In
addition to working hard and gaining knowledge on the actual finca, another goal
of these farm stays is to experience as much local color and culture as we can. This proved to be a little difficult on the
Finca Los Tres Alcornoques as the distance from the finca to the pueblo
required the use of a car. There were
two bikes at our disposal but seriously, the summer heat of the land locked San
Vicente did not turn the bikes into a very inviting option.
Needless
to say, when we were invited to a party hosted by a neighboring finca, we were
excited! The owner of the finca was an
Extremaduran man in his early forties called Pablo Luis, who in his earlier
years had worked as a human shield in Colombia.
His job was to accompany political dissidents thereby insuring their protection
from public retribution. It was in
Colombia where he met his beautiful wife, with whom he returned to his family
finca in San Vicente. When Brin told him
that she had two Americans staying with her and could we come to the party with
her, he gave his consent, as long as we were not marines (don’t ask, I didn’t).
Immediately
upon arrival at Pablo Luis’ finca, after the traditional two cheek kisses were
distributed, we were offered an appetizer of homegrown figs which had been
soaked for 11 months in a liquor equivalent to grappa and then dipped in dark
chocolate. As I bit into a fig, the
flavor progressed from the sweetness of the chocolate, to the fruitiness and
earthiness of the fig, to, BAM! Alcohol! Holy smokes!
Amazingly delicious not to mention that after two figs on an empty
stomach, I had a nice little buzz going!
According
to Brin, and as we witnessed firsthand, there are very specific times
throughout a Spanish fiesta that particular types of alcohol are to be enjoyed.
As more appetizers appeared, including home cured jamón, olives, and of course
Spanish tortilla (a very traditional frittata-like dish), we quenched our
thirst with Estrella Damm, a typical Spanish lager, and tinto de verano, a refreshing mixture of red or white wine,
lemonade, and agua con gas (bubbly
water).
Brin
had described Pablo Luis and his friends as “hippy dippies” which translated
into a dress code of loose flowy pants and dresses, an overall liberal and
friendly atmosphere and the passing and signing of a petition against closing
the railway station in San Vicente.
Their “hippiness” also manifested in the array of grain and vegetable based
dishes like garbanzo bean curry and spelt with tomato and onion. Clearly, my cous cous salad with mint,
parsley, cucumber, red pepper, and onion was a huge hit, in fact, the first
dish to go! In addition to these dishes,
what’s a Spanish potluck without deviled eggs topped with tuna, pan con tomate (bread with tomato) and potato
salad?
After
dinner and the Estrella and tinto de verano glasses were cleared, out came bottles
of wine, a traditional rice pudding and an ice cream cake, not so traditional
but yummy none the less. Clearly this is
not a culture that frowns upon mixing types of alcohol as we soon found that
there was yet another phase of drinking.
After dessert, the wine was replaced with cocktails and homemade
liquors, such as the 11 month old fig liquor and similarly aged plum liquor. These were unlike anything I had ever
tasted. Strong but pure in the flavor of
the fruit, not doused in sugar and artificial chemicals like many of the fruity
liquors I have tasted in the States. And
it just keeps getting better as I have recently learned that my dad has planted
fig and apricot trees in his yard, and I happened to have a near and dear
friend, Katie Blandin, who just happens to be a cocktail mixtress. Let the steeping begin!
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