City Profile: Huesa

Before jumping into part two of my Recollections From Study Abroad (part one here), I thought it would be appropriate to give some background on the city where the rest of the posts on this will take place: Huesa.

"Huesa city"

In my opinion, this pueblo is a diamond in the rough.  It is nestled right by the Cazorla Mountain Range in the province of Jaen, Andalusia.  Looking outside in, the most striking thing about the town is the landscape.  It is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of olive oil fields—Huesa and Jaen’s main source of money—jagged cliffs, waterfalls and a bluff that looks like a dinosaur.  The town sits lower than the roads leading in which really puts into perspective of how small this village really is. 

With a bit less than 2,800 people, it makes sense that everyone knows each other.  Furthermore, everyone is always some cousin or uncle or grandpa of someone.  I successfully made a joke in Spanish one day by asking how people date each other if everyone seems to be related.  After laughing, they responded, “carefully.”  My point is that this town is very intimate, welcoming and unique. 

View from a cave in Huesa

According to all of Pedro’s family and friends, I’m the first American to ever step foot in Huesa.  There have been many Europeans who have passed through but never an American, a title which I’m happy to hold (if its true of course).  That being said, I’m quite the attraction when I go.  You can walk from one side of the village to the other in a bit more than 5 minutes and see 27 bars, 4 clubs, the streets filled with people and the market that comes every Tuesday.  The latter, however, is predicated upon you not getting lost by looking at the spectacular countryside that surrounds the village. 

I have been to Huesa four times already—two during 2008 and two during the fall of 2010—and am in the process of planning my trip back.  Part II of my Last Month In Spain will be a story of my first two experiences in Huesa.  After, I plan to blog about the last two, which I have to say were completely different experiences (went to a wedding, hung out with a gypsy singing flamenco and worked in the olive oil fields to just name a few).  

Stay Tuned