Originally Posted by ekscrunchy

Petaca Chico closed?

The Romeria looks like a real haul!! Which would be more difficult..that or the Camino?
You know the streets here are jam packed with the pilgrims.....today there was a huge group of ladies from Ghana.
I joked with Jeff that this is the only place that more people have canes than not...!
The Main Street in the old quarter today was as crowded as Times Square!!!!

More soon.....finally there is some sun!

Originally Posted by Maribel

You choose the title!

Originally Posted by ekscrunchy

The drive from the Hospes in Cordoba to the airport outside of Jerez (the nearest airport to my next destination, outside Vejer de la Frontera and, therefore, the closest rental pick up spot) took about 2 hours 15 minutes along the route that Maribel had surmised: We traveled the very smooth, exceptionally maintained highways staying mainly on the E-5 which skirts Sevilla to the East and South, so I got no view of Sevilla itself. But now that I've taken this drive, I see how easy it would be for someone wanting to include Sevilla, to collect the car at the end of their city stay, and take that easy drive to the Costa de La Luz, which was to be my next destination for one day shy of two full weeks (!!!!!).

There are, of course, many, many options for staying in this area of Andalucia but outside Cadiz and Jerez, I think a car allows a traveler to get the most of a visit, since bus service outside the main towns (and even to and from some of these) can be infrequent and there are many points of interest that are either not reached by public transport or reached by such infrequent service that all but the most determined and hardy traveler would end up missing so many of the small delights with w which this region brims.

Just as last year during the same month, my destination was a small (6 bedrooms and a couple of self-catering accommodation within the property) rural hotel outside the dazzling white hill town of Vejer. I wonder if staying here is something like being invited to spend time at a very rich friends manor in the English countryside (I've never had the pleasure so maybe I am way off base here..). My room, the same one as last year (they've joked that they are going to mount a plaque with my name on the door!) is one roomy space with a spacious terrace facing brick-paved gardens abloom with lemon, orange and kumquat trees. Beyond this garden is, for me, a highlight of a stay here: A salt-water swimming pool kept at a temperature that allows lap swimming even if the thermometer outside reads in the 50s'F. The only days so far that I was unable to swim (the pool was kept covered) were the first two days which were drizzly and damp and windy (the Costa de la Luz is known for its often high winds coming across the strait from North Africa, and there are probably other winds, too. That's the reason that this coast is a favorite of wind surfers, whose Mecca seems to be Tarifa, under an hour's drive from here. The beaches I've seen so far in the area of Vejer, Bolonia, and Zahara de los Atunes, tend to be wide and often windswept expanses of fine white sand with waves that can range from gentle to surf-able. (Indeed the beach nearest Vejer appears to be a favored surfing spot--wet-suited young people pile out of vans pulled up at the sandy lots near the shore, and congregate in a line of casual places for snacking and lounging over beers. It looks like a very youthful scene and one I imagine might resemble California's SouthBay as depicted in countless films... I think El Palmar attracts lots of Spanish outdoor sports enthusiasts as well as those from northern European countries; some beaches along this immediate coast are 'naturist," but I've yet to come across any. But if I have time I'd like to explore Zahora, Canos de Meca and some of the other popular spots; these are mostly connected by paved roads but some roads are sandy...its an area very different than any other I've visited in Spain and sure to be interesting.



Getting way ahead of myself here, so back to my hotel:

Breakfast is always served (not buffet style) and on most (but not all) evenings Connie, the lovely cook originally from the Philippines, prepares dinner. Every morning she posts that night's menu on a blackboard and guests can decide whether to eat onsite or venture out to one of the many, many excellent restaurants both in the town of Vejer and in the surroundings towns. But dinner out means driving in there dark on small, unlit roads, some not paved. So I usually take a big lunch and skip dinner unless the day's menu appears unmissable.

By now I'm beginning my ninth day in my own little paradise. As I mentioned, days begin with breakfast, then time back in the room for catching up on e-mails, reading their newspaper online, playing around with the cat, and feverishly attempting to squeeze out more of this report!

By 1pm it's time to prepare for lunch. II always book ahead but often show up late due to getting a little lost or having to make an "essential" stop (today's essential stop will be tag a butcher highly recommended by Connie in a tiny hamlet not too far away. It looks easy to find but who knows......things are not always what they appear, right??? The reason for this stop will be to further investigate the red (colora) lard that I first tried yesterday in a sandwich at VENTA PINTO.

Who knew that lard could be considered fairly healthy???? In my very scant reading, I learned that in some ways lard has more health benefits than butter...I will be reading more later...
And it's a real culinary highlight in these parts. Imagine that I was here for 10 days last year and had heard of it only in passing and when I glanced into the vitrine at VENTA PINTO where they had lines of rustic terra cotta jars, plastic clamshell containers and glass jars filled with....red and white lard; some with slices of pork inside and some with just the lard.

I'm sure some people reading this want toga, but then, when you're traveled to northern Italy, I'd guess that many of you have sampled lardo di Colonnata in Tuscany (its home is near Carrara) or even in Venice, where I first fell in love with this delicacy, laid in gossamer sheets over toast as a starter welcoming us to AI GONDOLIERI. (I remember swooning about the taste back then and asking the waiter if I could have another taste, and he set the entire platter on our table!!!


So now I'm off, late as usual, to the butcher shop and then on to El Palmar where I have a lunch plan at the new AZOTEA.

Originally Posted by amsdon

Scrunchita , my apologies if I missed i but what was the name of the hotel in Vejer please?