I’m starting this particular post on late afternoon of the 25th Marzo as there is a little ‘event’ in Ítrabo tonight at 19h30 that involves the deliberate consumption of various amounts of local wine… hmmm. This could end brilliantly.
So, to help with editing this post for later, I’m getting ahead of the game by trying to anticipate some of the things we’ll be getting up to and [post picture of drinking wine here] …then, realise that it’s TOMORROW. This IS going well, I told you so.
Moving on: I’m starting this particular post on early morning of the 26th Marzo as there is a little ‘event’ in Ítrabo tonight at 19h30 that involves the deliberate consumption of various amounts of local wine… hmmm. This could end brilliantly.
First though, there’s a wee exhibition of the local fitness class, then we’re off to Salobreña for a bit, back in time to enjoy the festival and ‘judging’ of the local wines so there can be a prize giving on Domingo 29th when the main wine festival kicks off. The fitness class/exhibition looks like it went well with a good proportion of the locals having a bit of fun.
While not too many turned up to watch them sweat 😅 we did turn up, we couldn’t stay, however, as breakfast tostadas and coffee were impatiently waiting for us in Salobreña.
Tippi and I got to have a walk where I used to take the boys all those years ago, up the river from the beach of Salobreña. Clive was there too but had to run ahead for his Spanish class, so we hung back and took our time. It was lovely if actually a bit warm 🥵 for doggies in black fur coats. Tippi did find a good solution to some of the hot journey about half way there though.
Spain, like the rest of Europe as a whole has had some really wet weather recently and I had never quite seen as much water in all my time in the region last time as I am seeing now. It has turned everything green though, it looks very different to my last visits. This water that Tippi found is for all of the farming allotments and this was the only section that was doggy (well, my old doggy) accessible along our route into the village. She really wanted to jump into the deeper trenches, but I think even she saw that getting in and out might be beyond her wee legs. It did however put a pep in her step and made the rest of the walk a bit easier for her. As much as I hate to even think about it, my little baby ain’t no baby no more :'(
It was 20h30 before the first sample of Calvente was sent our way… Way too long in my drunkard’s opinion but only because I was totally and utterly flummoxed by the slurry Spanish talking about the local Mountain Wine 🍷 company
Bodegas Calvente
They told us all about the company (I think) and the wine making process (I think) then deemed it time to slake our thirsts with some bubbly that had been matured for two years, and some other wine officiando stuff blah blah Spanish blah. I’m sure I would have appreciated it all more if I understood it at all.
That sparkling wine stuff does get me quickly. A tiny wee glass and I was feeling it five minutes later… Okay, yes, I know that I’m a lightweight when it comes to sparkling wine, you don’t need to rub it in, shut up! (Heads up, I am writing this right after getting home from said fizzy wine samples, this could end badly) I didn’t actually know if the fizzy stuff was any good, it all tastes the same to me… Oh boy! After that, the white was introduced, same deal.
Then the Rosé (Rosada in $p@n1$h) and that went down my gullet about as well as the white 🤔 but I was very polite and kept it down for many many minutes, broaching hours… as we speak.
Finally… Then at long last for my own personal sanity, the reds came out. No, not Wales, who are about to go into the penalty shootout against Bosnia H in a World Cup qualifier match. My personal favourite for the night was the cheaper of the two reds, Laguin-da. Suited me, and to be fair to the more expensive red, I couldn’t tell the f-ing difference at this point anyway.
If it wasn’t for the tapas, I’d probably be a gibbering wreck at this point so I’m very happy that this part of Spain still serves great tapas for almost every drink 🍷🍻 Obviously, some are better than others but it’s a really nice, quaint, service that hopefully never dies out in subservience to an American culture that only appreciates… umm. Maybe you can tell me?
So here I am, 4 minutes to the end of the day and wondering if I should even post this as I sure as shit can’t tell if it’s anything worth reading from an outsider’s point of view.
I’ll save it ’till morning… G’night
Next Days Edit: Not much editing actually apart from this extra tat I’m on now. It was a very nice night out in Ítrabo. Everyone who attended can now look forward to the Wine Festival on Sunday and find out if any of the local wine grapes are still pressed by… feet. There is one maker here who apparently does just that. Realistically he probably just lied to some Guiris to impress them. I hope so. But… it’s funny to think that might still be a thing that happens in 2026.
Something I have realised is that I am not featuring the main character in this little escapade enough. Obviously Tippi couldn’t join us last night, Sunday might be hard for her too and the weather is definitely taxing her little self, so may miss some of this interesting day, but she and I get out every morning when it’s not too hot on those sunnier days (they’re not ALL beautifully warm and sunny, you know!) and we go out for walks down to Motril or Salobreña or even into the mountains to Carmen… oh, that was the name of the pub in… Guájar-Alto.
So to end on a pic of Tippi, I decided to go back a few years. Back to March 4th 2015
