We rented a car the morning of Wed., Nov. 23, 2023 to explore the countryside just outside of Cordoba.

At the start of the busy olive harvest, we made sure to email ahead to inquire about a tour of the Nunez de Prado estate and received an enthusiastic reply. Only 45 minutes drive from Cordoba to the small town of Baena, it is well worth the trip.

Pablo graciously gave us a private tour, and it’s evident that they host much larger groups on a regular basis.

We had brought a label from the Nunez de Prado extra virgin organic olive oil that we bought in Portland, Oregon.

To our surprise, at the end of the tour, Pablo was able to match our exact bottle label number to their hand-written record of every bottle ever produced – truly remarkable!

And, just a few kilometers further, we are so glad we did not miss the most beautiful of the pueblo blanco hill towns you never knew existed: Zuheros. As a gateway to the Sierra Subbetica Natural Park, we wandered up the hillside by chance for a surprising treat – a 4 p.m. guided tour of La Cueva de las Murcialagos (yes, a bat cave, an important neolithic site).

Side Note: we used Enterprise car rental at the bus station (not train station!) for the best price, best service, and the treat of driving an automatic, electric vehicle for our 9 a.m.-7 p.m. excursion.