Active Holiday Photos and Stories

Our new Foodie holiday in Andalucia starts in the pretty village of Alajar in the Sierra de Aracena.  The village has a population of less than 500 but incredibly there is of choice of has seven restaurants within the village.

Lucy & Angel,  the owners of the hotel where you stay in the village, will talk you through each restaurant –  this place is great for jamon, this one has the best paella,  that sort of thing.

I visited with a friend and we wanted a long leisurely lunch – very Andalucian!  Angel recommended a restaurant that he said had everything – great service, food, wine and ambience.  It was Saturday afternoon around 15:00 so it was a late lunch even by Spanish standards.

We wandered down the narrow cobbled streets and commented on how quiet the village was. There were a few dogs wandering around but no other sign of life as all of the shops had closed for the afternoon siesta.

We got to the street where Angel had told us to go but couldn’t see any restaurant – it’s a tiny street in a tiny village so a bit surprising.  After checking the address I walked back along the street and noticed a small restaurant sign next to a big wooden door.  Aha.  I opened the big door and was initially shocked by the noise and life behind it.

It was quite surreal to go from the silence of the empty village streets to the noise of big Spanish families all enjoying weekend lunch. There was certainly life behind those doors.

There were no tables free so we sat in the bar area for half an hour or so just soaking up the atmosphere.  We ordered some bellota ham and sherry – yes sherry.

My friend was very dubious about having sherry and I know she was suddenly thrown back to the 80s with visions of her granny sipping a glass of Harvey’s,  but sherry in this part of the world is something completely different.

A chilled glass of fino or manzanilla is a perfect accompaniment to the jamon. My friend quickly agreed and now sees sherry in a whole new light. We sat at the bar while the owner of the restaurant carefully and slowly carved the belotta for us. We quickly polished it off.

We then moved into the main restaurant area. Angel had recommended, almost insisted, that we go for the pork steak.  It is not something I would usually choose as I find pork quite tasteless at times but I went along with the recommendation.

I was asked how I wanted it cooked – rare, medium  - which was a surprise as I didn’t know pork came as anything but ‘done’ – but that is possibly because I very rarely, if ever,  order pork off a menu.

Anyway, the meat came and I have to say I had no idea pork could taste like that. It was wonderfully tender, surprisingly succulent and was just served as it was without any need for sauces. It was simply delicious.  I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

After lunch we went back into the main bar area to pay and the owner insisted on giving us a ‘chupito’ which is basically a post-meal short drink.  Not wanting to offend I dutifully drank it but it kept getting re-filled. It took me a while to realise that it would keep on being filled as long as I  kept finishing it … so be warned!

We finally left the restaurant around 18:00 so it was indeed a very long leisurely lunch which the Andalucians would be proud of.

If you would like to enjoy a meal at El Padrino as part of our Andalucía Foodie walking holiday or on our Andalucía Inn to Inn walking holiday then call us on 01273 676 712.

A client called in recently to say she was getting in a bit of a flap about the prospect of hiking up to 4,600m on the lodge to lodge walking holiday to Machu Picchu.  I completely understood as I had got myself in a similar flap a few months earlier when I did the trek. Yet the actual day I was dreading turned out to be one of the most beautiful, challenging and enjoyable days hiking I have ever done.

I really enjoy walking  and that is essential on this holiday. You don’t need to be a marathon runner or a mountaineer but you do need to enjoy hill walking to get the most form this holiday.  I like to get out and about at weekends as much as possible but a particularly harsh winter had kept me indoors in the months leading up to this trek and a last-minute preparation trip to walk in the mountains of northern Spain was cancelled due to the volcanic ash cloud.  So I have to admit that I arrived in Peru utterly unprepared and unfit.  I was feeling rather daunted about the days ahead.

The two days I spent at the first lodge walking in the area around the base of Mt Salkantay meant I was acclimatised and getting used to walking at altitude but I had never stood at 4,600m, let alone hike up there.

We set off early from the lodge and as I tied up the laces on my boots I remember wishing I had opted for a beach holiday instead. It was mainly flat for the first part and the pace was very slow which I was very happy about. The next hour or so meandered slowly and gently up and down on a lovely path along the valley with Mt Salkantay as a permanent backdrop.

It was a beautiful sunny morning and I soon started to think I was actually going to enjoy this walk!  After a couple of hours we reached the dreaded switchbacks which our guides had been telling us about for days. About 30 – 45 minutes of steep uphill along a series of switchbacks. Most people agree this is the toughest part of the whole five days. We stopped at the bottom to refuel on nuts, chocolate and lots of water and gawped up at the top.  I was no longer nervous as I was enjoying the landscapes so much that my mind was focused on other things. Our guide advised us to just keep going on the next section and not to stop  - the best option was to just get a rhythm going and stick to it.

I set off and started counting in blocks of ten to get a rhythm. I soon got impatient with how long it took me to get to ten ( at this altitude the pace is very slow indeed), so I switched to blocks of six.  I kept going up and mentally crossed off each layer of the switch backs as I went. Some of the group stopped for a break and it seemed to take them ages to start again so I kept going and kept counting.  I got to the last two sets of switchbacks and by this stage I think the counting had been replaced with swearing but on I went to the top.

At the top of this section we continued on a flat ridge and then went round a bend where a big platueau opened up with the entire Vilcabamba mountain range surrounding us. It was simply stunning. We stopped for a break and this is where this photo was taken. It was one of those rare moments when you know you are looking at something and experiencing something that you know you will treasure for a long time.  I love the sounds of nature but the silence of the high mountains is very special. The group sat in silence and lay down looking up at the condors circling high above us.  The mountains towered above in all directions.  We persuaded the guide to let us stay a while longer than planned.

We then had the last push to the top of the pass.  The last ten minutes of this section are tough as your pace almost grinds to a halt with the altitude but you can see the top of the pass the whole time and knowing how close it was kept us all going. On reaching the top the pain of the previous ten minutes was immediately forgotten as a sense of achievement took over.  Not surprisingly the views were amazing and we had them all to ourselves as we did not come across any other groups on this trek.

After plenty of rest time and photos we started the descent. It was a few hours downhill where our porters were waiting with a hot lunch. The clouds came in fast over lunch and the mountains disappeared as we walked the last section. Our lodge slowly came into view – an amazing sight in such a remote lonely part of the world.  A hot shower and delicious food was waiting.  I was feeling on top of the world … and we hadn’t even seen Machu Picchu yet.

Find out more about our Peru holidays or this walking holiday to Machu Picchu.

Stay in small, sustainable lodgings

We are very excited about our new walking holiday in Andalucia.

It’s a sort of laid back inn to inn with great food. You only move on every other day so the pace is slow and lets you really get the most from the great places you stay.

The accommodation offered on this holiday is all comfortable, not luxurious but charming, characterful and each in a very different but striking location.

Over the course of the holiday you stay in a village, on a farm and out in the countryside on a hill. Each place reflects a different aspect of what makes this area special. Culture, people, food and landscape.
In addition to this, the owners of each place are passionate about protecting the environment.

In Alájar, Lucy & Angel have built the hotel from scratch. The whole hotel is insulated by lamb’s wool and cork. Heating during the winter months and air conditioning during the summer months is all generated by ground source energy.

On the farm the concern for the environment focuses on low-impact living and being as self sufficient as possible. The owners live off their land as much as they can – milk, eggs and cheese come from their own chickens and goats. They also have their own organic allotment.

The final lodge is a complete eco-build. Everything from design through to completion has used processes that are both sustainable and responsible. The vision of the owners was to create maximum comfort using natural and renewable sources. All of the electricity on site is generated by solar power and the property is heated in the winter months by burning ground up olive stones.

All three of the places you stay have their own food sources and are followers of the Slow Food Movement which aims to ensure that food should be as local as possible and prepared in a way that respects the environment, human health, animal welfare and that producers are paid a fair price for their food.
The result is delicious home cooking.

Find out more about our walking holidays in Spain

or about this Andalucia walking holiday.