I found an advert on a lamppost for a trip out with the local housewives association. Regular readers of my blog will have read an account of a previous trip, (see further down this page). Any resemblance to the English WI rests only on the fact that whereas they start meetings with a singing of Jerusalem, the Spanish group (at least when on a day out), have a quick joint prayer. This is usually however followed by dirty jokes, singing and dancing down the aisle of the bus.
This trip was billed as a visit to a vineyard, a museum and lunch out. I'm ever ready to improve my Spanish and knowledge of the local vino, so this seemed like a must.
About fifty excited Spanish women and myself set off on the bus at 9am. We had an intrepid male guide who after the prayers and jokes etc, passed around free biscuits made with citrus fruits which were the speciality of his village. This went down very well with us all.
We were driven inland. It was an unusually dull day for March but even so the landscape was lit up by field after field of blossom which ranged from deepest wine, to shocking pink, to pale lilac. These were the peach trees and my photo really doesn't do them justice.
We arrived at Jumilla a town that at first glance seemed to be comprised of workshops, factories, dusty roads and blocks of flats. The remains of a castle high up on a hill dominate the town and I was pleasantly surprised when we walked to an enchanting older part. Quiet narrow streets, houses with overhanging balconies covered with pots of scarlet geraniums and in a tiny square we found the museum.
This tiny museum like so many things in this part of Spain was full of hidden gems and surprises. The basement contained religious sculptures, the next floor contained fossils, geological rocks and strange large pieces of rock indented by huge footprints. These footprints included those of a Sabre Toothed Tiger, elephants, camels and rhinoceros that roamed Murcia in pre-history. They were discovered at La Hoya De La Sima where more are preserved. It is apparently the only place in Europe where footprints like this can be seen and yet hardly anyone seems to know that they exist.
I could have spent all day on this floor but time was short so I went on to the next. Here were fascinating exhibitions of life in the 18th and 19th century, showing a full sized waggon and horse, costumes, implements, a small section of a pharmacy and the working of the esparto grass industry. (See a previous blog for more about this)
Jars in the 'pharmacy.'
My 'Tardis' like experience continued on the next floor which contains an exhibition of over 3000 butterflies. As you can see they were extremely beautiful but it always seems so sad to see them trapped forever in this way.
I could have spent much longer here but we all returned to the coach to set off for the wine tasting. The guide was quite annoyed that we were apparently late, and all were told that if they needed the toilet they must go before viewing whatever we were at first. We drove through the town and down a winding dirt track through more beautiful fields of peach blossom before arriving at this modern bodega, (vineyard).
We were too late for the tour which was a shame but not too late for the nibbles and degustacion, (wine tasting).
It was by now around two thrty in the afternoon and none of us had eaten - the wine tasting seemed to go quite well, (you can imagine the noise levels), and it took some time afterwards to pack fifty peoples purchases into the hold of the coach. At three thirty we set off for lunch.
Lunch was served in an aircraft hanger sized room of the type frequently used here for wedding receptions, and meals following baptisms, first communions etc.
One could drink as much as you wanted of the local red wine, beer or whatever you wished. The first course consisted of meats and salad, bread and toast.
The second course was deep fried cheese with tomato, the third was deep fried squid, the fourth was two different types of huge prawns, this was followed by a lemon sorbet, the fifth course consisted of some fried fish with a few French fries, a sixth course of custard known as natillas here followed by profiteroles in a chocolate sauce and finally a sweet pastry, all rounded off by coffee etc. Now I thought I'd got a good appetite but even I was defeated. Pretty good value too as the entire day was costing about £35 including the meal!
After this it was time for some music and dancing. As you may be able to see from the photo traditional type Spanish dancing is a normal occurrence here and far from being a stereotype only seen in old films.
We should have gone off to see a monastery at this point but it was pouring with rain so that was abandoned. (The people here will rarely set foot outside if it is raining).
Having danced off one or two of the lunch courses we all got back onto the coach. To my surprise we set off into the mountains and had a tour at dusk of the surrounding countryside and villages. It was extremely beautiful. The rain eased off and the mountains seemed to be floating in mist and we passed houses precariously balanced above deep gorges.
We stopped at a small village called Blanca. A large river flowed through it, everyone except myself trooped into a museum. Once they were inside the village was completely silent and incredibly peaceful. The guide said that even the birds are quiet in Blanca and it was certainly true that evening. The museum contained the Tourist Office, some machinery that once pumped water and was selling the little biscuits that we'd all tried on the coach what seemed like a lifetime ago in the morning. In spite of the amount we'd all eaten these were bought up at a tremendous rate.
Finally we all got back on the coach. I was tiring by now I must admit I don't have the stamina of these ladies who average around sixty five years old! I drifted a bit in the announcements so I was pretty surprised when we stopped several miles on in the town of Archena.
"Why have we stopped?" I asked the woman beside me.
"For the degustacion -tasting, of course."
Of course! We'd only had a six or seven course lunch! We all piled into a shop selling meats, sausages, pates, cheeses etc. Samples were laid out around the shop including some of the local vino. I have to confess I found myself tasting along with the rest of them, and jolly good it was too.
All decanted yet again to the coach, stuffing purchases into overhead racks, under feet,or piled up on our laps. As the castle in Aguilas finally hove into sight at around nine pm. the women all started to sing a sweet and beautiful song about Aguilas. I've heard it before but it never fails to make me smile and be glad to feel that I'm included in the lives of the friendly people who live here.
"Did you have a good day?" asked the husband.
"I'll say!"
I hope you enjoyed this blog. If you have any comments please send them to :
My next blog will be published in the middle of May.
Best Wishes,
Cathy
p.s. A friend here helps to rescue dogs and cats that are often abandoned at rubbish bins etc. You could help their work by clicking 'like on their facebook page:-
San animal santuario.
Their web address is : www.sananimal.org.
Many thanks ,Cathy
