What’s On
A trip to Baez, Ubeda and Cazorla
Towards the end of October, 28 friends of Lux Mundi, Torre
del Mar, set off for an excursion to Baeza, Ubeda and Cazorla.
They arrived at Baeza early in the afternoon and after a walk
up through the cobbled streets they reached the lovely 4* hotel
Puerta de la Luna where they were soon allocated their rooms.
After free time for lunch and a rest, they were met by an
English speaking guide, Sagra, and they had a guided tour of
the old town. The first stop was the Cathedral, where they
learned about the importance of the architect Andres de
Vandelvira in the construction of a large number of famous
buildings in this area of Spain. They also visited the school
where the famous poet Antonio Machado taught, the old
university, the Plaza de los Leones, the Fuente de Santa Maria
and various other places of interest. The evening was free and
with a restaurant and a bar/cafeteria in the hotel there was no
need to venture into the main town.
the Torreon del Portillo del Santo Cristo. Only a few people
decided to climb the old clock tower, with its beautiful views
over the city. Afterwards there was free time to have a well
deserved rest and some lunch in one of the many restaurants.
What a beautiful town, with so many fabulous buildings!
The following day the group was taken to Cazorla, travelling
through a landscape covered with fields of olive trees. When
they reached the main square the guide soon arrived and they
walked through the narrow streets, passing the Town Hall and
the Parador Hotel to the ruins of the Santa Maria church, with
part of the roof still in place together with some beautiful
frescos on the walls. This church was damaged by floods in the
17th century and was later burnt by Napoleon’s army. It has an
underground
secret, a ‘boveda’
or stone vault
which runs under
the church and
the square,
through which the
Cerezuela River is
channelled down
to the
Guadalquivir. The
guide took the
group through
this vault and then
Outside the Parador Hotel in Ubeda
there was a visit to
the flour museum and the natural history museum, where
there were models of the huge vultures and other birds of prey
that can be seen in the Cazorla national park. There was then
free time to have lunch and further explore the town.
The next day, after a leisurely breakfast, they were taken by
bus on the short journey to Ubeda, like Baeza a Unesco World
Heritage site, and on arrival they were again met by Sagra for a
very comprehensive tour of the fabulous old town. Six
kilometres were covered on foot visiting many wonderful
buildings, including the Sacra Capilla del Salvador, a famous
chapel which is the flagship of Ubeda’s Renaissance
architecture, the Palacio del Dean Ortega, Palacio de Juan
Vazquez, Basilica de Santa Maria de los Reales Alcazares and
On the final day the morning was free to further explore
Baeza. Some people visited the old walls; others revisited the
Cathedral, walked to the covered market and visited the ruins
of the Convent of San Francisco. Another church designed by
the architect Andres de Vandelvira. At 3.30pm the bus left for
the journey back to Torre del Mar. Everyone was tired but
happy after a very successful and enjoyable visit to three
extremely interesting places. Lux Mundi would like to thank all
who supported this excursion, which enables then to continue
with their charitable work and we hope to see you all again at
future events in the Centre and excursions.
Friends around the fountain in Baeza
For details of Lux Mundi events in December see page 55.
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