AS assignments go, this one seemed a little sadistic.
But when the editors of The Olive Press tell you to pack your bags and head into Europe’s hottest region in the middle of a heatwave, you doff your sombrero and grab the company car.
After all, just days earlier I’d been sent to Ceuta to witness the so-called ‘invasion’ of 72,000 migrants crossing from Morocco, while my colleague Alessio had been covering the devastating Almeria wildfire.
Olive Press journalists are used to driving into danger.
This mission was to test the proverb ‘out of the frying pan into the fire’ by travelling from Ecija, Sevilla’s famous ‘sarten de Andalucia’ (the frying pan of Andalucia), to nearby Moron de la Frontera, another furnace of a town.
The pair hold some of Spain’s highest temperature records, with Ecija hitting 46.6C in August 2021 and Moron reaching 46C in July 2022.
READ MORE: Town in Spain sizzles in near 43C as ‘inhuman temperatures’ prediction bears out
The drive inland from the Costa del Sol through the leafy Guadalquivir Valley, past historic Osuna, where Game of Thrones was filmed, is stunning.
Rolling hills blanketed with olive groves and sunflowers stretch to the horizon, while shimmering mirages make the tarmac look flooded.
By the time we reach Ecija at 3pm, the thermometer reads 40C. The streets are deserted, shops shuttered and restaurant terraces abandoned.
Anyone we pass gives us puzzled looks, wondering why anyone would visit in the height of summer.
Despite the oppressive heat, Ecija remains beautiful, its Baroque churches and grand palaces appearing unexpectedly between narrow cobbled streets.
Eventually we find shopkeeper Jose Antonio, 58, sweeping outside his mobile phone shop.
“You get used to the heat,” he shrugs.
When I ask where everyone is, he laughs.
“Sleeping, of course. Why would anybody be outside at this time?” Fair point.
Still, I wanted to know why people choose to live here. As the temperature climbed to 43C on a plaza display, the city felt almost abandoned.
Ten minutes passed before we encountered another person in the old town, hurrying home for lunch and keen to avoid conversation.
The next few locals were equally determined to stay in the shade, leaving me convinced extreme heat doesn’t just sap your energy, it shortens your patience too.
Next stop: Moron de la Frontera, known for its medieval castle and nearby US airbase.
Interestingly, the English word ‘moron’ was coined by an American psychologist in 1910 from an Ancient Greek word meaning sluggish or slow.
It’s exactly how I felt when we reached our hotel at 6pm, with my phone still showing 43C.
After a restorative siesta, we emerged at 9.30pm to find locals finally enjoying the evening paseo. We joined them for tapas and by midnight the temperature had dropped to a comparatively pleasant 30C.
The next morning, the forecast predicted another 43C. By 9am it was already 25C.
Families filled cafes while pensioners enjoyed their morning stroll. Butcher Anna Gonzales, 42, offered straightforward advice for surviving summer: “Stay somewhere with air conditioning… and take lots of showers.”
Restaurant owner Carlos Perez, 39, admitted the heat becomes relentless from March onwards, making long shifts in the kitchen exhausting.
So why stay?
“I was born here. It’s my home,” he explains.
By 3pm the streets had emptied once again. The only person outside was Carlos Gomez walking his dog.
“The hottest I remember was around 47 degrees,” he recalls. “And even in November it can still be very warm.”
When I tell him that 30C is considered extreme in the Netherlands, he smiles. “That’s a cool day here.”
His plan? Retreat to the swimming pool with the dog.
READ MORE: Ecija: A visit to the charming city known as ‘the frying pan’ of Spain
Before leaving, there was one final challenge: The Olive Press’s famous fried egg test.
After leaving a frying pan baking in the sun for an hour, I cracked an egg onto it. Slowly but surely, the white began to cook.
If an egg can fry in the afternoon sun here, I decided, so can I.
Taking the locals’ advice, we dived into the air-conditioned car and headed south.
Ecija and Moron de la Frontera are wonderful places to visit – just perhaps not in the middle of summer.
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