San Vicente del Raspeig - Spain

San Vicente del Raspeig in Spanish or Sant Vicent del Raspeig in Valencian is a municipality located in the province of Alicante.  It has an estimated population of 55,000 inhabitants, with a large student population because it contains part of the Universitat d'Alacant, a major educational institution from the city of Alicante. 

 

There are two important festivals every year: the Bonfires called Fogueres de San Vicent taking place during summer, and the festival of Moros y Christians during spring.

My friend Christine talked about an old Olive oil mill which had been converted into a museum where one could see how this precious liquid was extracted before the age of electricity and mechanisation.  This was enough to arouse my curiosity and off we went to check the place out.

After a short drive from Calpe, we arrives at San Vicente and I immediately was impressed by this town and its charming and peaceful setting.  We drove around for a while and discovered some tree-lined avenues in the centre of the town, narrow streets where people seemed to take the time to enjoy the simple things of Life like sharing a coffee with friends, children playing with a soccer ball.

We had some trouble finding our way to the museum but each time we asked people for directions, they went out of their way to tell us where to go and we finally did find the place.

A young lady; our guide for the tour greeted us at the museum.  All that remains of the original mill are the foundations and a few remaining parts of the stone walls.  A new building; right next to the original one was erected to house the equipment and the tools.

The Foundation Stones of the Original Oil Mill

The New Location for the Museum - Right next to the Original Site

As soon as we entered the new premises, we were transported into another era.  There we found a whole range of oil extracting devices and tools in remarquably good condition which gave you a real insight of what this industry was all about in earlier times.

The Original Donkey-Driven Crushing Pit in the Background

A Later Version of the Crushing Pit

The Original Presses and Filtering Mats Once the Olives have been Crushed

The Inlet to the Underground Oil Tank and Various Size Oil Containers

More Recent Crushing Pit and Press

We ended the visit with a stop at a typical café which had caught our eye and soon returned to Christine's place to plan the next day of our Spanish adventure.