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Published: February 12th 2008
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Dear Bo & Dud,
Where the time has gone since you returned home I have no idea. We have been so lucky with the weather; it has been glorious with sunshine all day, every day. We have been told that this is very unusual and that we are experiencing an extraordinarily good winter.
This morning we needed to go out and ‘do’ a big shop, all the heavy and bulky stuff. It’s been so nice to shop locally and even the girl in Antonio’s (the greengrocers) has started to smile despite the fact that I only spend a few Euros at a time and use several carrier bags (she then puts all my fruit and veg into only 2 bags and takes the rest back. At the moment we are inundated with broad beans - they are tiny and need very little cooking. The cabbages and cauliflowers are so BIG that Sheila and I have taken to buying one and sharing it - we have also never eaten so many kidney beans. I dread the day that I have to shop in Sainsburys again.
During this settled period of weather we have taken the opportunity to head
Behind the Dam Wall
Another valley underwater.
But it's a dam good view isn't it! for the hills or should I say the mountains. You will remember that we passed some books on to you written by Chris Stewart (he’s the one that used to be a drummer with Genesis; Driving Over Lemons, Parrot in a Pepper Tree, etc. He moved to live in the Alpujarras not far from the village of Orgiva. Sheila and Peter have also read the books, so we set out in search of putting pictures to words.
The Alpujarras are along the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, snow topped on the day we were there with clear, crisp air and stunning views. On the road into Orgiva we stopped to take photographs of the village and were surprised to see a large collection of vans and teepees just outside the town - it does rather take something away from the view, and, Chris Stewart never mentioned this. Once in town the disappointment continued as there was no resemblance whatsoever to any description in the books. However, the brown rice and sandals brigade were most definitely in evidence - the place is full of geriatric ‘English’ hippies, it was all bare feet, beards and tie died dresses. We were
Donkey Work
Slow traffic en route to Orgiva. at least able to eat a traditional Spanish lunch; well, as Spanish as chicken meat balls get (Albondigas), with only 6 chips (Sheila got 7!!). Howard and Peter had a delicious pork stew. It’s not really a pretty village and I think we all felt a little cheated. Shan’t be buying any more of his books!
We did however stop to buy some oranges from a house just outside the village. Sheila did the bartering for the oranges while I tried to kidnap the little dog that lived there. A delightful little dish cloth type dog with very small legs, called Negroia. I sulked for the rest of the day because no one would assist my plan to distract the owner while I stole the dog.
As the whistle stop tour of Orgiva was so disappointing we took a circular route to Trevelez. This is the home of Serrano ham (this sells for a fortune in Harrods) and the highest village in the Alpujarras. There is even a camp site at Trevelez, and usually people go there to ski - not this year, there has been very little snow. Although why you would want to go there in
Orgiva
Looks better from this distance the snow I can’t imagine; around every twist and turn is another breathtaking view; at this time of year everything is lush and green and the almond trees are in full blossom - the smell is divine.
We made our way home via Lanjaron - this is where Spain gets most of its bottled spring water from. There are more than a dozen springs and fountains and a thermal spa which dates back to 1765. Reading up about this area we learnt about tapas, these are the bite-sized nibbles that you get free, in a little dish usually with an order of beer. These were apparently invented by the Spanish army to stop soldiers getting too drunk on their nights out and the tradition still continues. I suppose it’s a bit like the tradition in Yorkshire when everyone goes for a kebab after ‘suppin all night.
As we were driving around we saw the locals harvesting their olives in the traditional way, nets spread out under the trees and shaking or hitting the branches. Leaving Lanjaron we saw a queue for vehicles waiting to have their olives weighed at the co-operative - cars, tractors, horse and carts. It
Geriatric Hippy Camp
No mention of this by Chris Stewart! would have made a wonderful photograph but unfortunately there was no where to stop along the roadside. We are also in the middle of the orange season - huge sacks full of oranges can be purchased at the road side for a few Euros’ and everyone comes back from the market with carrier bags full; in fact you are encouraged to eat the satsumas and clemantinas while you are waiting to be served - cleaver that, as you always come away with far more than you intend to.
Life continues at a cracking pace here and, for the time being moving on is not an option. Howard has been looking at the weather up the east coast of Spain and it is rather cool in contrast to our conditions here - besides which the jackpot at the Thursday night quiz now stands at over €200.
Love & Hugs & Kisses
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