Letur

The first day of spring and what a lovely day we have over here. Finally.... Because since we arrived here last Friday we’ve had a lot of rain. If it hadn’t been dry for a few days last week, we wouldn’t have been able to get here. The first half of the road leading to the farm is a tar road, but the second half is a dirt/sand road and after some rain it is just too slippery. It was a challenge to get here, so many holes and rocks that I was holding my breath, worrying parts may fall off the car or the caravan. But we made it, although at 2 steep stretches we had to push the caravan, because the car tyres had no grip and were spinning in the sand. All this also means that we need a few dry days too to get out of here :-)

We’re staying at Luis’ place, up in the mountain. A beautiful spot, isolated and ... no electricity available. Now that the sun is shining we have warm water today. There’s about a 100 meter of pipe laying behind the house, with water running through it and it’s warmed by the sun. But the past few days the water was cold, freezing cold! To have warm water you have to boil it. Inside the house it was cold too, since there is only one room where a fire burns. 

Luis is a very nice guy, gentle and passionate about and proud of his place. He farms several places, mainly olive groves, fruit trees and vegetable gardens. So far we have worked at 2 different olive groves. It’s pruning season... The path is still too slippery to drive a car, so we walk up and down to the olive groves and back. A 40 minutes walk one way. We’re definitely getting enough exercise!

We eat fresh fruit and vegetables from the land each day and nothing goes to waste. Breakfast is around 7h30 and consists of oats porridge and tea. In the morning we have a break around 10h30. Monday and Tuesday we had it at the house of the parents of Luis. Wow, is his mom a great cook! She makes great tortilla de patatas and also a delicious mix of very tasty tomatoes (only available in this area) with olive oil and a bit of salt. You put it on a piece of bread and really....I could eat it every day. The tomatoes and the olive oil are the best I’ve ever tasted! Oh, I forget the salad she made the other day with raw red cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Very yummie too...

Yesterday Luis made goat cheese. He showed us how it’s done and actuallly it’s not that difficult. So who knows...one day I will make my own goat cheese as well.

I have to admit that when we arrived here Friday, it was a bit of a shock for me. No electricity (by choice), no lights, no glass windows (only timber shutters and a mosquito net), cold water. It took me a few days to get more in the flow of this place. Although this way of living is not for me, it has it’s charms, like sitting around the fire and cooking on the fire. I pick up interesting things, like how to maintain an olive grove and how to make goat cheese :-) Also I get to eat delicious  Spanish dishes, experience Spanish hospitality and get new ideas for soups (Luis makes great soups). Also the scenery here is beautiful, it’s untouched, raw nature... And Luis is a great host.