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 Carving Iberico ham Delicious food |
| Our newest walking holiday launches in April 2011. It is a relaxed walking and food focused holiday in the Aracena hills of southern Spain.
Andalucia This part of Spain is bursting with high quality local produce and food is a real highlight. There are no fancy restaurants, just simple places serving a quality of food which is way above average for most of us. The star is the Iberian black footed pig or Pata Negra. The ham from these pigs is among the most delicious and most expensive in the world. When you are out on your walks you will see lots of them. Each pig has at least one hectare of land so if a farmer has 20 pigs then they have to be kept in an area of not less than 20 hectares – a lot of space to keep the pigs healthy and happy. The pigs can usually be seen running around which is an unusual sight for us as we are used to seeing them do nothing except forage around in a trough. With all this running around they eat a lot and each pig can eat up to 12kg of acorns a day. The Spanish word for acorn is bellota and the ham from these pigs is called jamon iberico de bellota. The farm where you stay on this holiday is the only certified organic farm in the area which means it produces some of the best quality jamón in the world. It is a real privilege to stay here and learn about the traditions of pig farming as well as enjoy a feast of their produce. Learn about the area’s gastronomy from the producers. You will also come across lots of other fresh produce when you are out walking, depending on the season. The trees boast a delicious mix of fruit and nuts including oranges, lemons and pomegranates, figs, almonds, walnuts and chestnuts. Asparagus and artichokes are abundant. Then there is that Spanish staple, the olive. Andalucia is the world’s largest producer of olive oil and there is a huge variety. A traditional breakfast here is bread with olive oil. It may sound strange but it is no more strange than toast and butter – and it tastes a lot better. If you want to learn more about the different tastes you can try any of the thirteen different olive oils proudly on display at your first hotel in Alájar. Your host Angel can talk you through them all. And he has many more in the kitchen if you are interested! Find out more about our foodie walking holiday in Andalucia or about our walking holidays in general. |
Flowers in southern Spain
Sarah’s off this week to southern Spain, Andalucia to have a look at some new holiday ideas we have down there. We already have a walking holiday in this part of the Aracena Hills and have had for some time.
What Sarah is going to see is a new sustainable lodge, almost a finca (farm), which is being built down there just on the outskirts of the pretty town of Aracena. The idea will be a walking holiday with a bit of a difference.
Over the course of a week you will stay in three different ‘fincas’. You will walk between them so every second or third day will be a full day of walking with your bags being sent ahead.
On days you aren’t walking, you will experience the farms themselves. In one instance the finca is home to iberico pigs and produces its own fine bellota ham so you can find out how they make this krug of charcuterie. Another day you are staying on a ranch with horses, another fundamental part of the culture of Andalucia.
All in all, we are expecting to be able to offer a gastronomic, relaxed walking holiday staying in a series of fantastically comfortable, characterful lodges.
We should have details by December with a view to starting the holiday from April 2011. In the meantime, if you can’t wait to go on walking holiday to Andalucia or fancy a gastronomic walking holiday in La Rioja then do get in touch.
Staff at the Soraypampa Lodge
Before the lodges were built hardly anyone in the community had regular income. The owners invited everyone from the communities they operate in to attend an open day. They interviewed everyone that came and those who wanted to work and showed the willingness to learn were offered work.
Very few of the their new recruits had formal training or education. Staff were appointed positions based on their natural abilities which were then developed by the owners. They sent them to a hospitality school and have implemented regular reviews and appraisals.
Each lodge has a female manager and this is seen as hugely important in the community.
Salaries are four times above the national minimum wage and everyone has a pension and health insurance.
Read more about our Machu Picchu Lodge Trek or about our Peru holidays more generally. For more general information about Peru holidays, read our guide to Peru.