Spain Uncovered

Guide to Bodegas in Jumilla

If you fancy visiting a Bodega in or near Jumilla you are spoilt for choice, however if you are specifically looking for a tour in English that will limit your choice a bit, as Jumilla is inland and therefore many local people only speak Spanish. This guide is intended therefore to point non-Spanish-speaking people in the right direction.

The bodegas situated within walking distance of the city centre are all very different, so this is also a resumé to help you decide which bodega is right for you. You may of course want to visit several bodegas, however you will need a lot of stamina if you intend visiting them all on the same day!

1. Bodegas Viña Campanero

This is the smallest bodega in Jumilla and if you speak a bit of Spanish it is definitely not to be missed. Pedro and his father are very welcoming: they enjoy showing people around and are very proud of their newest acquisition, a small bottling unit, which was only installed last year. There are great views of Sierra Santa Ana from the salón, a tiny wine museum, and they also have a reasonably priced shop on their premises. The bodega is behind BSI, so it would be good to combine a visit here with one at BSI.

http://www.vinacampanero.net/visitas.asp

Museum in Viña Campanro — Museum in Bodega Viña Campanero

2. Bodegas San Isidro (BSI)

The largest bodega in Jumilla is BSI, which is a co-operative. Tours in English are available, but please make sure you book in advance. They have some experimental vines on their site, however in the vendimia we see tractors queuing up with loads of grapes to deposit there, many of them from small vineyards, as well as trailers full of olives later in the year. They also have their own wine museum and a shop on their premises.

http://www.bsi.es/

3. Bodegas Silvano Garcia

They have two members of staff who speak good English, and they do several different tours, including a visit to their aroma room. The visit to the aroma room costs a bit more but all our visitors have said it is worth doing, as it is not only educational but also fun.

If you don’t normally like sweet wine (I didn’t), I recommend forgetting your prejudices and trying their award-winning dulce wines. I am now a convert and particularly enjoy their Monastrell dulce, which is perfect with dessert at the end of a good meal.

http://www.silvanogarcia.es/es-bodegas-silvano-garcia-visitas-a-bodega.html.

4. Bodegas Pedro Luis Martínez

More commonly known as Bodegas Alceño, we think that this bodega is so good because the chief winemaker is very particular about things such as the correct temperature, which is reflected in the quality of their wines. It is the oldest bodega in Jumilla, being founded in 1870. Some English is spoken, but remember to book in advance if you want a tour in English. Don’t forget to buy some wine before you go!

http://www.alceno.com/

5. Bodegas Bleda

We were lucky enough to be guinea pigs for their first tour of the bodega in English several months ago. Antonio Bleda had only been learning English for two months at the time, and we were very impressed by how good he was: by now he probably speaks perfect English!

It is worth visiting this bodega for its location alone: situated about 2 kilometres outside Jumilla on the road to Ontur, and surrounded by vineyards. Not only that, but they have many award-winning wines, though my personal recommendation is their Castillo de Jumilla Blanco, which everybody who has tasted it rates highly – even the committed red wine drinkers! It is also very reasonably priced, so you can afford to buy several bottles to take home.

vinos@bodegasbleda.com

6. Bodegas Carchelo

Slightly off the beaten track, but recommended for a visit because of its location in the Valley of El Carche and because at least one member of staff (Poñi) speaks good English. My daughter Kate was impressed by their branding, and said that she would immediately spot their wines in any wine-shop because of the distinctive black and white hoops around the neck of the bottle.

export@carchelo.com

7. Bodegas Viña Elena

Another family business, which was originally called Bodegas Pacheco after the grandfather of the current generation. It is now named Bodegas Viña Elena after Paco’s youngest daughter Elena, who is being groomed to take over from him. You can see the original bodega as well as the smart new installations, and don’t miss the lovely garden at the back. The bodega is at km 52 on the N344, the main road between Jumilla and Murcia. Tours are available in English by contacting them in advance.

visitas@vinaelena.com

The local bodegas charge from 5€ per person for a tour, including wine tasting and nibbles, though you can negotiate a reduction for a large group. As mentioned above, it is advisable to book in advance, especially if you want a tour in English. All of them sell wine on the premises, so even if you haven’t booked a tour of the bodega you can pop in to buy a few bottles of your favourite wine.

Other bodegas well worth a visit are Bodegas Luzón, Bodegas JM Martínez Verdú, Hacienda del Carche, Casa de la Ermita and Bodegas Finca Omblancas. They are all out of town, which means you can see the vineyards as well as visiting the bodegas. More details can be found on the Ruta del Vino website – you need to scroll down their page to find links to all the bodegas.

Our last Música entre Vinos – till 2012

We had such a wonderful evening last night that I don’t know how I can possibly condense it all into one post. We had two events to attend with our friends Lesley and John (thank you for chauffeuring us Lesley!) both of which were being held outside, so we were grateful that it was another lovely summer’s evening.

Our friend Cristina was getting married under a pergola at Salones Pio XII and we didn’t want to miss seeing her even though we had booked tickets for our final Música entre Vinos, which was due to start at the same time. The bride was traditionally late, though early by Jumillano standards – however she does come from near Barcelona, which probably explains it. Cristina looked stunning, in a very elegant understated way, as she arrived in an open-topped sports car.

The occasion was enhanced by our friend Jaqui singing a couple of songs, and although the civil ceremony was in Spanish we could follow what was happening, more or less: the moment when they both said “Si”, the handing over of the rings, the new husband kissing his bride and finally the signing of the register. We witnessed the moment when they became husband and wife, before we discreetly slipped away. We had brought some rice to throw, however when we spotted at least two large boxes of rice sitting on a wall behind the pergola we reckoned there were plenty of other people willing to carry out this duty.

Bodegas Viña Elena were hosting Música entre Vinos for the first time, so we were curious to see how well they coped. We have visited the bodega before, so we weren’t too worried about missing the tour, and Loles had kindly confirmed that the concert wouldn’t be starting until at least 21.15.

The organisation of the whole evening was superb, starting with the moment when we arrived at 21.15 and were efficiently directed first to the car park and then to the collection point to pick up the all-essential wine glasses. Background music was being played as we headed towards the bodega, so we knew that Loles had been correct in saying that if we arrived at that time we wouldn’t miss any of the concert.

We had timed our arrival to perfection. We were trying the first of four wines – Paco Pacheco Blanco 2010 – and accepting some of the tasty food on offer, when the musicians started tuning up. The catering had been done by Media Luna, who brought out plate after plate of delicious food: including spoons of scrumptious seafood, chunks of Manchego cheese, plenty of jamón for the carnivores, and cubes of juicy melon. We were impressed by the Bodega’s Tinto Jóven, which we reckon is one of the best from 2010.

There was a great ambiance and I would say that this was one of the most enjoyable events we have attended during Música entre Vinos this year. Part of this was due to the fact that so many of our friends were there enjoying themselves, part of this was due to the friendly welcome we received from Paco Pacheco and his family and part of this was due to the music from Cantos Jazz Fusión, playing classics like “Bye Bye Black Bird” and “Autumn Leaves”.

We mentioned this to our friend Pedro, President of the Ruta del Vino, towards the end of the evening – adding that we preferred it when busloads of fellow Brits weren’t around, especially those who complained about the lack of chairs! Having said that, after standing up for well over three hours in my high heels, I was grateful when a couple of people left and we were able to grab their chairs to sit down for a while.

Our final verdict is that Música Entre Vinos 2011 was an outstanding success, with a winning combination of good wine and food accompanied by good music, and that each year it seems to get even better. We can’t wait until Música Entre Vinos 2012 – and promise to publish full details here, as soon as Pedro emails me!

Vintage stuff

Even before you see the welcome sign to Jumilla, the Ciudad del Vino, it’s pretty obvious that Jumilla is a wine producing area by the numerous vineyards on either side of the road. There are olive groves, almond trees, orchards of peaches and pears as well, but it’s the vine that dominates the landscape.

Casa de la Ermita and eclipse 048 — Vineyards at Casa de la Ermita

Wine has been produced in Jumilla since Roman times from which I gather – though history isn’t one of my strong subjects – that Jumillanos have been making wine for a very long time.

When phylloxera devastated vineyards in France in the middle of the 19th century, there was a resulting boost to Spanish winemaking and particularly in Jumilla where the monastrell grapes were unaffected. French wine-making immigrants brought their expertise to the area, which was a turning point for Jumilla wines, even though they too were affected by phylloxera at a later date.

Early exports of Jumilla wine were in barrels and, as they were taken by train to Alicante and shipped from there, the wine was designated as Alicante wine. The next important stage in the history of Jumilla wine therefore was on 22nd January 1966, when it was granted the right to have its own D.O. Currently there are 42 bodegas within the D.O. Jumilla and, contrary to rumours, John and I haven’t visited them all. At the time of writing our total is 13 – lucky for some!

The creation of the Ruta del Vino Jumilla, which is certified as one of the Wine Routes of Spain, was an important step for wine tourism in Jumilla. Twelve bodegas, two wine shops, one specialist food and drink shop plus seven restaurants are amongst the associates, who all work hard at promoting Jumilla and its wine.

Last year the Ruta del Vino won a special mention in the national awards for best enoturística initiative for its popular and successful Música entre Vinos events. Los Chilines vinoteria was also shortlisted, which didn’t surprise us after attending their many excellent winetasting events, including La Gran Cata, one of the year’s highlights, which we will be going to next week.

Times are hard, so Jumilla isn’t resting on its laurels. One of its biggest export markets is the USA, helped no doubt by the fact that Robert Parker has given 90 points or more to many Jumilla wines over the last few years. He has recognised that Jumilla wines are extraordinarily good value and commented on their superb price-quality ratio. Last year the main markets for Jumilla’s bottled wines were the UK, USA and Germany.

However there are new markets out there and local bodegas are also looking to increase their exports to other countries such as Japan, Russia and Canada. In spite of the world-wide recession, over 8 million litres of wine were sold in 2010, with a slight increase in the amount of bottled wine, although figures for bulk wine were down.

This year Jumilla celebrates its 40th Fiesta de la Vendimia, where wine flows from one of the fountains in the city centre, much wine is drunk by both Jumillanos and visitors, and on the last night lots of wine is thrown over the participants. Not surprisingly, John and I consider that a bit of a waste!

So let’s raise our glasses to Jumilla wine – Salud!

Is Jumilla a city or a town?

I have already mentioned that Jumilla is the “Ciudad del Vino”, but is it really a city or is it just a town? Most British people visiting Jumilla for the first time assume that, with a population of just over 25,000, it is a town. We expect cities either to have a cathedral, which traditionally was the case, or to have a significant population – therefore we wouldn’t consider Jumilla to be a city. However Jumilla was granted city status by King Alfonso XIII on July 17th 1911, and the city has just celebrated its centenary. At the same time the Town Hall was granted the title of “Excelentísimo”.

Jumilla was honoured because of “the increasing development of agriculture, industry and trade and their constant adherence to the constitutional monarchy”. I don’t know how many citizens are monarchists nowadays, but I do know that the wine industry in particular is always looking for new markets and introducing initiatives such as “Música entre Vinos”, so they are definitely following in the footsteps of their ancestors.

While I am talking about the history of Jumilla, maybe I should mention how many significant dates for the city end with the number 1.

1241 – Alfonso X conquered Jumilla for the Kingdom of Castile.

1411 – Saint Vicente Ferrer preached in Jumilla and the first Holy Week procession was held.

1461 Juan Pacheco, the Marquis of Villena, restructured the old castle and built the Torre de Homenaje, as seen today.

1911 – King Alfonso XIII granted Jumilla City status.

1931 – The Parish Church of Santiago and El Casón (Roman funeral monument) were declared National Monuments.

1981 – Old town of Jumilla was declared of historical importance.

1991 – HM Queen Sofía visited Jumilla for the inauguration of the Teatro Vico after its restoration.

The first significant date was 600 millions years ago, when a series of mammals left their footprints in the area of La Hoya de la Sima. Another important date was 1,500 BC when the first Bronze Age population settled in the city.

The Romans arrived in 180 BC, settling in and around the current site of Jumilla, until the troops of Abd-El-Azid conquered Jumilla in 713. It was the Arab conquerors who named the town Jamila – meaning beautiful – and they ruled until Alfonso X (remember him?) conquered the town in 1241.

When we first visited the local archaeological museum, we were a bit puzzled by the dates. We use BC to represent the years Before Christ and AD for Anno Domini (Latin for the year of our Lord) representing the years After Christ. In Spain AC is used rather than BC, which we eventually worked out meant Antes de Cristo, and DC is used instead of AD, meaning Despúes de Cristo. Confused? Yes, so were we!

I don’t want to send everybody to sleep, so I think that is enough for your first history lesson. The next history lesson will be about the wine industry in Jumilla: just for a taster I will mention the fact that the first vines here were grown by the Romans, which as you know was a long time ago.

Essential Spanish Conversation

Anybody living in, or going on holiday to, a non-English-speaking country will no doubt have a bit of sympathy for their compatriots who decide to play it safe and keep to English-speaking areas. It’s not easy to learn a foreign language especially for those of us who are, to be honest, a bit more mature, however once you decide to live inland, away from the tourist areas, it becomes a necessity.

There are lots of books and courses out there, claiming that you can learn Spanish/French/German/Turkish (delete as applicable) in 7/12/30/90/100 days (delete as applicable), or just 10 or 15 minutes a day. What I would like to see is one saying that you can speak Spanish fluently after three years. We have been here for three years now and, although we know lots of Spanish words, we are far from being fluent.

We can get by on an everyday basis without too many problems and, through watching Spanish TV every day, we have learnt to understand a lot of what people say to us, but our main difficulty is gathering our thoughts quickly enough to be able to reply confidently in Spanish. We have British friends who have lived here a lot longer than us who say the same. Somebody, who will be nameless, has a catchphrase: “No problema”, which is fine but it does become a bit repetitive if you don’t say anything else – and that of course is a problema.

Listening to Spanish people talking to each other, I started to realise that lots of phrases came up on a regular basis. I also realised that many people talk at the same time, without listening too closely to what their friends are saying, which is when I came up with the idea of my” Essential Spanish Conversation” course for all social occasions. The good news is that it is totally free!

You need enough of the basic language to be able to follow the conversation, even if you don’t understand every word, and then all you do is insert any of the following words and phrases at what seems to be the appropriate moment.

“Si, Si, Si.” or “No, No, No.” You will immediately stand out as an extranjero if you use only one Si or No at a time.

“!Claro!” – meaning of course – is particularly helpful if you aren’t sure whether Si or No is the right response.

“Poco a poco” – little by little – is the correct reply when asked how your Spanish is progressing. (If you are already fluent in Spanish, you won’t need this course.)

“!Madre mia!” is the acceptable exclamation when something shocking or surprising is said to you. It is particularly appropiate when a firework goes off unexpectedly and startles you (this happens frequently in Spain!) or a motorist totally ignores the fact that you have a green man and therefore right of way, accelerating over the crossing ahead of you.

“Más o menos” – more or less – is used a lot when talking about time in Jumilla, where punctuality is virtually unknown. A friend asked us the other day what time the concert started, to which we replied “A las ocho. Más o menos”.

“!Jésus!” is the most common response when somebody sneezes, though some people prefer to say “!Salud!”

“!Qué guapo/guapa!” is a compulsory phrase whenever you peep into a pram to admire a baby (which is in itself a compulsory action). It doesn’t matter if the baby is ugly – Spanish babies are all guapos or guapas. If the baby really is good-looking, a superlative is called for: “guapisimo” or “guapisima” is what you need. You know, of course, that guapo is for males and guapa is for females: usually masculine words end in “o” and feminine words end in” a” in Spanish, though obviously there are exceptions. Who said learning a foreign language is easy?

Spanish people are naturally very helpful. A common greeting here is “¿Qué tal?” quickly followed by “¿Bien?”, hinting at the expected response, which is of course “Bien” or possibly “Muy bien”. They also have an uncanny ability to recognise when they have lost you conversationally, asking “¿No entiendo?” If you didn’t understand, you will then tell them “No entiendo”.

So there you have it. Instead of just nodding to show that you understand (más or menos), just learn a few common expressions and impress your Spanish friends and neighbours with your language skills. !No hay problema!

I am sure that this principle also applies to people living in France, Germany or any other foreign country, trying to learn the language. Do you have any key essential phrases to add to my list?

Eating out Spanish style

Many people visiting Jumilla for the first time say that they want to go somewhere “really Spanish”. To be honest they would be hard pushed to find anywhere in Jumilla that isn’t Spanish: two Chinese and one Italian restaurant is about it. The following are John’s and my favourites for what we feel are very good reasons, so why not check them out and tell me what you think? Remember that Spanish people rarely go out for lunch before 2pm, so if you get there by 13.55 you should get a table. 😉

1. Restaurante San Agustín (Av. de la Asunción, 64)

Good food, a great atmosphere and fantastically friendly staff: this has to be our number 1. As I don’t eat meat I love coming here for their delicious fish dishes, using fresh fish from Santa Pola. Their desserts are also yummy, making it very difficult for me to choose just one. Menú del día is 10€ in the bar, where we usually eat when we are on our own, as we enjoy the lively atmosphere. It is still a very reasonable 12€ in their new, stylish restaurant where the posh people eat, and where we eat when we go out with friends.

2. Bar Paraíso (C/Cura Abellán, 23)

If you want to go to a typically Spanish bar, for an excellent value ménu del día at 8€, this is the one we would recommend. This is also one of the few bars to offer their menú at weekends, including festivos. Friends we have taken there have said that it is some of the best food they have tasted in Spain, so why not give it a try?

3. Restaurante de Loreto (C/Canalejas, 73)

This is the place if you want to splash out: we paid 20€ the last time we went there for menú del día. Of course if you are based in the UK you will think that is ridiculously cheap for an excellent meal in lovely surroundings! We had to admit that it was good value considering the quality of the food and the wine served with it, which was Tavs: one of our favourites. The restaurant is set in a 200 years old mansion, with six beautifully decorated individual rooms, and a summer courtyard at the back, so if you go there you will enjoy looking around.

Bodegas Carchelo 012 — The courtyard in Restaurante Loreto

4. Duque de Lerma (C/Rambleta del Convento, 7)

By the time we walk up the hill to this restaurant, we are always ready to enjoy their reasonably priced menú del día at 9€. The bar is small and cheerful, whilst there is a large restaurant at the back for groups.

5. Restaurante Reyes Católicos (Av. Reyes Católicos, 33)

This is a popular restaurant, with a small bar, where they do a menú del día for 12€. It is conveniently situated on the Avenída of the same name. When we went there with Spanish friends nobody looked at the carta – they just ordered what they fancied, and luckily everything was available. The staff were very obliging when we asked for queso frito con tomate without the tomato, for me. They also cooked some calamares separately for our friend Lesley, who is on a gluten-free diet.

6. Restaurante Monasterio (Av. de la Asunción, 40)

We have enjoyed the 9€ menú del día here on many occasions. The restaurant was refurbished about a year ago, and we were very dubious the first time we went in after that, as it seemed very new and very quiet. However it is back to its normal noisy self and is as popular as ever, especially for take-aways. For some reason, the last few times we have been there, people were popping in to buy their lunch and take it away.

7. La Brasería del Ave (C/Valencia, 11 – corner of Reyes Católicos)

We have a soft spot for their bar, as we inadvertently gate-crashed the opening party after it changed hands. We were walking past just after it re-opened so decided to go in for a glass of wine and a tapa. John ordered our wine and was asked if we wanted a tapa so chose something. Later on, a member of staff brought over more tapas, so we had another glass of wine. After enjoying lots of delicious tapas and wine, John went to the bar to pay our bill, only to be told that it was free as they were having an opening party for their family and friends. Oops!

Having enjoyed tapas in the bar, we were delighted when they opened their restaurant, where they do a good menú del día for 10€.

8. Bar Las Delicias (C/Hernando de Nuño, corner of Calle Lope de Vega)

This tiny bar is tucked away in our local barrio of San Juan and deserves a special mention for their Thursday bargain menú del día at only 3.80€. They also serve delicious tapas and have weekend specials, so although this bar is new we expect it to be around for a long time.

9. Casa Sebastián (Av. de Levante, 6)

Very handy for the Tuesday market, as it is situated in the market building, Casa Sebastian is the only restaurant that isn’t open in the evening and that doesn’t do a menú del día. Their carta though is reasonably priced and the food is very good, so if you are laden with shopping and don’t want to go too far, why not have a meal there?

10. Méson Jumillano (Av. de Murcia, 47)

Convenient for people shopping at Aldi, and easy to spot as it is also on the right-hand side as you head into town, this is our local restaurant. The first time we went there we decided that the man behind the bar looked uncannily like René from ‘Allo ‘Allo. Since then it has changed hands, and in my opinion the food has changed for the better, so we pop in there for the 9€ menú del día on a fairly regular basis. When the weather is warm, we occasionally sit outside for a coffee or glass of wine with our dog Lisa.

11. Cafeteria Monreal (next to Hotel Monreal, Calle del Doctor Fleming)

This café, adjoined to the hotel, serves consistently good food. It has a 9€ menú del día during the week and also on Saturdays. We have always enjoyed the food there and the staff are very friendly.

12. Michelangelo (Av. Reyes Católicos, 58)

Sometimes, no matter how much you like Spanish food, you just have to go out for an Italian meal don’t you? Not surprisingly it is popular with families and it is probably one of the safest choices for eating out in Jumilla if you are a vegetarian.

¿Hablas Inglés?

Most staff in the above restaurants don’t speak English, although some restaurants do have menus in English if you ask for the “carta”. We have discovered however that a couple of staff in San Agustín speak a few words of English, as do staff in Loreto and Monasterio.

Be warned, when you are going somewhere for the menú del día, that some waiters will rattle off the choices in rapid Spanish, making it hard to follow even if you speak Spanish fluently! They are always willing to repeat it more slowly though (más despacio), and if you are lucky the menu will be written down on their pad so you can have a sneaky look at it.

If you come on one of our “Walkers Tours of Jumilla”, we will be happy to book the restaurant of your choice for you in advance. Please leave your comments and your own recommendations below, even if you don’t agree with our choices.

¡Que aproveche!

Crisis? What crisis?

The world-wide recession has hit Spain badly, although in Spain they refer to the “crisis” (pronounced cree-sis). We have noticed several shops and bars closing over the last couple of years, occasionally re-opening under new management before the inevitable happens and they close for good. Existing shops and bars are always coming up with ofertas to attract customers and some bars that previously only opened in the evenings have started opening earlier in the day for desayuno. The Spanish tradition of going out for breakfast is still going strong, in spite of these tough times, and bar-owners are doing what they can to stay in business.

The special offers are particularly helpful for British pensioners living here, who have seen the value of their pensions plummet because of the worsening exchange rate. We have happily taken advantage of the Thursday special menú del día at Bar Las Delicias, which costs a mere 3.80€ for three courses including drinks, and are strong supporters of the various Ruta de Tapas promotions that have taken place over the last few years.

Even before the summer sales started, many shops were advertising special offers. I ventured into Juan Guardiola, one of the most expensive clothes shops in Jumilla, when I spotted their “Outlet” sign. I emerged triumphantly with a matching evening top and skirt plus another top for a grand total of 25€. Female readers will understand when I boast of saving over 100€!

The last time we went into Murcia on the bus, we were sorry to see that the shop advertising “Precios Anti-Crisis” had closed down. Presumably because, even with their precios anti-crisis, the crisis had proved too much for them.

In spite of the crisis, new shops and bars have been opening in Jumilla. I think this is a sign of Spanish optimism, plus their willingness to word hard. Rather than bemoaning their lot and signing on for the “paro”, they choose to start their own business. I hope for their sakes that they manage to ride out the storm. We are more than happy to support them by shopping in the new shops and having coffee (or wine) in the new bars for as long as our dwindling pensions allow us!

A young man I know through facebook has been writing messages on his facebook wall, advertising the fact that he is looking for work. He makes it clear that he is willing to work hard and prepared to take a lowly position, though he would hope to progress. If I had work to offer, I would be happy to employ someone who is showing a bit of initiative.

We also saw in La Verdad, one of the regional papers, that the budgets for fiestas have been cut back. To me, that sums up living in Spain in these hard times: they wouldn’t dream of cancelling a fiesta, however they recognise that spending needs to be curtailed. Jumilla hasn’t been as badly hit as some towns, possibly in recognition of the fact that this year is the 40th Fiesta de la Vendimia, however the budget has been cut by 30%.

Apparently this is likely to be achieved by savings on fireworks and concerts, though the line-up just announced for the concerts taking place during the Fiesta looks pretty good to me. Pablo Abarán is a young singer-songwriter whose debut album went to no 1 in the Spanish charts and gained him a platinum disc. Joana Jiménez won the TV competition “Se llama Copla” and apparently she is the voice of the moment. Having listened to them both on youtube, I am looking forward to hearing them perform live in Jumilla.

As for saving money on fireworks – nobody told the organisers of the Fiesta de San Fermín, judging by the number of fireworks lighting up the sky!

Why won’t the Spanish…

Once a week we buy the Costa Blanca News, partly for general information of interest to British expats, and partly to shake our heads at the insular lives some British expats lead here, especially on the coast. Of course that is their choice, but I do wonder if they realise what they are missing by not integrating more.

The letters page is usually where this attitude is highlighted and most weeks there is at least one letter to incense me, however last week was the first time that it actually drove me to replying. The title of the letter was “Why won’t the Spanish try to speak English?” The writer (who was anonymous – why do you think that was?) went on to say that most Spaniards now have compulsory English lessons in school so they have little excuse for not trying to speak English.

Good point. I think that those Spaniards who learnt English at school should try to speak English – when they go to the UK. The writer’s argument is based on the fact that he and his wife learnt French at school, so when they visited Paris for the first time in their forties they were bursting to try French for real. Right. So if you learnt French, you should try to speak French in France. If you learnt English, then you should try to speak English in England. I hope that you are following me so far, as everything is nice and logical. Million dollar question is coming up now: does that mean therefore that if you learnt English at school you should try to speak English in SPAIN?

The classic quote from “Enquiring citizen in the Hondon Valley area” now follows. “The Spanish appear very resistant to even coming half way to meet you and this, I fear, is more to do with their unfortunate history and insular attitude to foreigners.” I think there is a very good case for substituting the words “Enquiring citizen” for “The Spanish”, don’t you?

He follows this up by saying: “Moreover, there can be no doubt that they get exposure to English in their everyday lives in the shops and streets of Spain.” This is probably because there are so many other British people like “Enquiring citizen”, who walk around the shops and streets of Spain expecting everybody to speak English to them and complaining when they don’t.

He adds: “It seems most Spaniards who must have studied English in school don’t want to venture an occasional “good morning” to me.” I suggest that it would be more appropriate, and courteous, for him to venture an occasional “buenos días” to them.

In my reply, which was one of five responses published in Friday’s paper, I stated that we live in Jumilla, and cannot walk down the street without niños calling out “Hello” or “Good morning”. Young people are always apologising for their English not being good enough, to which we usually respond “it is far better than our Spanish”! We don’t expect anybody to speak English as we are living in a Spanish area, so we are trying to learn Spanish at the local adult education centre. Local people appreciate our efforts to speak their language, and those who speak some English show their appreciation by occasionally speaking our language too. When we venture into Bar Canarias, we never know whether the owner will speak to us in Spanish or English. I think it all depends on what mood he is in that day.

We also organise occasional intercambios, with Spanish people trying to improve their English and British friends (plus John and me) trying to improve our Spanish. I suggested that “enquiring citizen” might want to try that in Hondon where he lives.

I finished my own letter by saying that, contrary to his experiences, “Jumillanos on the whole have been very welcoming; many people here do try a few words in English (though we don’t expect them to), and our Spanish neighbours have been very friendly and helpful. Dare I ask whether it is more to do with the attitude of individual British retirees rather than the attitude of the local Spanish people? What do other readers think?”

I would love to hear your thoughts on this too especially if, like us, you are an expat.

Música entre vinos part 2½

Why part 2½ you may ask? Well my post about last Saturday’s Música entre vinos should have been part 2, but I got carried away and named it Saturday Night Fever instead. I couldn’t decide between calling this post Música entre Vinos part 2 or part 3 so I decided to compromise. I am British after all, and we like to find a diplomatic solution where possible.

So how did last night’s event in Bodegas Alceño go? How did it compare with the seven events in total that we had already attended this year? John rated it no 3, however I decided it was equal second: being diplomatic again.

We expected the organisation to be good, which it was. We knew that we would enjoy the wines, which we did. Juan Miguel is meticulous about how his wines are stored and served so that you can enjoy them at their best, and he always delivers. As soon as we spotted the familiar figure of the boss of Casa Canales with his efficient staff, we were reassured that the food would be good too.

We have enjoyed listening to the music of Jumilla Black Band in previous years, so we knew they wouldn’t disappoint. My only criticism is that I would have preferred them not to wear their trade-mark black clothes, as they don’t show up very well in my photos!

Our friends John and Lesley have visitors so they decided to give this event a miss, making us the only “ingleses” there last night. Fortunately we didn’t need them to chauffeur us this time as Bodegas Alceño is within walking distance of our apartment. Officially the bodega’s name is Bodegas Pedro Lúis Martínez, however they are better known as Alceño, which is a far snappier title.

The evening started well, as Casa Canales had already set out plates of savoury pastries and almonds, and soon we were enjoying a glass of vino blanco to wash them down with. We were outside, and it was a very warm evening, so we both appreciated the perfectly chilled wine.

We were joined by some friendly Jumillanos, who soon took us under their wing. One of them hunted down a bottle of chilled rosado, which they told us was “fresco” and perfect for such a balmy night. A plate of jamón appeared, which they offered to me, however I declined and explained that I didn’t eat any type of meat. Seconds later one of the señoras caught the attention of a waitress who had a plate of cheese and purloined it for me.

We were also joined by a friendly black and white dog, who bore a startling resemblance to our own dog Lisa. So much so that I almost said to John “You did lock the door behind you, didn’t you?”

Once again there was a great atmosphere, helped by the swing music that we were listening to, with everybody tapping their feet or swaying in time to the music. The food kept coming with hardly a break, and in spite of our best efforts we were having to pass plates on to the next table where a group of young people were willing to help us out.

As the temperature dropped, most people decided to taste the vino tinto, which was being served natural. For the benefit of readers living in the UK I would like to point out that, even though it was now after 11pm, cardigans and jackets were still superfluous. Instead of being hot, it was now pleasantly warm.

Juan Miguel had a quick word when passing by, advising us that the Tinto Dulce 2010 was muy bien. It arrived just in time to accompany the desserts and chocolate – and he was right: it was indeed very good. As, of course, was the whole evening.

Is the earth moving?

This topic seemed a natural follow-up to my post about the weather. When we were considering whether to retire to Spain, the word earthquake (or terremoto) never came up. The advantages of moving here were many, and pretty obvious: good weather (though estate agents tend to gloss over the cold winters!), relaxed lifestyle and cheaper cost of living – especially as we were living in London then.

Our specific requirements included the wish to be close to a large town – with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants – and also good transport links. However we didn’t want to be living in an expat urbanisation on the coast, as we wanted to experience the “real” Spain.

When we were first taken to Jumilla we discovered that, as well as ticking all the right boxes, Jumilla had a special attraction: it is the ciudad del vino! It wasn’t a difficult decision to make. We were going to retire to Spain and specifically to the city of wine, Jumilla. It never crossed our minds to ask whether Jumilla was in an earthquake zone.

Apparently Granada, Malaga and Almeria provinces are the main seismic risk areas in Spain, but Murcia region isn’t far behind. Nobody thought to mention this to us, and obviously we never thought to ask the question.

We had been living in Jumilla for two or three months when I experienced my first earthquake. We were living in a rented apartment at the time, on the fifth floor of a small block. John had gone to the Vodafone shop to sort out a problem with his mobile phone and I was on my own in the apartment. Suddenly I felt the whole building move sideways, then back again. Pausing only to grab my keys, I was out of the door and racing down the stairs.

The door to one of the two flats on the third floor was open, and our neighbour was peering out. “Terremoto?” I asked. “Si!” he replied. With a whimper I continued on my way, as he laughed at my reaction. When I reached the safety of the street, I was surprised to see that life was carrying on as normal.

John didn’t believe me at first, as he hadn’t felt anything in the Vodafone shop, however he read the report in the local paper a few days later and apparently I wasn’t the only person in Jumilla to have been shaken up.

A year later, after we had moved into our own apartment on the edge of town, I experienced my second earthquake and this time John shared it with me. I was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of the bedroom window rattling. I realised that John was awake too and asked him if he thought it had been an earthquake. He agreed with me, but as there was no further tremor we decided to stay put, turn over and try to go back to sleep.

We met our friend Nataliya the following day and mentioned it to her. “Oh, this is an earthquake zone,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Now you tell us!” we responded. We were slightly reassured by the fact that we live in a modern block, where a seimic study had been undertaken, and by Nataliya saying that though earthquakes occur here frequently, they are usually minor ones with little or no damage.

Our third year living here, and our third earthquake, but this time it had tragic consequences for the people of Lorca. We were sitting at home relaxing, having just returned from the shops. John was watching the news on Spanish TV, while I was checking emails, when he suddenly said “Look, there’s been an earthquake in Lorca and it seems to be pretty bad.” As I turned in my chair, it started vibrating. We looked at each other and both said “That was an earthquake!” just as the TV cameras showed the church tower collapsing. It was a surreal moment and it took us a few seconds to realise that, as the first earthquake was being reported on, a second one had struck. It was horrifying watching the story unfolding on TV and knowing that a lovely city in the south of our region had been devastated, with the loss of ten lives.

Casa de la Ermita and eclipse 008 — Benefit concert - just before the downpour

Jumillanos are compassionate people: they raised funds for Haiti after the earthquake last year and naturally they were quick to offer help to their neighbours, with many volunteers going to work there. A benefit concert was held last month, “De la mano por Lorca”, with various local bands and dance groups performing, which raised around 7,000 € in spite of the bad weather that night. Tomorrow we are going to a smaller concert, with just one local band, which will also be raising funds for Lorca.

Fortunately, as Nataliya had told us, most earthquakes in this area are small ones and cause little damage. Ironically, we heard on TV a couple of nights ago that there had been an earthquake in the English Channel, so it can happen wherever in the world you decide to live.