Huelva province - our last week in Southern Spain - Bull fighting and Castles

Cazalla to El Real de La Jara - 46 km
Up the hill in the heat then down to a dam where we stopped for a couple of hours, had lunch and a dip. The first photo is me looking warily at the green snake swimming by. It is simply not relaxing to swim when you are concerned about snakes but I am told  they are not poisonous. We soaked our shirts before the 12 km climb, they were dry in 10 minutes.
We were directed to an Alburge to stay which is a cheap place mainly for walkers to stay. This village is on the punishing 1000km Seville to Santiago de Compostala camino, pilgrimage route. After 5pm spare beds can be given to cyclists. We were lucky and got a downstairs room to ourselves not an upstairs bunkroom. We walked up to the castle then had a beer and tapas at the sports bar where we discovered bull fighting is still the national sport. A crowded bar, all the older men were there watching it on TV. Three bull fights, oh my goodness how gruesome, I could hardly watch and did not realise the poor bull has to die. It was very interesting watching the locals and they left as soon as it was over. So many towns have bull rings and it is very popular, ahead of football we are told. Everyone was well asleep when we got back.
El Real de La Jara to Aracena - 53 km
The walkers were gone early, we were the last away at 9 and headed into Huelva province through farmland with lots of cattle, passed old mines and up to another dam. On up into areas with large chestnut groves, holm oaks, cork trees and lovely streams. Cute little villages with cobbled streets, chuches, bells ringing every quarter hour and storks nesting atop. The storks also make huge nests on the powerlines and all the baby birds are around now. A nice campground on the outskirts of Aracena, an area known for walking and bird watching.
Aracena to Cortegana - 43 km
We enjoyed a nice morning looking around Aracena, a gorgeous village with another castle, famous caves and a larger supermarket then meandered through the cutest places having lunch at one,  coffee at another, then ice cream and finally to Cortegana and stayed at a small municipal campground. We biked up to the imposing castle high on the hill the next morning only to find it closed. Castles are always on the hill at the top of the steepest streets, I am starting to think I will appreciate them from a distance!
We have seen loads of little black pigs over the last few weeks. Very well looked after, free range with their own little house each, no pig sty... and fed on things like acorns. Cured pork is what they do here and most deli's and supermarkets have them all hanging up drying/curing. They look like they have mould all over them and take a long time to cure. I find them quite smelly and cannot stay in the smaller shops, it is too overpowering. Apparently some people (pork tasters??) can tell which areas the pigs are grown in and even what they have been fed on. Quite a process. It is all about the pig.
Cortegana to La Contienda - 30 km
A short trail to Aroche but long enough to lose the trail and no accommodation at all so continued towards Portugal and camped in a pine forest near a stream.
That is the end of the Transandulus mountain bike trail for us, we covered over 1500 km over six weeks, a whole adventure on its own and well worth the effort. Unpopulated areas, minimal traffic, a huge variety of landscapes, wilderness and wildlife.  Not one drop of rain in six weeks. Just one full day off the bike, we are looking forward to a rest soon.  We will be in Portugal tomorrow.