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The Wild Asparagus Hunters are Out and About

It´s that time of year. Cars parked in odd places, the solitary person - usually a man, popping up above a bank or from behind an olive tree. The hunters of the wild aparagus are here. The plentiful rain scattered with a day or two of sunshine has brought them out in droves. Some have their route, others instinctively know where to go. They appear, walking back to their cars, with a huge bundle of foot long green spears of asparagus. And off they go, probably not to be seen for another year - or another week if the rain continues. No matter how hard the shoots try and hide the older men hunt them down with stick in hand, to fob off the spiky old growth, and uncover the tender new stems of wild asparagus. Everyone has their favourite way of cooking them but the most common seems to be in a Tortilla - the thick Spanish potato omelette to which you can add anything that comes to hand - or is hunted down. My one or two shorter stem finds don´t come close to the experienced hunters catch. I...

Favourite Discoveries of 2011

Where to start?

My favourite book of 2011 was definitely Two Middle-aged Ladies in Andalusia, I first read an article while staying in the UK several years back mentioning it.

Why it took so long to finally order it from Amazon I don´t know. I do know I´m now more organised and write down my "must read list" just need to remember where I´ve written it and not all the book titles.

Penelope Chetwode wrote it in 1960 in diary-style portraying her trip on a not-so-young mare. Her story and the social history made me attempt to trace some of the places she stayed - but that´s another tale.

My favourite sight of 2011 has to be heading over the top of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, dropping down onto the plains and spotting La Calahorra.





My Favourite Drive of 2011 was from Almeria to Malaga along the coast road. I´d done bits, Malaga to Nerja, Motril to La Herradura etc. but never the whole lot. So I planned the camping trip inspections to be able to go along the bottom stretch. Beautiful in places man-made ugliness in others, but there is something so soothing and refreshing about the vastness of water and lack of traffic that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Alpujarras journey came a close second, but lost due to being like a bad rollercoaster ride to the stomach.


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