Three Wise Men on Bicycles

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year and more precisely Feliz día de los Reyes Magos. In Spain, Santa Claus is thought of as far too mainstream and instead we celebrate the Three Kings or Wise Men. Personally, I think three rather glamorous looking Kings, bearing three times the presents, is a much better deal!

On the eve of the 5th the streets are lit up all over Spain and starry eyed children flood the plazas and avenidas eagerly awaiting for the Cabalgata. The Cabalgata is a huge procession of trucks and tractors carrying scenes from the nativity. Real life scenes! With real life donkeys and camels and geese and even pigs. All of which are shoved a top of a wobbly stage balanced precariously on the top of trailer. The same trailers used to cart the olives to the mill just weeks before.

The animals are kept in line by the Marys and Josephs and all the other characters who are dressed in semi shiny, badly sewn costumes. You often see a very pregnant Mary choke-holding a goose or a piggy who’s desperately trying to jump off the tractor. But all in all everyone behaves pretty well and it makes for a fantastic spectacle.

Although watching the starstruck animals and characters go by is very entertaining, the highlight of the Cabalgata is definitely the sweet-throwing. Kilos and kilos of boiled sweets are thrown into the crowd as children (and many adults, too) desperately fill their upside down umbrellas and funnel the sweets into their bags. The umbrellas, I am sure, must have started as protection from the sugary missiles, but have now turned into a very efficient method of collection. As the years go by the Cabalgata sweet-throwing has evolved and nowadays you might be lucky enough to get a football, a barbie or even a live rabbit!

This year I have sadly had to miss the Cabalgata as I am currently in Japan. So I am not too sad about it really! Eliott and I have come to the Japanese Alps for a month to ski the famous Nippon-powder. We are staying in the little snowy village of Nosawa-Onsen, where the cars are square and the walls are made of paper, despite the freezing temperatures.

So far we’ve been enjoying the delicious food and regularly soaking in the Onsen after a good day skiing. The Onsen or hot springs are quite the experience…. Ladies to one side, men to the other and you might find yourself bathing next to a bag of eggs which are cooked in the boiling waters to be served later in your bowl of ramen!

And with the New Year come New Announcements!

In 2024 we will be starting E-bike Holidays at the farm. We’ve converted one of the stables into a very smart Bike Atelier, where Eliott has meticulously hung all his tools (of which there are literally hundreds) and now spends most of his time greasing, degreasing, polishing and shining our also very smart vélos. 

Taking on the mantle from Mum and Dad, Eliott and I will be guiding guests through the Sierra on bike-back. Using the same old mule tracks and adding some of our own, stopping at Mari and Emilio’s for lunch and coming back to the farm for a home cooked dinner. The mode of transportation might have changed but the Sierra remains roughly the same as it did when my parents first ventured out with their guests, 35 years ago.

Everything will be taken care of during the week, transport to and from Sevilla, all meals, guided biking and of course we will use Finca el Moro as our base.