If you can’t stand the heat…
Photography by Brodie Gibson
Author: Trusha Naidoo
Date: 28th August 2017
…stay out of Spain in August! It was so hot, the locals where only out in the early hours of the morning. Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration. A siesta became a matter of survival.
Why were we there? Well, a wedding, a bit of flamenco and a family chill out. By that I mean, playing golf and tennis in the heat of the day. Not surprisingly, we didn’t get around to trying padel!
Despite Google maps we got lost a lot. The roundabouts kept sending us on a run around. Funny that. Stopping to ask for directions was equally mystifying but an interesting way to meet the local characters and practice my Spanish.
Arcos
We stayed at The Parador on the main square of this steep, hilltop town. The wedding was there so it made sense not to have far to go. If you’re going to be a tourist you might as well go the whole hog.
The night before the wedding, we went to a flamenco lesson before the show. Let’s just say learning the first part of the Sevillanas is not as easy as it sounds. It felt like my feet and my arms were not talking to each other at all.
As weddings go, it was a fabulous union of two clans and cultured. I was the translator for the ceremony - not exactly my usual role! Still it went smoothly. Such a beautiful setting, so many memorable moments. Got to love a wedding, yeah?
For some family time, we moved to a villa outside the town, run by a local family. Don Pepe took us on a tour of his ceramics factory where they make azulejos (Spanish tiles) then we met his son, a talented flamenco guitarist. Don Pepe even took the kids for a spin on his carriage hauled along by his very own pony, Furia. All in all, a wonderful place to look out at the sunset over the sunflower fields, from the pool with a chilled cerveza.
Jerez
I confess, I like a tasting - wine, cheese, olive oil, you name it. So we drove to Jerez to try some proper sherry. We took the tour at Bodegas Tradiciones. It’s fair to say, we got the lowdown on sherry making. I didn’t realise a lot of the bodegas buy the grapes in from particular regions - they don’t grow them. Who knew sherry is made of so many layers of varying ages? There were even a few casks from the same vintage as my good self! I also learnt the difference between Fino, Amontillado and Oloroso. Turns out I like Fino. We tasted each one with a typical Spanish treat - cashews, manchego, olives stuffed with anchovies and of course, iberico ham, lots of it. I skipped the ham in favour of the olives. Olives like tomatoes, taste so much better in Spain. As an added bonus, we got to view the owners’ private art collection.
Cadiz
Since it was hotter than ever, we had to head to the beach. Cadiz presented itself complete with little thatched umbrellas and loungers. As a shade lover, I approved. We couldn’t resist the allure of the waves as the afternoon haze set in. I couldn’t even consider playing bats though. That’s not like me.
Sevilla
We ventured into Seville on another sweltering day. It must have hit 45 degrees by the afternoon. Even strolling at a genteel pace raised a sweat. I dragged everyone to the flamenco museum, of course. Can’t go to Seville without doing this, I thought. We played the cajon (looks like a box, sounds like a drum), checked out the fine handmade guitars, watched some of the world’ best dancers on screen and immersed ourselves in art inspired by the passion that goes into flamenco.
So what did I learn? How to putt in flip flops. What not to wear to a flamenco lesson. And… how to appear to be a translator at your friends’ wedding.