Calliope’s Musings on Spain »

Holding my head up high

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Mantilla: a lace or silk shawl worn over the head and shoulders, often over a high comb. Peineta: (1) a large comb, with a convex body and set of prongs, used to hold up the mantilla; (2) when being fitted, an instrument of torture for women with short, fine hair

A bun-fight in Montejaque

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More than 50 local and international dishes – from gazpacho to Teriyaki chicken to ‘Gypsy Arm’ – were waiting to be tasted by the villagers and tourists. The judges had just started scoring the desserts when the masses could no longer wait. Those with the longest arms got to eat the most

A gastronomic delight

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Taste more than 50 dishes from Spain and all over the world when the village of Montejaque launches its bilingual (Spanish/English) Cookbook and Village Guide on 10 August

Hauling ass… or, what I’m willing to do for publicity!

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The printer jokingly suggested I travel by donkey to collect the first print run of the cookbook. So, wearing the traditional costume of 200 years ago, I rode sixteen kilometres over the mountains from Montejaque to Ronda. Now that is one sore ass … and my bum is hurting, too

Spacious three-bedroom holiday home for rent… ideal for couples?

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We, along with most of our foreign friends in our Spanish mountain village, are owners of holiday homes that we rent out to walkers, bird-watchers, and sun-worshippers. And we enjoy comparing notes on the habits of our renters…

Battle of the Bridge re-enactment in Montejaque

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On Saturday and Sunday, November 10 and 11, the villagers of Montejaque will be re-enacting, for the third successive year, the drama of the Batalla de la Puente

Cooking up a storm?

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For the past three months Carolyn Emmett has been co-ordinating the design and production of a cookbook and guide for the village of Montejaque

Rio Carnival? It came close…

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Six brawny men (three dressed as women and one in a chicken suit) won the jug-throwing contest – this was Carnaval day in Montejaque

My knickers are not wet!

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Up the hill and down the dale, I walked the rocky mountain trail; I saw the plains… I’ve got the pains to prove it.

The latest diet

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In our Spanish mountain village, the new name for successful weight loss is ‘cryptosporidiosis’. In three weeks, I’ve lost 5kg. and gone down two dress sizes

Ernest Hemingway’s ¡Olé!

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Admire the skill of the matadors or deplore the cruelty to the bulls; a first visit to a bullfight can bring out both of these emotions

¡Buen provecho!

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The foreign residents of Montejaque give the Spanish locals a ‘taste of the world’

An Elephant no more

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A new broom is sweeping clean at the soon-to-be-renamed Hotel Montejaque (formerly El Elefante Amarillo), located in the village square of this pretty pueblo blanco

The Michelin man in drag

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I am wearing seven layers of clothing; I feel fat and uncomfortable; my hands are freezing

Joseph Heller is right – It’s Catch 22!

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And IKEA is a four-letter word

¡Buen provecho!

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The foreign residents of Montejaque give the Spanish locals a ‘taste of the world’

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A backward glance

After four lessons to learn the ‘sevillana’ dance, I think I have finally mastered the steps. I’d been muddling my paso with my pasada, and turning right when I should have been turning left