Biking & Baking in Las Alpujarras

What a great day we had yesterday...our small village really burst into life for a few hours...another unique moment... We started with a walk at 11am, around the valley and then returned to the plaza with firewood, food and booze, to find the local bar also open and people beginning to drift into view.   By 3pm we had the bonfire ablaze and 2 local and excellent drummers had got the tom-toms started.  Everyone brought a plate of food and a bottle, so there was no shortage of sustenance.

A 5-a-side football match followed, played around and over the bonfire but with a decent leather ball.  The children, dogs, cats and onlookers kept to the sides of the plaza more or less! For the first half our team (the Village/honorary Spaniards) consisted of 4 men and 1 woman (me) and the Visitors (a similar gender balance and Dutch, American, also some out-of-town Spaniards).  The second half (with a long break for refreshments) saw us 2-4 down, but Steve went off and changed his flip-flops for boots, I substituted  with Francisco and we finally won through to 7-5.  Everyone was hot and exhausted by the end but it was great fun.  Next year we might go for an oval ball and some touch rugby!

As dusk drew near, 2 guitarists and a violinists struck up alongside the drummers and around 50 people listened or danced to music that ranged from Santana to French country dances to the Last of the Mohicans track.   At some point we tried to dance a bouree (a minuet I believe), we managed a bit of tango and of course everyone can jig from one foot to the other...the ages ranged from a babe-in-arms to 70+ and as is so common in Spain, everyone mixed regardless.  The teenagers mingle very well here and once we had all had a glass or two of wine, a snatch of tequila and various other beverages, we were set to party until the early hours.  The fire kept us warm and was still just alive at 10am when I went out to check and clear up the empties.

Another splendid Christmas in the Alpujarras!

I hope you are all having a very cheerful time tonight, having walked, run, biked, eaten, sung and slumped through the Christmas festivities!  It's a clear and starry night here and our roast lamb,chocolate cake, various alcoholic beverages and sweeties have all been long since digested.  I had another go at making Florentine biscuits (recipe by Delia is great) and can only say that you absolutely must get the ingredients right especially the weights/proportions.  Otherwise the biscuits flow all over the place!  Also, watch the oven like a hawk!  A perfectly cooked Florentine is a thing of joy; a burnt one is of no use at all!

We took the VFR out for  a run in the sunshine on Thursday (when was that? what day is it today?) and followed some lovely roads over the Contraviesa near Rubite and Murtas.  Spectacular views of the Sierra Nevada and its delicate covering of snow...more to come on Tuesday I believe, and of the Mediterranean to the south.

Our Kaki (Sharon) fruits are browning nicely in the winter sunshine and fresh air, so we should get some yummy dried fruit in a few more weeks; the winter lettuces (letti??) are doing well and a few beans are poking their heads up through the soil.  We have done a lot of soil turning and preparing, with a rotation plan so that we don't plant in the same place 2 years running.  The goat compost is dug in, the seed packets are rattling...all the usual Xmas expectation of greenery to come!  I expect many people are doing this with much greater expertise than us!

Tomorrow we are going for a long walk in the morning with friends, then there will be a musical 'event' in the plaza - bring your own plate of food - followed by a quiet evening by the fireside.  One or two evenings like that and then we will be ready for the Old Year/New Year fun to begin!

Calling all (male) tangueros or would-be tangueros who live/visit in this part of the world!  I am seeking a regular dance partner for classes and milongas (tango dances) in this area, between Motril and Granada!  Having attended the Lanjaron Festival this weekend and enjoyed  the experience, I feel that I will only progress further with a regular partner at intermediate level.  So come on chaps, polish your (leather-soled) shoes and get in touch.  These days you can wear jeans and be yourself, it's not a formal ballroom thing at all.  Ideally you would be between 5'4'' - 5'9'' but age is not an issue.  If Steve was interested he would clearly be my only choice, but though the man rides motorbikes like a dream, he has 2 left feet on a dance floor (unless it's Blues of course).

Time to go round the house and batten down the hatches...night has  fallen and the village is silent...

We've had a busy and useful couple of days down on the huerto (kitchen garden), getting ourselves on the road for 2012,  What shall we plant and where?  How much goat shit do we need and are we ready to dig some in yet?  Can we remember where things went last time so we rotate our crops properly?  Today we sat in the sunshine with pad, pencil, thermos and biscuits, gazing out over the available space and pondering on the possibilities.  Then we did a lot more digging, put in a crab-apple tree, a redcurrant and a blueberrry, and lightly watered the broad beans (habas) and winter lettuces (lechugas).  The garlic is already out of the ground and looking good.

Tomorrow we will go for a walk as it is St Nicholas Day, my birthday (Steve's was yesterday, the poor old boy - 2 days older than I am) and forecast to feel like 17 degrees.  Probably about 0 just now with the moon up and a clear sky, but oh what fabulous sunsets we're having!  Or we might put on our leathers and get out on the roads...but so will half of Andalucia so maybe not! 

We are also planning a supper for our French and Spanish walking friends, sometime before Xmas, and my 'pudding' plan is three-fold: chocolate & chestnut truffle cake, pears in red wine sauce and delicate Florentine biscuits.  All fairly easy and can be made in advance to some extent.  The main course might be wild boar with mushrooms and the starter something with prawns and chilli, but not sure yet.  The there's tapas to consider as well...