix 2)
After a lunch we drove over to Jaen to the olive oil factory and met Andres Aguilar who ran the production he took us through the facility to see the production process. Monday when we got there no production was occurring because it had rained early in the day and they don't harvest olives in the rain.
A medieval street in Ubida.
To harvest olives the workers lay tarps under the tree and then shake it with an attachment on a tractor. When it rains they get too much water on the fruit and in the tarp. When they collect the tarps they are dumped into a truck which takes the produce to the plant. At the plant the rendering goes through several stages where the excess debris like leaves, twigs and sticks are removed leaving simply the olives to go into the crusher. After the crusher the seeds are extracted and the olives are converted to a paste. They then go through several centrifuges and filters where the liquid is extracted. The liquid then goes through several oil water separators and filters as it refines its way to pure oil. During the process the temperature is controlled.
A semi=trailer backs up to dump it's load of olives into the sorting bin. (More pics of the mill in Appendix 3)
The next day we returned and saw the process in operation. We got to taste the oil at different levels of refinement and what a difference made by the refinement. The Aguilar farm has laboratory staff on site with technicians that constantly test the product for purity. Real olive oil is clearly distinguishable by its taste.
The paste after the olives have been pitted that serves as the basis for the oil. See more of the process in Appendix 3.
What a great experience to watch truly high-quality olive oil being made. Andres even gave us a liter of the oil to bring home with us. We recently finished it savoring the richness of the oil with high quality bread.. The taste is wonderful and raises gastronomic pleasure compared to what often passes as quality olive oil by most sellers.
The next step as the liquid comes from the paste.
While that was clearly a highlight of our trip to Spain we were overwhelmed by the other treasures we discovered in this region.
Andres suggested that in our travels we visited the town of Ubida that was not far and actually joined with Baeza.
Ubida and Baeza are both ancient towns dating back to pre-Roman times and survived through the Moorish conquest and then the reconquest. We got to Ubida late in the day so we walked around but found one incredible historic site.
Andres Aguilar proprietor and manager of the Fabrica.
Linda found online that there was an underground Synagogue that still had a tour time we could take. The synagogue dates back to the time of the Moorish occupation and then the subsequent inquisition. The synagogue was only discovered about a decade ago when excavations were done for a renovation of the property occupying the site. After extensive archeological excavations the synagogue was found intact with ancient relics in excellent condition. The site included a mikvah bath, a rabbi's home and a kitchen equipped for kosher and non-kosher cooking. The site appears to have been deliberately filled with dirt to prevent discovery with the expectation the Jews would eventually return and resume use of the Temple.
A taste of the almost final product. What an incredible sensation!
The final product. The big empty one (1L) is what we got at the mill and the small (.5L) we bought in Annapolis.
The next morning after having the typical breakfast at our hotel we visited the Baeza cathedral. What an amazing project that took hundreds of years to build. The building and the history is truly awesome. Like the cathedral in Malaga the construction reflected different styles based on the period of construction and impacts from the Moors controlling the region for centuries.
Side view of the Baeza Cathedral. overlooking Plaza Santa Maria. (More cathedral pics in Appendix 4)
The belltower of the Cathedral provided a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside that is adorned as far as can be seen with olive trees. From the time we left Malaga until just before arriving back in Madrid the countryside was covered with olive trees. According to the UN ag organization Spain is responsible for more than half the total olive oil production in the world. Italy and Greece along with the other leading producers combined provide less than Spain.
The main basilica of the Baeza Cathedral.
So after our remarkable visit to the olive oil farm, Baeza and Ubida we headed back to Madrid to prepare for our flight back to Guatemala. But just before we hit the highway we discovered that contrary to our belief, we were not leaving the next day but had one more day to spend in country. Had we realized that before we checked out we would have gladly spent it in Baeza, but we headed on to Madrid for one final day there.
A sculpture of solid silver and gold in the Baeza Cathedral that took the artist his entire life to finish.
As much as we loved cities like Barcelona and Malaga these little towns of Baeza and Ubida presented a totally different kind of charm that called to us to spend more time there. These towns since they were spared the destruction from World War 2, unlike much of France, Italy and Germany still have streetscapes that are much as they have been for 1,000 years.
The village and olive groves beyond from the bell tower of the Cathedral.
With our extra day we visited the Museo de Regina Sofia which is the other premier art museum in Madrid and houses Picasso's famous work "Guernaca." So along with the other fabulous works in the Sofia we did see "Guernaca" which depicted suffering from bombing of the town of Guernaca during the Spanish Civil War. A truly seminal work and recognized as such.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(Picasso)
The entrance to the Queen Sophia Museum.
After our last day in Spain and filling up our wine cases we retired and readied ourselves for our trip back to Guatemala.
What a truly wonderful experience flying from Guatemala to Madrid and the touring Spain before flying back to Guatemala. We returned to the Rio to get ready to leave for Panama. After lots of work we did. We are now in Panama but, still enjoying the Spanish wines we brought back and now considering another trip in the future to Iberia.
Appendices
Appendix 1 Our Hotel.
Appendix 2 El Sinagogue de Agua
Appendix 3 Making Olive Oil
Appendix 4 The Cathedral
Appendix 1 Our Hotel a 16th Century Palace
Appendix 2 - El Sinagogue de Agua (The Water Synagogue)
Our tour guide explains the design and artifacts in the entrance to the Synagogue.
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Another of the wells.
Stairway to the Mikvah
The spring-fed Mikvah.
The outside of the building over the Synagogue.
Appendix 3 - Making Olive Oil
Collections from the olive groves come in by truck and dumped into the sorting process.
The product from the groves.
After the sorting the olives head off to grinding
The olives are pitted and ground into paste.
The solids are removed and the heavy product goes through a multi-step process to remove water. This entire process is done cold and in a climate controlled environment.
After going through several centrifuges to drive off water and several oil-water separator stages the oil is collected. All along the process technicians and quality control analysts monitor the purity of the oil.
Pallets of bulk oil to be shipped to the US for bottling. The oil is made in Spain but bottled in the US then sold at Season's Tap Rooms in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The liter of oil we brought back with us was probably the finest olive oil we've ever tasted. It was made while we were there.
Appendix 4 - The Baeza Cathedral
The street headed to the Cathedral. The bell tower is in the distance.
