Head for Capileira – one of the ‘pueblos blancos‘ of the region – and a restaurant awaits offering something more spicy than traditional Spanish food – and in a place you’d least expect. El Jardin de los Sabores (‘Garden of Flavours’) is a lovely spot with spectacular valley views. You can wile away a leisurely … Continue reading
La Alpujarra is simply beautiful as anyone who lives here – or has visited – will testify. It’s not the first time we’ve stumbled upon a TV programme about the area and here’s another. It’s basically a long, but lovely, advert focusing on the food typical of the region. In short, a chef – ‘Atleta … Continue reading
A few weeks into the new year and Órgiva’s town hall have finally returned from the local café, and – with the input of the Andalucía tourist board – have produced…er…something: Sencillamente Órgiva – Simply Órgiva. (Whenever we see the word ‘simply’ we always think of the fine sausage company from years ago in London, but enough of … Continue reading
Late July and it’s been a cruel, cruel summer…so far. Enough sweat has already been expelled from our bodies to fill an English village pond (we’ve written about the heat before). Unable to simply hang up their fur coats like Zsa Zsa Gabor in a Bel Air restaurant, the cats have found their favourite spots which … Continue reading
Like the other tourism films on this blog, we didn’t lift a finger in producing it because, this time, we’ve been busy cleaning Saharan sand off every surface in sight. It came courtesy of last week’s rain which painted the Sierra Nevada orange like some awful 1970s dessert. The tango plume has gone and the … Continue reading
This post may be of interest to those who know this area well, in particular, locals who knew ‘Upper Camping’ – officially Camping Puerta de la Alpujarra. As of today it has, literally, bitten the dust and looks like a modern day Pompeii. It’s a sad sight and (was) a landmark – its red pyramid-like towers … Continue reading
High above Órgiva a pine-clad hill is punctuated by a white, three-metre-high walled area: Órgiva’s cemetery. Today in the drizzle we headed up there for no reason other than to enjoy the amazing view of the Rio Guadalfeo valley and the Sierra de Lújar. A duvet of battleship-grey clouds slid eastwards across the mountains while the … Continue reading
A friend told us recently: “do not leave that huge hole in the orchard without filling it in, otherwise it will turn into a well if it rains heavily.¨ Oops. Imagine pouring a bucket of water over a couple of ants; that’s how we felt earlier today. One of us stayed inside ‘holding the fort’ as … Continue reading
A while ago, small rock boulders suddenly appeared outside the building on Plaza Alpujarra that never opened and what people thought was the tourist office but it wasn´t (see this post). But it´s open and from mausoleum to one-room museum, Órgiva now celebrates the area´s history of mining on what is its own Uluru, the Sierra de Lújar. … Continue reading
The strips of sunlight shrink as dark spreads like black ink over the blotting paper slopes of the Sierra de Lújar. After sunset (officially around 7.15pm at the moment) there’s still a chill in the air. We put the littl’uns to bed each night; seedlings, that is. The huddled trays and pots form a plastic jigsaw in our … Continue reading
A walk in heat that would melt a candle in minutes probably wasn’t a good idea; still, we headed off west out of Órgiva towards the solar plant. No idea why, it just seemed like a good idea at the time. With almost-crispy wild fennel and thyme each side – dried in the merciless heat with … Continue reading
Barbara Rae, one of our favourite contemporary artists and a Royal Academician, is no stranger to Spain – that includes Órgiva. The scenery and brilliant light of Las Alpujarras has always attracted artists. Over the years, on visits to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London, we’ve admired her astonishing use of colour and composition. … Continue reading
Following on from yesterday’s post about the Ruta Olivos Centenarios in Órgiva – and that some of our younger (and older) readers love goats – here’s a 30-second clip. It reminds us of crossing London Bridge in the rush hour – but without being bumped in to and sworn at. It was filmed early on in … Continue reading
This stone wall, with the Sierra de Lújar behind, was spotted on a recent walk. They are a common sight but this one struck us as being particularly lovely. (Click image for higher-res.) Related posts: A tiger sky (photo) The darling buds of March Smoke got in our eyes © con jamón spain
…in this instance, a Californian boy and a Sussex girl living in the Midwest, US. Months ago, Ed and Charlotte got in contact via con jamón spain. When they visited Las Apujarras it was fantastic to meet them in Órgiva. Here’s their story of the month they spent here: When you live in Car Culture, USA, public … Continue reading
