Etapa 5 — Alcaudete to Baena

Etapa 5 was a pseudo-etapa because we decided to take the bus to Baena. There were several good reasons to skip walking this stage. The temperature was in the mid nineties (a high of 36°C = 97°F) with no clouds, and the route was reputed to have little in the way of unique visual interest from the previous day, very little shade, and no intermediate town or resting place. No need for 26 kilometers of that. Instead, we got to have a full day in Baena and, as it turned out, two excellent meals. 

Baena is a town famous for its olive oil. It even has a museum of olive oil, but with our uncanny luck, the museum is closed on Monday. Nevertheless, we did get to taste some remarkable aceite.

Upon our arrival we walked into the center of town from the bus station where, next to the Plaza de España, there is a monument to the olive pickers in front of the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. We then walked to the ayuntamiento in the Plaza de la Constitución, and from there through the Paseo de los Poetas and up to the Mirador del Hospital, pretty much the highest point in the city. Just below that is the half-old half-newly renovated Castillo de Baena and the Plaza Palacio.

On the Avenida Cervantes we had a very good lunch at the gastrobar Jarana, prepared by a creative Asian-influenced chef who took time to speak with us about his dishes. We shared bao of rabo de toro (stewed bull's tail in a Chinese bun) and stir-fried sepia noodles with scallops and shrimp.

After siesta time, which we spent on the phone lining up lodgings for our future stops instead of sleeping, we went out to a park where we heard a community drum and brass band, with members of all ages, playing music in the street with a distinctly Andalusian modal mixture. The band literally led us to the door of Jarana, and we figured we weren't likely to improve on that by going elsewhere, so we had dinner there, too.

By this time, we were treated like longtime restaurant regulars. The waiter brought some Baena extra virgin olive oil for us to try, which was very strong, with a pungent, herbal, raw flavor. The chef came to discuss our meal choices with us, and when Yung Wha mentioned that we weren't getting a lot of vegetables in our diet of traditional Spanish cooking, he offered to make an off-the-menu vegetable stirfry for us (with coconut milk and black sesame seeds) and we also had a goat cheese salad, which had way more goat cheese than lettuce, as well as almonds, pistachios, dried fruit, and a reduced balsamic vinegar dressing. It was all delicious, and we left fully satisfied.