When people say that there’s nothing in Extremadura besides deserts and pueblos, from my experience they’re not too far off. However, most seem to leave out how devastatingly peaceful and beautiful the style of life, landscape, and history, the region has to offer. This past week my host family took me along with them to their family’s home in Ceclavín, Extremadura. With a population of under 2,000 people — most of whom do not live there full time —, it was a truly authentic small-town Spanish experience for me. Before making this trip, Extremadura wasn’t really on the radar for me and I never thought that I would ever spend more than a week there. Nevertheless, the people I met and experiences had in and around this idyllic pueblo was something that left me wanting to stay behind for more. Everyone I met was very welcoming to an obvious outsider in their small town and they taught me so much during my stay. From cooking to sightseeing, it was a perfect way to spend our holiday. I did have to work during the week, but the change of scenery was worth the move. So here it is, my week in Ceclavín!
Arriving at the pueblo of Ceclavín on the 10th, I soon found myself welcomed with open arms into their family’s home. The house, although seemingly a small apartment from the outside was ginormous! The grounds had been in my host mom’s family for more than 200 years and had been around long before that. There were countless bedrooms, kitchens, salons, and bathrooms — the running joke was how newcomers were constantly becoming lost in the labyrinth of rooms. In between the two buildings of the property — which were once connected by a building which had fallen down — there is now a large patio with orange, lemon, and limes trees, as well as a swimming pool. I had a room to myself facing the street with dark stained beams above my head. Littered with old photos, documents, and furniture, their family had collected over generations, this place made me feel as though I had stepped back in time or into an antique store.
Over the course of the week, I grew close to many of their 17 family members who were also staying with us…and spoke A LOT of Spanish! I learned a lot about their family, traditions, and about the region we were in. I was also taught how to prepare a couple very traditional Spanish dishes: Arroz Española and Caldereta! If you want to learn how to make this recipes along with more pictures of the process, check out this post:
In all, it was a wonderfully hot week where we spent most of our time attempting to stay cool, eating tasty food, and guzzling ice-cold local beer. While there was a lot of family-time involved in my stay, I also happened to stay quite busy during my time off! It just so happened that the week we arrived was also the pueblo’s celebration of their citizens, so everyone was in fiesta-mode. Traditionally, during the day there are musical charangas which march through the streets at 6am, two amateur bull fighting celebrations, as well as live music to cap off the night. Being that I had never seen a bull fight before, it was the perfect opportunity to do it right here in Ceclavín!
The main plaza of the small city was filled with dirt, stands erected, and cages put in place, a couple days prior to set the stage for events to come. The events, called a “Vaquilla”, allowed for locals — most of the time who were drunk 20 year olds — to test their bravery against young bulls. Although these bulls were much smaller than regular fights, that does not mean participants should get too comfortable! Twice a day, at both 7am and 7pm, locals attempted to taunt these bulls in order to show their skills at successfully dodging, touching, and even jumping them — that is if they made it past the horns! Once the young bulls had grown tired, a bigger bull was brought out to distract them so that professions could easily wrangle it back into its pen.
The events were very entertaining, and the charanga band played music throughout the celebrations. After a couple days of watching these Vaquillas, I can easily see the draw to big-time bullfights and the skill it takes to dominate such a powerful animal. However, unlike these real bullfights, during the Vaquillas participants did not abuse the animal physically. In that way, the pueblo’s celebrations were much less controversial and humane than I had expected. Nevertheless, I do wish to see a professional bullfight in the future, but I have yet to make up my mind on my level of support for the sport. Either way, my time celebrating, cheering, and sometimes gasping, along with the crowds was such a fun and exciting to have had.
¡Viva La Vaquilla!
While the pueblo of Ceclavín is quite small, there was an extensive network of hiking trails extending beyond the town’s limits. I had the opportunity to take a few longer hikes during the early mornings before the heat of the day caught up to me. I took a few solo hikes out to a remote church, the large river beyond it, and a few viewpoints along the way. Along with studding views, I was also able to spot many different types of wildlife along the way including many red deer, a few funky lizards, and condors which ominously circled overhead.
Additionally, I was also taken to a few very special places by one of the younger members of the family who I happened to make good friends with during my stay named Ally. One morning, we got up early, picked up her three dogs, and subsequently took off! Near the river I had previously hiked to, she took to me past ruins of an old settlement to what they called “Mesa de los Cazadores”. There, we found big rocks which had been set into the form of a large table surrounded by chairs overlooking the valley and river below. It was easy to guess why their family called it “Hunter’s Table” — it was the perfect, and comfortable, place to be able to locate any kind of animals in the valley below. Next, she took me past a locked gate to reach their family’s old ranch called Los Lobales. Today they keep a few of their cows and horses on the property, however the house that stands at the top of the hill was where it all started. Ally told me a long time ago 30 or more people worked on their farm and lived together inside the house. Inside, the walls were all made from large, heavy stones; there were heavy wooden doors; old basins and cooking tables; a few bats; and even a chapel. At that time, the house functioned as their very own pueblo. The views, house, and history were all so amazing…it would have been easy to stay behind for a long-term fixer-upper project.
Not only did I have the opportunity to explore the trails beyond the pueblo, but one night Alley took me on a tour to see more of the countryside and a couple monuments and other towns around the area. We drove into the region called Piedras Albas near Ceclavín in order to reach the small, yet slightly larger, pueblo called Alcántara. There, she took me across a large bridge leading to the town called the Puente Romano. This ancient stone arch bridge was built under the order of the Roman Emperor Trajan between 104 to 106 AD. Below in the crystal-clear river, we could also see old stone houses which had for a long time been half or fully submerged due to rising water levels. From there, we drove up to the hill above to see the Monasterio de San Benito with its beautiful arches for the sunset. Even today, I feel extremely lucky to have met someone like Ally to show me around and share her home with me. Luckily, she lives full time in Sevilla, so we can continue our friendship and adventures for the year to come!
Experiences like these keep me ticking off boxes I didn’t even know I had, or wanted, on my growing list. If it weren’t for a trip to rural Extremadura with my host family, I don’t think I would have ever visited the beautiful, quiet, and impressive places that make up Extremadura.
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