The last part of the Costa de la Luz begins at Punta Umbría. Surrounded by pine woods, the locality came into being in the 14th century when it was ordered that a tower, called Punta de Umbría, be erected to give advance warning of possible invasions. No more than a small fishing village until recently, it has now become a major summer resort. During the summer one can go to and from Huelva by “canoas”, as the locals call the boats. Nearby are Marismas de Odiel natural park and Los Enebrales nature zone, a veritable paradise for wildlife species.

Next along is the beach of La Antilla and white Lepe, a prosperous truck-farming town with important cooperatives and an intense devotion to the Virgen de la Bella, whose image is said to have floated in from the sea. And finally, at Ayamonte one comes to the end – or the beginning – of the Costa de la Luz. Ayamonte has always been a quiet fishing town, white houses sloping down to the harbour, where at any time one will find fishermen mending their gaily-coloured nets. “Ayamonte” is a corruption of the name originally given it by the Greeks: Anapotaman, meaning “on the river”. Set on a height is the Parador, which affords an excellent view of the town and the mouth of the river Guadiana – the best time is near sunset.

Once the scene of Templar activity, this mountain area is dotted with small fortresses, a legacy of the Reconquest. There are places which were pagan before becoming Christian, legend-haunted grottoes, villages of white houses set amidst woods of holm and cork oak - and above all, the best serrano ham in Spain.

Perched on a crag shielding the lovely town of Alájar (the name means “stone” in Arabic) stands the sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de los Angeles, one of Spain’s most important religious sites (and the most important in this Sierra) and a good example of how our forebears always selected the most beautiful surroundings for their devotions. The rooms adjoining the church are replete with hundreds of votive offerings, objects left over the years in thanksgiving for some favour vouchsafed by the Virgin. It was to the grotto of Alájar that Arias Montano, humanist, scientist, polyglot and researcher, was forced by the Inquisition to retire from the world of mundane things, having been saved from torture only by his friendship with King Philip II.

Following the road to Portugal one comes to Jabugo, a town famous for the ham of that name, which is immortalised in heartfelt stanzas by Lope de Vega. Among the mountains, little towns like Castaño del Robledo lie hidden, fine examples of the traditional mountain architecture. For nearly six centuries these homes of fine ham belonged to the Arabs, a people who never touched it. But they did build castles and mosques, some of them still standing today, and they left a rich cultural legacy which has come down to us in place names like Almonaster, Aracena, Galaroza and many others.