With the cooking school closed until the spring we find ourselves exploring the beautiful countryside and mountain villages of Andalusia again. The almond trees are already in blossom which proves that this year has started off much warmer than last year. Today we took a trip deep into the hinterland behind Marbella through the Rio Grande valley and up to the ruins of a 6th century Arab castle at Cartama. From the top of the castle mount you can see why the Moors chose this spot to monitor and control all movement north and south of their empire.
Today the plains are white with almond blossoms against a green carpet of lush rich grass and tiny rustic fincas. Flocks of parrots and herds of red goats are to be seen but otherwise the locals are all enjoying their siestas. We came across a simple bar earlier in the day though which was lively enough to attract our attention. The tapas on offer included a delicious Jamón serrano (literally mountain ham; a type of jamón (dry-cured Spanish ham), which is generally served raw in thin slices with fresh baked bread and olives and goes very well with a nice glass of rioja.
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