Location description from owner

The Aragón region

Aragon, once a famous kingdom, is an enormous area divided into the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza. Contamina is in the province of Zaragoza, which is the south of Aragon. This is an unspoilt and uncluttered part of Spain, a place of big landscapes and dramatic contrasts. It is rugged, beautiful and full of surprises. Although off the beaten track it is easily reached from Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona and the area is ideal for touring and experiencing the authentic qualities of northern Spain. The climate is agreeable - hot and dry in the summer, bright and crisp in the winter. With no major industries for hundreds of miles the air is wonderfully clean.

Contamina

Contamina is a very small, very sleepy pueblo. Indeed, everybody sleeps well in Contamina. However, one mile away is the more lively village of Alhama de Aragon, nationally famous for its delightful 'balneario' or thermal water spa where all manner of health and beauty treatments are available. Alhama also has banks, a chemist, a medical centre, a small delicatessen selling products typical of the area, a couple of restaurants and a rather surprising number of bars.

Twenty minutes drive from Alhama is the incredibly beautiful Monasterio de Piedra. Before the monastery was built a Moorish castle stood in its place. Indeed, much of the building material came from the old fort. Cistercian monks lived here for seven centuries then the place was confiscated and sold to supply some ready cash for the temporarily impoverished royal family. It is now a hotel attached to which is the most wonderful water park described by Frazer's Magazine as " one of the most extraordinary natural curiosities in Europe."

Less than half-an-hour's drive from Contamina is the busy market town of Calatayud. Here you will find supermarkets, a wide range of restaurants, a cinema, a theatre, a modern sports centre and an eighteen-hole golf course. Dominated by the ruins of a castle, the oldest fortified Moorish construction in Spain, Calatayud has an historic centre and close by are the remains of the Roman city of Bilbilis.

Within one hour's drive from Contamina are the ancient towns of Daroca, Siguenza and Medinacelli and the fine cities of Zaragoza and Soria, all of which are well worth a visit.

All the towns and villages have colourful fiestas, mosty in the months of August and September.