Spain - Week 3
It’s been an interesting week for us as we continue this amazing journey here in Spain. We had a few social evenings with British expats and listening to their stories was pretty amazing. Why people pack up, leave family, create new lives in a foreign country made for some very interesting discussions. They were all very open and responsive to our questions, providing fascinating insights to their lives.
Then there were their houses. These were beautiful reproductions of what were once ruined cortijo’s (small farm houses) with great emphasis made to retain the Andalusian traditional architecture. The owners took a lot of pride in showing us the results of untold hours of work they had committed to their new homes. Watching the new moon rise over the landscape from one of the more elevated cortijo’s was absolutely breathtaking.
On another of these evening we found out how small the world really is. During discussion we found out that the owners of house we were at that evening had very close association with the owners of the house we sat in Northumbria. In all of Spain - the world in fact we come across this. We were amazed.
Phil was a bit pissed off one day when we went to town to do some shopping and she missed out on two rounds of tapas. As described previously, at most bars you buy a drink and get free tapas. On this stinking hot day we went in for a chilled beer with lemon and were served a bowl each of this most divine paella. With prawns. Those who know Phil, knows she has a pretty serious allergy to them. Go Volker! We decided on another round, and out came a plate full of prawns in their shells to share, Thanks Phil. Not happy - all she got was a piece of pana (bread) with nothing on it at all. This also happened a second time later in week which made her think the Tapas providors had it in for Scottish people with allergies. She was beginning to get a complex about it.
One evening we were invited by a neighbour along to a bodega (winery) for a private show of their vineyards and wine making processes. The owners are very firm advocates of wine production in the natural method with absolutely no use of chemicals, yeasts, etc to produce their wines. It was an absolute treat to listen to this multilingual father and son team. Phil got her Franco fix as the father could not speak English, so they conversed in French. After a trip through the vineyards, which we were told were the highest in Spain at 1386 metres, we headed to the underground cellars for a look, then to the tasting room. What a wonderful evening this turned out to be. Sampling totally different wines made in a totally different manner from what is the norm, was great. Thankfully we didn’t have to drive home. These guys kept opening bottle after bottle of some of the most divine wines and kept up a happy banter which got happier as each bottle was opened for us to try.
Their personal philosophy on wine production was that the magic of wine happens naturally on the vine. They don't interfere in the natural processes that happen when the grape is crushed and naturally fermented. Not sulphides, preservatives, sugar or yeast is added. Even the sparkling wines are a natural fermentation which is vastly different from the Method Champenoise where yeast is added as is the norm. The flavour is all grape, with the second fermentation happening by adding late picked grape juice creating the bubbles all naturally. It was absolutely divine.
Interspersed with this was some wonderful rides through the hills on el gran caballo blanco - the big white horse. Riding along the ridges, the creek beds, up and down the steep groves of almonds, figs and grapes was such a great experience. The beautiful smell of ripening figs in the early mornings while it was still cool was overpowering some days.
One morning as I set off with Blanca and the big loping Minny the dog, Phil said a one liner to me as I rode away that stuck with me as I had a wonderful ride. “Treasure these days”. I knew what she meant. At 60 years old who knows if I will ever get the opportunity to ride a big, powerful horse in a foreign land, amongst some of the most vast and amazing landscape I have ever seen. Geez it is sooooooo good to be alive and still doing and seeing this sort of stuff.
The mountains are always the most dominant feature. The vastness of the landscape was all consuming and we always commented on this each time we discovered a new view point on our walks with the dogs in the morning before it got too hot. Helping ourselves to the ripening, sweet grapes and the almonds, which are now shedding their husks added another bonus while being immersed into to all of this.
We are getting more confident with the driving on the right side of the road, so are getting further afield. The week ended with a trip down to the coast about 45 minutes away. The coast - whoo hooo! It’s the Med, it’s the Med. Can you believe it? When we first saw it we were like kids. Volker just couldn’t help himself. He stripped to his undies and plunged into the Mediteranean Sea with all the grace of and looking for all the world like a big bull seal. At least he had the decency to go away from the crowd so as to spare the young kids severe trauma by seeing THAT! But how good was it? Apart from some very brief glimpses of the ocean, this was the 1st time being in one since about March. So that’s now added to the travel CV - a dip in the Med. Gotta love it!
OK - that winds up the week which brings us to the halfway mark of our Spanish gig. Three more weeks to go then we move on. During the week we decided we would finish up our 6 months OS trip with quick visit to Paris, followed by a 2 week chill out in Turkey where Phil wants to catch up with a mate who lives right next to the Aegean Sea and to see the sights of Istanbul. We then head back to Paris to pick up our gear, say our farewells, then off to Dubai for a couple of days before heading back to Oz. Tickets are booked and it’s "all systems go Thunderbirds”.
OK, OK - we know - It’s a hard life. But hey…………… I guess we will just have to cope!
Take care and stay happy.
Lotsa love, best wishes and big cheers.
Philomena & Volker
