traveller Thursday April 1, 2010 52 TODAY Andalucia Olive country life

Traditional white-washed houses are used as holiday homes.

Olive groves As we drove to the peaks, we watched brown, rugged landscapes give way to silvery olive groves, as the smell of pine and citrus perme- ated the air. Our tour guide, Roberto, an olive cultivator in his 50s, told us what he loved about life in the : “Nothing thrills me more than reap- ing the fruits of my labour. Every season, I go out into the fields to collect the olives when they’re ripe. That is the best part of my job.”

A view of Bubion from above. Natural springs and holistic centres The pastoral life he described is an Hippies as well as helps cure that Spanish staple, ser- enticing one. In his 1957 book South rano ham. of , British writer Gerald villagers live as one The scenery, too, is pretty. Brenan detailed his seven-year stay in ’s deep south White-washed villages, remnants in this area in the 1920s. Since then, of Muslim communities, cling onto it has become a veritable destina- Nellie Huang the slopes. tion for hippies, and now, New Age [email protected] While the Alpujarras is off the practitioners. A KIND of Shangri-La lies tucked in tourist trail in the way that cities The gateway to the Alpujarras, the mountain range, such as Madrid and Barcelona are the town of Lanjaron, is home to a deep in the heart of Andalucia. its stars, the region’s bucolic way of Buddhist meditation centre, yoga The Alpujarra region is one life tends to attract travellers who halls and holistic stores. It reverber- of the most fertile areas in Spain. want to stay. ates with spiritual energy, drawing Water from the mountains and My partner and I took a tour artists and writers from all over Mediterranean sunshine feed into the mountains to see this the world. fruit orchards while the dry air bohemian enclave for ourselves. >> Continued on page 54

Nothing thrills me Wind turbines dot the landscape: more than reap- A mix of old and new. ing the fruits of my labour. Every sea- son, I go out into the fields to collect the olives when they’re ripe. That is the best part of my job. Roberto, an olive cultivator in the Alpujarras

Photos Nellie Huang TRAVELLER 54 Thursday April 1, 2010 TODAY

Beautiful houses Trip notes in the town of Go: The nearest airports are in Malaga . and Granada. Lufthansa and British Olive country life Airways fly to both airports for about $1,500. For optimum mobility, rent >> Continued from Page 52 ers. Mushrooms and herbs found in the a car at the airport. The rate is about We drove on to Cortijo Amapolis, a wild are used in local cuisine and what €50 ($94) a day. Road signs are in retreat in the shape of a Mongolian yurt people can’t pick, they grow in their back- Spanish but it is easy to find your way hidden in the valleys. The retreat pro- yard — one reason why Alpujarran cuisine with a map. Most locals speak only gramme combines meditation, yoga and is gaining fame for its organic origins. Spanish, so learn some words before you go. The other option to book a massages. Farmhouses, or cortijos, abound, serv- tour. Olive Oil Tours (www.oliveoiltour. One of the guests, Ruben, a Brazilian ing food in its purest form. We stopped at com) depart from Granada. A six-hour dancer, said: “Waking up to the mountain Cortijo Garin to sample a typical item, the excursion including lunch costs €55. air, meditating in the tranquillity and being Plato Alpujarreno — a mixture of jamon surrounded by fellow artists — that’s what (cured ham), morcilla (congealed cow’s When to go: The best time to visit makes me feel alive. I’ve been here for blood) and patatas a lo pobre (pan-fried is in spring (April to June) when the only a month, but I know this is now my potato), tossed in locally produced olive oil climate is pleasant and flowers are in home.” and condiments. Naturally, the ingredients bloom. Temperatures can drop drasti- came from the restaurant’s own farm. cally at night, even in summer. Winter Organic living is best avoided as roads might be We left the hippie trail behind us, with the Casa rural valley, the backdrop to the famous trio: closed due to snow. slopes carpeted by meadows of wildflow- Twelve kilometres away lies the Poquiera , Capileira and Bubion. The Eat and stay: three are reportedly the most stunning • Cortijo Garin (www.cortijogarin.com). of the Alpujarras’ white-washed villages. The average price of a meal is €10. Each is a phalanx of twisting mule tracks, steep cobbled paths and wooden balconies • Alpujarras Holidays (www.alpujarra- draped with bright red peppers that invites holidays.com) has homes furnished hours of exploration. with a kitchen and swimming pool. We pushed further to the other end Rates from €40 per person. of the highlands, 20km away, to get to Pitres. The town has a bundle of rustic • Cortijo Los Iberos (www.casaibero. holiday homes, or casas rurales. Poised on com) is an excellent farmhouse for travellers to experience rural living. the slopes, these guesthouses have an un- Rates from €22.5 per person. obstructed view of the gorge and outdoor terraces to while away the time. • La Oveja Verde (www.laovejaverde. As the sun set, we settled into La Oveja es) has panoramic views. Rates start Verde, a traditional country-style guest- from €30 person per night. house, to enjoy a glass of wine. The beauty of the place inspired a fel- • Cortijo Amapolis (www.armonia. low guest, a middle-aged British writer, to tantrika.net). Retreats that include use Pitres as the setting for his next novel. accommodation in a yurt, meditation “I want to use the romance of the Alpujar- sessions and three meals daily cost ras in my novel,” he said. “A place like this €150 a day. The village of Pampaneira lines the valley slope. is rare these days.”

The Extraordinary Taxi Ride of their lives Singaporeans Ong Jing Yi, 33, and her brother Jason, 35, won EVERYDAY themselves a taxi ride of a life- LUXURY 56 time on Tuesday. The prize was part of Tourism Western Austral- ia’s Extraordinary Taxi Ride contest launched in February. The pair will embark on a seven-day tour of the Australian state with Doug Slater, a taxi driver chosen in an online voting contest. He will receive A$25,000 ($32,041) for driving the Ongs and 10 other pairs of passengers across Western Australia and telling them all about his home state. His charges hail from Australia and around the world. The journey will take nine weeks starting from April 9. WA’s Tourism Minister, Dr Elizabeth Constable, presents Extraordinary Taxi Ride The Ongs will embark on winners Ong Jing Yi and Jason Ong with the prize certificate. the fifth leg of the journey, visit- ing areas such as Monkey Mia, a The siblings were selected by while on the trip. popular destination to hand-feed a panel of judges based on their For more information on the dolphins and Shell Beach, which as passion for travel and their ability contest, log on to www.extraordi- it name suggests, is made entirely to present themselves. They will be narytaxiride.com.au. of shells. blogging about their experiences Terence Lee