A Celebration of Fried Breadcrumbs: Migas Festival in Torrox pueblo

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Marianne under Axarquía, Fiestas and Festivals, Laws and Customs

You might not expect ingredients for the perfect Christmas party to include 2000 kilos of flour, 500 litres of olive oil and 3000 litres of sweet Moscatel wine, but that´s exactly what´s required to cater for the 40,000 guests who visit the annual Migas Festival in the village of Torrox.

Many towns and cities throughout the world have unique dishes that encompass their overall culture and tradition. Migas is a traditional Andalucían peasant dish often made from breadcrumbs, although in Torrox the migas are made with flour. Normally served as an accompaniment to a main dish, of fried fish for instance, migas comprises of fried bread crumbs liberally laced with garlic, and may also contain small pieces of chorizo, ham or peppers.

Each year, on the last Sunday before Christmas, (so, this coming Sunday – December 23rd 2012) this gastronomic festival which has been declared of “National Tourist Interest” by the Junta de Andalucía, will serve more than 40,000 visitors.

Whoever said “there is no such thing as a free lunch”, obviously had never visited Torrox pueblo!

From early in the morning, teams of cooks prepare the migas for free distribution to local residents and visitors to the festival. The ringing of a bell is the signal for everyone to come and collect their plate of migas, which is served with a glass of local wine and an “arriera” salad (made with oranges, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and olives) to accompany the meal.

There is plenty to do during a day at the Migas festival because as well as free food and drink there are many craft stalls, traders selling fine cheeses, chorizo, cakes, nuts and sweets, the opportunity to enjoy guided walks through the village, and street artists, as well as choirs and local dance groups, who all help to create a wonderful festive atmosphere.

Of course, in true Spanish tradition, this is just another excuse for a party, but on a warm, sunny December day, why would you not pursue that with some vigor?

(BTW – didn´t they do well getting Angeline Jolie to pose for last year´s poster? 😉

You might also enjoy:

La Noche de San Juan: Families, fires and football!

The heart of Cómpeta: El Paseo de las Tradiciones

CBBH Photo Challenge: Simple Pleasures

Travel theme: Circles

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Marianne under Photo challenges

Here’s my entry to this week’s Travel Theme, but with a twist!

Can you guess what this photo is all about?

Edited later to add:

OK, I’ve teased you for long enough! As most have you have correctly guessed, the photo was taken inside a bullring. This particular one is in the city of Antequera, in the province of Málaga.

What I particularly wanted to show you was the burladero (from the Spanish burlar: to evade, to dodge). In regular places around the ring, the wall is pushed outwards leaving splits that allow the bullfighter to take refuge, but which are too narrow for the bull.

The bullring in Antequera dates from 1848 and was rebuilt in 1984 in a style that reflects the city’s diverse architectural influences. It is said to be one of the most beautiful in Spain.

Image credit: cc Wikipedia

More photo challenges you might enjoy:

Simple Pleasures

Blue

Repetition

Everyone’s a Winner, Baby, That’s the Truth!

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Marianne under Axarquía, Uncategorized

It’s been quite a winning day for my blog, East of Málaga, today.

First of all, I received the Bronze Award in the Expat Blog Competition for Spain – and I want to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me. I am truly humbled by your many kind comments and words of support.

blog-award-2012-spain-bronze

There were 55 expat blogs taking part from Spain, so to come third at the first time of entering is quite an achievement. East of Málaga received a staggering 77 votes which would have been enough in any other country category to have won a Gold Award.

Considering I was pitted against blogs by professional journalists and book authors, I am extremely proud to have won the Expat Blog Bronze Award for Spain 2012.

My second piece of good news for today is that Josh at Spain for Pleasure became the 1,000th follower of this blog.

1,000 followers – WOW!

Josh lives in the beautiful city of Granada in Spain (pictured above), is a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language and has only been blogging for six weeks. I’d love you to pop over and say hello to Josh and give him some tips on How to Survive a Spanish Winter! Poor thing – he’s freezing!

Do you remember this beautiful Eagle Owl I photographed at a Medieval Market in Torrox village earlier this year? There are several ways of saying “owl” in Spanish – el búho, la lechuza or el mochuelo, to name but three – but however you say it, they are pretty spectacular, aren’t they?

As a way of saying THANK YOU to all my blogging friends, followers and supporters I’d like to give you all an early Christmas gift that will last you throughout 2013.

I found this gorgeous Owl Lovers Calendar for 2013 at The Owl Barn. The calendar is completely customizable; you can select the images for all the months you want to print and create your own free calendar or you can simply download the pre-made version. Just click on the owl calendar above or in the sidebar and all the instructions for how to download your Owl Lovers Calendar are there.

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR CONTINUING SUPPORT AND ENJOY YOUR CALENDAR!

AVE: Taking the Fast Track from Málaga to Madrid

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Marianne under Places, Slice of Life

AVE train waiting at Platform 3, Malaga railway station

Whenever we need to travel to Madrid, it can sometimes be a bit of a bind having to go by road. Even though the roads in Spain are usually very good, with light traffic compared to the UK, there is always the problem of what to do with the car at the other end. To be honest, flights are not that much quicker once you factor in all the waiting around and security checks. So on a recent trip to Madrid, we decided to let the train take the strain.

Our journey from Málaga to Madrid was one we had been particularly looking forward to, as we had managed to secure some bargain-priced First Class tickets for the AVE train (the initials stand for Alta Velocidad Española, and AVE is also the Spanish word for bird).

High-speed AVE trains link major cities in Spain at up to 187mph and, if you book in advance online, you can find some great cheap fares at the official Spanish rail website, RENFE. We found one-way First Class tickets for 53€ each, while on the same train the Tourist Class Economy tickets were selling for 89€. I always knew it paid to travel in style!

Club lounge at Malaga Railway Station, Spain

Inside the Club Lounge at Malaga Railway Station

Drinks available in the Club lounge at Malaga Railway Station.

On arrival at María Zambrano station in Málaga we were afforded the luxury of the Club Lounge, where we could help ourselves to free hot and cold drinks, snacks, watch TV, read a selection of newspapers, catch up with some work, or just relax in the comfy chairs whilst awaiting the departure of our train. The 11.05am AVE train, left promptly on time, heading for Madrid’s Puerta de Atocha station, a distance of 512 kilometres.

Spanish AVE train waiting at Malaga Railway Station, Spain

The sleek, white AVE high-speed train waits at the platform for our departure.

The sleek, white, Spanish-built AVE train sports the kind of futuristic nose more familiar on Japan’s Bullet Trains. With a journey time of 2 hours 35 minutes, no lengthy security checks or waiting at airport gates to contend with, and ample leg-room with comfortable seating, the AVE train is a vastly superior experience to any budget airlines over the same route in terms of price, time and comfort.

First Class coach on the AVE train, Spain

Inside the First Class coach

Drinks and sandwiches along the way.

Comfy seats and lots of leg-room.

We were offered a welcome drink of our choice as soon as the train pulled out of the station, and it wasn’t long before we were watching thousands of olive trees flash by. Once the one brief stop at Córdoba was behind us, it was time for the attendants to offer hot towels and yet more drinks and sandwiches. Eat your heart out British Rail!

The Spanish countryside flashes by as we travel on the AVE train

The Spanish countryside flashes by as we travel at up to 301kms/hour on the AVE train.

298 kms per hour on the high speed AVE train in Spain

The indicator shows 298 kms per hour on the high speed AVE train but we later reached 301 kms per hour!

Blasting our way through the Spanish countryside, we watched the on-board speed indicators at either end of the carriage climb ever higher, until we finally reached the maximum 301 kms per hour – 187 mph. Rail company Renfe is so confident that its trains will reach their destination on time, that it promises to refund the full ticket price on any journey that is more than five minutes late. How about that? Eat your heart out again, British Rail!

Needless to say, after a relaxing journey, we arrived in Madrid refreshed and just ahead of schedule.

For anyone wanting to make the onward journey to Madrid’s Barajas Airport, I would highly recommend the Airport Express shuttle bus rather than the much more confusing Metro train (which involves three changes and is not good if you are lugging heavy suitcases with you). The Airport Express Shuttle Bus starts its journey right outside Atocha railway station, and will have you at the airport within 35 minutes for only 5€. Click on the link to MadridMan’s excellent information about times of buses etc, with very helpful photographs to help you identify the Airport Express shuttle bus.

What’s your favourite method of transport? How would you travel if money or time was of no object?

You might also like to have a look at these articles:

Cost of Living: East of Málaga, Spain – November 2012

East of Málaga: Following in the footsteps around Comares

Frigiliana: Photographs I love – and why!

Last chance to vote for East of Málaga for an Golden Expat Blog Award!

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Marianne under Axarquía, Uncategorized

There are only a couple of days left to cast your votes, and I’m currently in SECOND PLACE, but with some very stiff competition.

I NEED EVERY VOTE I CAN GET!

CAN YOU HELP ME WIN?

ExpatsBlog.com trawl the net dishing out awards to the very best expat bloggers they can find for each country. They have gold, silver, bronze and runner up awards for the Top 5 blogs in each country. The competition is in the final assessment stage right now, so I need your help (and votes!)