Spanish Untour, Spring 1999
by Kathy Thompson , Santa Cruz, CA
Wrote this after a Spanish Untour. Fell in love with Spain, the people, and the concept of Untours.
Muy Tranquilo
When I recently signed up for an Untours vacation in a Spanish cortijo (remodeled and/or renovated farmhouse) in the province of Cordoba in Southern Spain, I had no idea what to expect. The brochures and web site made this trip sound very promising but who hasn't been stung by advertising hype?
I was in for the most pleasant surprise of my vacationing history. The house my three friends and I had the good fortune to be assigned was in a little-traveled area of Spain known as the Subbetica, in the town of Carcabuey, population 5000. The area is triangulated by the cities of Seville, Cordoba and Granada--all under a two hour drive away.
Upon arrival at the Malaga airport in southern Spain, we were greeted by a tour rep that took us to an appointed rendezvous to pick up our almost brand new rental car. From there we followed our landlords to our new home for the next two weeks. Based on Untour's description we knew the cortijo was in a remote location, but upon following the owners over narrow, winding roads and through the seemingly impossible maze of narrow cobblestone streets in Carcabuey, we figured we'd never find our way out without a guide dog. And still we continued to wind around on country roads to our final intersection that placed us on a dirt road with a small sign painted with "La Cubilla 1 kilometer". At last, we were nearing our destination.
The last kilometer was a doosey, up a steep one-lane road rutted from recent rains. That was only preparation for our last hurdle, a narrow patch of concrete over a culvert with a wicked right turn onto a steep, winding driveway. But, oh, was it worth it! Our house appeared ahead of us like a white dove sitting in a thicket of green, welcoming us, promising peaceful days and restful nights. It was a beautifully restored farmhouse belonging to Mercedes, our landlord. Her family had owned it and passed it down to her. She and her husband, Manuel, had updated it and joined in a local organization to rent it out as a guesthouse.
It was growing too dark by the time we arrived to fully appreciate the views so we dutifully followed Mercedes and her daughter, Mercedes (we called her Mercedes II) into the house for a tour and operating instructions. We walked into a large open room decorated with antiques and filled with lots of chairs of all sizes and shapes. The oversized dining table had a huge floral bouquet in a ceramic vase made from fresh cuttings from the garden, in honor of our arrival.
Our cortijo had five bedrooms, all good size and all with windows. There was one bedroom downstairs off the main room; the other four were upstairs. One was a bedroom suite decorated with antique ceramics, pictures and furniture. The floors throughout the house were brown tile. The kitchen was quite large and functional with a large open hearth fireplace dominating the room. We soon learned this was the communal meeting place to gather warmth while we waited for the house to heat up. One of the drawbacks to the home is that there was no central heating, but the only time this really mattered was when you first crawled out of bed on a chilly morning and hadn't stoked the fire yet. We were there in late March and the mornings still had a slight chill to them.
There were two bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. The water heater had to be turned on prior to taking our showers or washing the dishes so the first person out of bed each morning had to turn the water heater on and stoke the fire in the huge, walk-in kitchen fireplace. The stove was propane operated and electricity was provided by solar power. For Americans accustomed to instant everything, it took a couple of days to adjust to waiting for the water to heat for showers and the dim lighting at night from the solar powered light fixtures. Television was available but required we turn off everything else to use so we made a decision up front not to even fool with it. We didn't even miss it.
The showers also took some getting used to. Water pressure was decent but it was easier to hold the shower head over your body while you sponged down. Hair dryers, etc., at this particular cortijo were out; the solar power just couldn't handle the extra pull of current. Surprisingly this didn't turn out to be a major problem, we just used the heat from the fireplace to dry our hair. It turned out to be a nice ritual to sit in front of the fire and sip some hot tea and enjoy a morning conversation with whoever had come down to wake up by the warmth of the fire.
Mercedes and her daughter were delightful people that made us feel welcome right away. The younger Mercedes could speak enough English to get us started, along with our pooled knowledge of Spanish. Her Mother couldn't speak English but she made a point of speaking Spanish very slowly and enunciating her words carefully so we could understand her better with our limited vocabularies. They made up our beds after we sorted out who was staying in which room. When they left, the silence descended and all you could hear was the crackling of the fire and an occasional yawn as we fell promptly into bed after a long journey from the States. Already we began to feel the magical atmosphere of the place that Mercedes said was "muy tranquilo", very peaceful.
No hyped up advertising brochure could have prepared us for our first morning. Shortly before dawn, the song of countless birds woke us out of our pre-dawn reverie and looking out the window prompted more than one, "Oh my God, would you look at that view!". By daylight we could now see our house was perched on a hillside in the middle of dense olive groves with a view out across the valley that was to die for. The distant hills were speckled with the green and brown patchwork of olive groves punctuated by mountains reaching upward into blue skies with puffy white clouds; just what the brochures would have ordered. It was exquisite.
Staying put for two weeks in one place was a positive aspect as well. It made us feel more rooted and we soon came to crave the beauty and tranquillity of our surroundings after a long day of sightseeing. We'd often come back in time to catch the sunset from our patio or hike the hills listening to the multitude of birds (this is a veritable paradise for bird watchers), and smelling the sweet smells of wild mustard and clover that was growing wherever it could gain a toehold.
The cortijo was convenient to sightseeing. The road in and out soon became second nature and the maze of Carcabuey was solved. The major historical sights of Seville, Cordoba, and Granada are all two or less hours away. We decided to spend a night in Seville but they are all easy day trips. The small towns of the region rapidly became our favorite haunts. They are filled with history and color and provided plenty to see and do, all without the crush of fellow tourists. It was a pleasure to roam the streets of Priego de Cordoba, Cabra and Carcabuey shopping the markets, exploring the history, marveling at the narrow winding streets and delighting in each new discovery--a bakery here, another restaurant there, a fish market with fish so fresh it looks like it could swim away.
But perhaps the biggest and best asset to staying in a cortijo was the owners. They opened up their home in Carcabuey to us, inviting us down for a dinner (afternoon meal) of tapas on the patio and then a delicious paella dinner in the dining room. Spaniards don't normally do coffee in the home so we went out for a coffee at the local bakery in Carcabuey, Manuel treating us all. Afterwards he took us on a tour of the town while Mercedes and her daughter left to take part in a Holy Week (Semana Santa) procession.
When the procession was ready to begin, Manuel made sure he took us to the best vantage points to view it as it wound its way through the town, departing from the church and then returning three hours later. It was an outstanding day that made us feel like part of their family as well as giving us a real insider's look into the town of Carcabuey. Cortijos may not be for everyone but for those looking for a comfortable place to put down roots for a few weeks while they explore a region, it's the only way to go. Ours will always be fondly remembered for the exquisite scenery, the peaceful serenity and the wonderful people we came to know. It was indeed "muy tranquilo".