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Things to do in southern Spain: Wine tasting, explore picturesque village of Mijas
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Mijas is one of those picturesque places that makes people want to go there after only looking at pictures of it. (thejakartapost.com/Keshie Hernitaningtyas)
T
his third part of "What to do in southern Spain" recommends other interesting activities such as sipping local wine and discovering its long history or exploring the white and pretty village of Mijas, which said to have the most scenic road in the region.
7. Savor gastronomic culture
The Colon and Central markets are arguably Valencia's most recommended spots for gastronomic pleasures with Mediterranean-influenced Valencian cuisine as their focal point. While visiting the Central Market, try the city’s traditional cold summertime beverage, horchata, made of tigernuts, sugar and water, and ideally enjoyed with long pastry sticks called farton.
Learning to cook paella, one of Spain’s most famous traditional dishes, at the Escuela de Arroces y Paella Valenciana in Valencia can provide a unique yet fun experience while you are in town. Opt for the morning course since it includes shopping at the traditional market for locally grown ingredients, including Valencia rice, chicken, rabbit, snails, beans, tomato, saffron, olive oil and garlic. According to chef Benedicto, back in the day, locals usually put various other meats into the dish, including eel and frogs. But since Paella became more and more popular, it was agreed that only chicken, rabbit and snails should be considered part of the traditional version.
8. Sip local wine
In Málaga, wine enthusiasts can drop by the Museum of Wine Malaga, which houses over 400 lithography and antique collections, allowing visitors to travel through the ancient traditions of the Malacitans and their cellars during the 19th and 20th century. And, of course, taste wine.
The history of Malaga wine dates back to 600 BC when the Greeks , who settled in Malaga, began to teach the natives to prune vines. During the Arab rule, there was harsh conflict since the Koran forbids the consumption of alcohol, but little by little the strict punishments were substituted by fines (garimas) which progressively became taxes (gabalas) paid by the wine sellers and eventually constituted one of the states’ most important resources.
There are two main categories of Malaga wine: naturally sweet wines and liquor wines. The production of the former takes place when the grape is overripe, as is the case with Moscatel and Pero Ximen. It is made with no artificial alcohol as it is obtained entirely from the fermentation of the grapes. Meanwhile, the Liquor Wines are dry, semidry and sweet and are all made with the addition of extra alcohol.
According to the information provided at the museum, the characteristic sweetness of Malaga wine is due to a traditional technique called asoleo, which consists of spreading out the grape bunches in the sun in containers called paseros. The bunches are periodically turned to ensure uniform exposure to the sun and are protected at night by a canvas to avoid the effects of the morning frost. The duration of this technique varies according to the wine being made, but it could last as long as 12 days.
9. Get sporty
For sports fans, there are at least two destinations to visit in Valencia as it is home to the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, which has been chosen year after year to host the final race of the MotoGP championship, and also the Mestalla Stadium, inaugurated in 1923 as the headquarters of the Valencia Club de Fútbol.
The stadium, set to be modernized in 2019, is reportedly the country’s third-most visited stadium after the Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabeu stadiums. “One of the highlights of the stadium is that fans are able to get really close to the field, since there are no running tracks surrounding it,” said tour guide Paula. She added that the stadium’s unique design created an amazing atmosphere of sounds from the spectators that put pressure on the opponents.
10. Marvel at a picturesque village
Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs were only some of the civilizations that left their fingerprints in Mijas throughout 3000 years, making it home to Roman villas and watch towers, churches and shrines, 450 meters above sea level.
Said to be designed by a Muslim architect, the Spanish village and its laidback residents, only around 6,000 people, used to rely on agriculture but now heavily focus on tourism as their main income. In the early 1960s, workers usually returned home on their donkeys and were often stopped by visitors to take photos and get a ride. The tips given by the tourists were more than a day’s pay. Thus a new service began: Donkey taxi services, an institution now with over 60 Donkey taxis available and a main tourist attraction in Mijas.
Blessed with breathtaking scenery of whitewashed streets with their nooks and crannies, the patios and hermitages, sheltered by the mountain range and looking out toward the countryside and the sea, Mijas is one of those places that requires only one glance at a picture of to get the urge to visit. It indeed, as our tour guide Andrea said, has the most scenic road in southern Spain.
Explore other recommended adventures in southern Spain in the first and second articles.
Things to do in southern Spain: Explore heritage sites, tour olive oil farms
Things to do in southern Spain: Stay in Renaissance hotel, hop around museums
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