Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Our day began in Arcos de la Frontera at La Casa de Bovedas, a quaint bed & breakfast we stayed at last night. A table set for breakfast was waiting for our family this morning in a sitting room overlooking Lake Arcos. Andi chatted with the owner of the b&b before we ate our meal. She is originally from Buenos Aires, but has lived in Spain for the past 25 years. She got teary-eyed when Andi told her our family traveled for three months in Argentina last year. This woman was one of those kindred spirits we sometime meet who just “gets” our dream to experience the world and teach our kids through travel.

For breakfast, we ate a typical Spanish breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and toast with various spreads. The Spanish often eat their toast with grated tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt, which is the way I ate my breakfast today. There was also fruited jam and butter on the table.

Tory brought the box of nun cookies we purchased from the convent yesterday to pair with our coffee and hot chocolate. Boy, was that a perfect combo! Flaky, crumbly layers of cookie goodness covered in powdered sugar was delicious with a hot cup of coffee.

After breakfast, Aden serenaded us with the first few lines of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on the guitar. He only knows how to play the ukulele, so I was really impressed how he was able to pick up this guitar and play a song. I know nothing about reading music, so I’m always amazed when he talks in a language of notes and chords.

As we were checking out of La Casa de Bovedas, the owner presented Andi with a painted ceramic heart. “I make these and give them to my special guests,” she said. “I want your family to have one.” Andi thanked her, and told her we’d hang it on our tree at Christmastime to remember our stay in Arcos de la Frontera. Typically, we always collect an ornament during our travels, and this heart will be a perfect addition.

Southern Spain is dotted with white villages called Pueblos Blancos. Originally, buildings were painted white to keep them cool in the scorching summer sun, but now the color sets apart the series of rural Andalusia towns as a unique attraction in the country. Our first stop after Seville had been Arcos de la Frontera, and now today we planned to travel through Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park to reach the village of Setenil de las Bodegas. Andi gave his usual warning of, “It’s going to get twisty, kids!” as we pulled out of the parking garage on the outskirts of Arcos de la Frontera. “Ahh, why do we have to drive through the mountains?” both Tory and Aden whined. Because they’re beautiful, that’s why.

I forgot to mention that we had to walk with our bags from our b&b to the parking garage on the outskirts of town. Cars aren’t allowed inside Arcos de la Frontera because the roads are so narrow, and since the town is built on a hill, it means you’re getting a workout wherever you go. Our sweet b&b host made it sound so simple as she explained the best way to reach the parking garage. (We’d gotten lost yesterday wandering through the maze of streets to find our accommodations). “It’s easy,” she said, “Just go up this hill, turn right and follow the road through town.”

Walking all these steep hills has not been easy on Andi’s sensitive stomach. By the time we reached the parking garage this morning he asked me to settle up the parking fee while he threw up in the disgustingly dirty parking garage bathroom. Overall, he’s feeling a lot better than he had been the past couple of weeks, but the smallest things trigger his stomach cramping like saucy foods or physically pushing his body too hard.

Puke and rally, as Andi so often does! From Arcos de la Frontera, we drove an hour through Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, stopping at a few overlooks along the way. The scenery was breathtaking as we winded along the narrow mountain road. There’s quite a few hiking trails in this area and we saw several cars parking on the side of the road where people began walking. Andi wasn’t in a condition today for walking around, so the four of us simply enjoyed driving through nature — always our happiest in the countryside.

About an hour from Arcos de la Frontera, we stopped for a break in the white town of Grazalema. I lost count how many “oohs, ahhs, and wows!” we said as we drove into this picturesque village. There was a big parking lot in the town center, so Andi and I decided this was a good place to stop and walk around. Several people were seated at patio tables outside one of the restaurants.

Unfortunately, our visit to Grazalema was short-lived. Tory, Aden, and I waited in the center courtyard while Andi went inside the restaurant to use the bathroom. Tory and Aden were goofing around together, as they usually do. Their new favorite thing is for Aden to give Tory piggy-back rides even though both kids are about the same size and her feet nearly touch the ground. Aden was wearing Crocs today, and tripped on the cobblestone street, falling forward with Tory on his back. They both crashed to the ground and Tory burst into tears. I should have comforted the kids, but instead scolded them for messing around. This made Tory mad and she stormed off toward the car. Aden sat down on a stone step, and sulked as he rubbed the palms of his hands. When Andi returned from the bathroom, he looked at me and asked, “What happened?” Our moods had quickly changed in the span of 10 minutes.

From Grazalema, we ventured onward to the pueblo blanco of Setenil de las Bodegas. Andi booked us one night’s stay at an airbnb house built into a cave. We were all excited to see this place. When we arrived into town, we made a pass along the main road to look for parking, but didn’t find any available spots. As is the theme in these southern Spanish towns, it looked like we’d be parking our car on the outskirts of town and walking with our bags to our accommodation.

These views though! How could we be mad about it? At least the hills in Setenil de las Bodegas weren’t as steep as the had been in Arcos de la Frontera.

Our airbnb was so, so cool! This place had three bedrooms, and it was Aden’s turn to pick rooms. He chose to have the upstairs bedroom with a full-size bed and access to a rooftop patio. Tory got her own bedroom as well with a twin-size bed, and Andi and I shared the third bedroom. What a great use of space this small house made with every inch devoted to a function of living. It looked as if the airbnb had recently been renovated, and the owners did an excellent job of incorporating the cave wall into the design.

Andi had to work this afternoon, so we quickly dropped our bags off and walked down the street to a restaurant called El Patio de Maria Teresa for lunch. The afternoon temperature was a comfortable 65° F and sunny, so we sat outside and enjoyed our meal of ham croquettes, grilled Iberian pork with french fries, and beef cheeks with potato wedges. Still don’t understand the tiny, terribly-dry, tasting breadsticks in a bag that restaurants serve in Spain, but we also ate those, too.

For the remainder of the afternoon, Andi took work calls in the living room of our airbnb while Tory, Aden, and I did school work in the master bedroom. Both kids did a great job getting their school work completed without any complaints.

Tory and Aden wanted some chill time this evening, and could not be persuaded to walk through the hilly streets of Setenil de las Bodegas. Andi and I went for a walk together instead, admiring every single beautiful view. We only saw one other couple out strolling together as we walked along. I appreciated all the Pueblos Blancos signage posted on buildings explaining historical points and facts about the town. One sign said archeological artifacts found in Setenil de las Bodegas prove people have inhabited these caves for the past 25,000 years.

Dozens of orange trees added color to the town —

The grandest view in all of Setenil de las Bodegas is the street where a cliff hangs over the white buildings. Patio tables were set up outside one of the restaurants giving the true sense of eating in a cave. There’s enough businesses here to signal this town must get busy with tourists during high-season, but today Andi and I had the streets to ourselves. It was peaceful and idyllic.

We stopped at a small grocery store to buy gnocchi, tomato sauce, and soup for dinner. I was still full from our late lunch, but Andi and the kids ate a simple dinner together at our airbnb.

Tomorrow, we’ll say good-bye to Setenil de las Bodegas and conclude our circle tour of southern Spain’s Pueblos Blancos. By tomorrow evening, we’ll be back in Portugal.