Marvelousness in Aracena

After midterm week, catching a nasty cold and feeling miserable, and a busy two days in Granada, it was time to go to Aracena. Another early, busy day was in store. When I woke up, I was almost tempted to just go back to sleep and skip the trip. But my need for travel beat out my need for rest. Soooooo, off to Aracena we went. I didn't really know what to expect, but knew that Aracena was a small town and that we were stopping at the Río Tinto (a river) on the way. We had been to Río Odiel, which is supposed to be similar, so I wasn't too excited about that but figured it would be fun to see. Our first stop was at the Río Tinto Museum...which was basically a bunch of rocks and some water bottled from the river for sale (the water is red, hence the name). The cafe was closed (but fortunately the bathrooms were not...a potty break is greatly appreciated after being on a bus for a while), so we got some hot chocolate from a little machine, which was actually pretty good. We sat around for a while and then it was time to leave. Not a great start to the trip. If this was the start, I was really hoping things would get better.

After the museum (where we picked up our guide), we headed to the mine. We had a short hike uphill to the lookout point. The water was red. I don't know why I was so surprised, but it is really red. We learned a little more about the river (like the fact that the water is actually not red because of pollution from the mine, but has been that way for "millions" of years, before the mining started in that area. And about how it is red because of the microscopic creatures that live in the water and process the mineral deposits in the water. And how about 15 feet down, the water is perfectly clear, it's only red on the top) and gazed at the alien-ness of it. Then it was down to the tunnel....if you've never been in a mining tunnel before...it's scary. Especially after the Chile disaster. They gave us hard hats, locked us in, and took us to the end of the tunnel. Every so often it is reinforced with metal bars and logs. Otherwise its just a good-ole tunnel. We made it to the end (it wasn't really very far...but still spooky) and got an up-close look at the water.







Then it was off to Aracena. The drive from the mine to the town was quite lovely. It was probably about a 45 minute drive full of beautiful green hills and pastures. There are these trees here that just amaze me. From a distance, it's like you're looking at a painting. These trees are just too perfect to be real. You know how when you first learn to draw trees when you are little, you draw a brown trunk and a bright green, round top? That's what these trees look like. It's like a child drew a forest and plunked it on the hills of Andalucía. They are this bright yet pale green color. Perfectly round. Its like a forest of green clouds or something. Sounds weird, but they just fascinate me.

This photo is actually from the hike at Río Odiel...but it's the same trees.
Although they don't look nearly as cool in the photo...

Anyway, after admiring the trees, pigs and cows, we finally arrived in Aracena. This little town is known for it's ham. And they are dang proud of it. (The "iberic ham" in this area is famous because the hogs feed on acorns. So the meat has a distinct taste. I think that's right anyway. That's what I remember hearing and I'm too lazy to research it!) There are a million restaurants all advertising their pork dishes. There are signs and statues referring to and portraying the pride of Aracena. So when we went to get lunch, we of course had to try some. We had bocadillos from our señoras, but you're only in ham-town once, so we ditched the sandwiches (mine was tuna and tomato (yum) on super soggy bread (gross)...not too sad to get rid of it). We found a good restaurant and checked out the menu. I don't really know much about pork or butchering, so I don't know what the parts of the animal are called. So we relied on our paparazzi friends to tell us what we were ordering. Sofie and I ordered "carne con tomate" (pork in a tomatoe/pepper sauce) which was delicious. We also ordered "pluma" which is....some part of the pork. I don't know, but it was AMAZING. So tender and delicious. I think I could have eaten that whole pig it was so good. (If anyone knows what part the "pluma" is, and it turns out to be like intestine or brain or something, please refrain from disclosing that information). We also ordered just plain "jamón" or ham, but they took to long and we didn't get it before we left :(




Our next stop was the "Gruta de Maravillas" or Grotto of...Marvelousness... (I don't know how else to translate that). This is Aracena's main attraction and is basically a giant cave. We walked in with a tour guide and a few other people. No pictures were allowed :( Although some in the group sneakily took some (and got yelled at), I was too chicken to try. Sooo no photos. Which is a shame because let me tell you, this place was incredible.

Walking around in Aracena all day, we had been pretty cold. But the minute we walked into the cave, we started peeling off our scarves and coats as it was drastically warmer than the outside air. As we got farther into the cave, we saw stalagmites and stalactites all around us. There was water dripping down and landing on our hands or faces. The little nooks and crannies inside were filled with little lights which illuminated all the corners of the cave. At one point, when we had traversed a bit farther into the belly of the cave, the colors and lighting changed. It was quite odd. To our right, the ground behind a guardrail had a blue-ish tint to it. I got closer and it looked like it was foggy in that area. There were some hazy areas, but the rest was just blue with white rocks. I looked at it for the longest time trying to figure out what my eyes were seeing. As I was about to move on, I realized that I could see a reflection of something in the blue area. What I was looking at was a pond inside the cave. The water was so perfectly clear that you could see all the way to the bottom and see every rock and speck of dust that was on the floor of the pond. There was some dust floating in a small area on the surface of the water, which had given it the appearance of fog. I didn't want to move! It was so beautiful and pristine and fascinating. This super-clear, amazingly clean, obviously cold, blue water that was covering stalagmites that had formed from drops of water carrying minerals and sediment to the bottom of this pond. It was one of the most beautiful things I think I've ever seen! But then we moved on, to another even bigger pond with the same crystal-clear water. Every once in a while a drop of water would fall into the pond create ripples across it. But other than that it was perfectly peaceful and completely still. I would have given anything to go swimming in it (although I'm sure it was freezing).

After admiring the beauty of this part of the cave, we headed to the "sala de los desnudos." The Naked Room. If you know what a stalactite is and match that with the word "naked," I'm sure you can imagine what this room looked like... I may have bought a postcard that I may or may not send to someone....let's see if they arrest me for sending inappropriate material through the postal system.

After the Naked Room, we were done with our tour of the cave and it was time to head back to Sevilla through the hills covered with child-painted forests, the fat and happy acorn-fed hogs and the happy frolicking cows and sheep. Aracena truly did have a Grotto of Marvelousness, even if that isn't a real word, and its definitely something I will never forget whether or not I have photos to remember it by.