Spanish Vignettes 2020-Then The Virus -Chapter 4 Lunch in a House in the Mountains

 

Olive Coop and Alfarnate Lunch in a Local Home

• On February 5, 2020,  Jan's cousin Garwood and his spouse, Robin,  joined us for this tour organized by the International Club in Nerja, Spain.

• We first stopped at a local farm where pecans and almonds are grown.  Then we toured the Cooperativa Virgen De Monsalud,  where local olives are turned into olive oil. And, yes, this is a local cooperative owned by the producers. We then toured the eye-pleasing town of Alfarnate, about 1000 metres elevation in the mountains north of Malaga. Here, we enjoyed a scrumptious traditional lunch in a local family’s home.

• This tour is available as part of an organized tour all inclusive tour offered by several companies, including Norwegian Cruise Line.

Here is some of the spectacular scenery, as we drove into the mountains on the bus.

 

Some olive trees in Andalucia are 1500-2000 years old. When old, they can take on this gnarled appearance.

Of course, February is the beginning of the Andalucian spring, and the Almond flowers abound.

At this stop, amongst the almonds and pecans, some of the pecans remained. Garwood and I tried a few. They were just at the point of perfection.

Of course, group photos required! Robin is on the left (dark hair and glasses with thumb up).

 The scene as we approached the olive Co-op. Below, Garwood at the Co-op.

The olives, about to be processed. Note that they process cereal crops, and "aceite de oliva" = olive oil.

The bottled product, above, and a tanker with the precious cargo.

 

We then arrived at the welcoming town of Alfarnate, where we split into smaller groups and were hosted for lunch by local families. Ours was a luscious memorable meal in a warm and welcoming home. You can see the woman who cooked lunch crouching beside Jan and me to the left of Jan. It was a highlight of our visit to Spain in 2020.