Andalucia - Southern part of Spain

Andalucia - this southern section of the country - consists of 8 provinces. Cádiz, the province where we live, borders directly on Sevilla, Málaga and Huelva. Huelva province, in turn, borders on Portugal.

Each province in Spain carries the same name as its capital, and people here, when asked their origins, will identify themselves first with their province, especially in casual conversation.

So an Andalusian who says 'Soy de Málaga' - 'I'm from Málaga' - most likely is referring to Málaga province, not the major city.

If the provincial capital city is in fact his hometown (that sounds like Spanish logic), he'll say 'Soy de Cádiz Cádiz' - 'I'm from Cádiz (city) in Cádiz (province) .

But once an ease of friendship begins to be established, the fiercely pueblo-loyal Andalusians,will thoroughly enjoy discussing their own place of birth - and discovering the surprising intertwining with that same pueblo of half the other people present.

Andalucia - the Agriculture

Andalusia makes up about a third of Spain´s ground area, and is a major supplier of Europe's vegetables, fruit and flowers.

Every bit of land here is farmed, and farmed well.

The farms around us range haphazardly in square metreage - a large, mechanised area can be right next door to a half-acre tended by hand. A number of the estates are not lived on, and many more have a cottage that is just used in harvest time. There are crops and livestock - sheep and goats, cattle and horses and mules.

The sheep & goats have real life shepherds who go out with their flocks, often taking along a burro - donkey - loaded with food & water for a day in the fields.

One of our neighbours owns a mule that has become a landmark to us. He/she grazes on a gentle hillock of wheat, and never seems to move more than a metre a day.(that's the mule, not the neighbour).

I look for him (stick with that!) every day, and at the evening you'd think he was posing for a profile photograph, as he stands silhouetted against the cream of the field and the pale blue of the sky.

Since I wrote the entry in late September about the drought experienced by all of us living in Spain, there have been some late autumn/early winter rains. These have relieved the situation, but the short-term and long-term implications are still being evaluated.

I'd left this page for longer than I intended - but I'd got a book in the writing and a publishing deadline to meet. I may move this across to a weblog page - I'm thinking about opening one up on the site, (still centred around living in Spain). And I refuse to call it a blog. (personal drum!)

Previous notes:

Now that I'm living in Spain, I'm talking about that. About Andalusian Horses, about the country - the campo - about the rich mix that makes up Andalucia.

Living in Spain, working in Andalucia, I'm constantly delighted by the people, the pueblos, the quirks and the kindnesses.

That's what these pages are all about - an ongoing journal of living in Spain as I find it - especially the Spain of the Andalusian Horse. You're invited to visit often, to see what's new.

VENDIMIA
September, for anyone living in Spain, is the time of vendimia - the grape harvest.

Vineyards cover over a million hectares, and you'll find families and pueblos - villages -whose economies have centred around grape-growing and winemaking for centuries. We have a farrier friend who shoes horses half-day - then goes home to his vineyard!

Jerez de la Frontera is the centre of sherry-making. The bodegas - the wine cellars - of Domecq and Osborne, Real Tesoro and Gonzalez Byass are all here.

The climate and the soil are perfect for growing the 'Palomino' grape used in making fino and amontillado - favorites among the sherries.

Albariza - that white soil in the photo - gets its color and its qualities from a high percentage of lime.

Mixed with the larger vineyards of the sherry houses around Jerez are dozens of private vineyards.
This one appeals to me because of the name:

Viña - vineyard
el caballo - the Spanish word for horse.

But the sobering end note to all this is that Spain is suffering its worst drought in memory. Everyone living in Spain right now, north or south, is looking out for rain. Agriculture is being hard hit, and the grape harvest is estimated to be no more than 45% of the usual. The good news, though - so they say - is that the sweetness of the grapes becomes concentrated when there's extreme dry conditions, so maybe there'll still be a good harvest.

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