Today we toured a local village, Nigueles, which has been making olive oil since then 1600's. We first walked through an olive grove where we sampled the raw but bitter olives and learned about the many different varieties.
We stopped by the local fountain dubbed the Fountain of Youth as it supposedly keeps the elderly from aging. We all filled up our bottles and fizzled some just in case.
We also saw fig, pomegranate and almond trees. Then it was back to the old mill to see where donkeys were put to use to grind the olives and the old fashioned press system squeezed out the oil and bitter tasting vegetable juice.
The last part was the best: the tasting! Beatrice, our guide, led us through tasting five different local varieties. The differences were subtle but all were very good! We ended up buying our favorite varieties and rolling out pretty happy! As we didn't have any real destination in mind, we typed in Alicante and hit the road. This coastal town had a nice cheap hotel that we found before enjoying paella on the beach.
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