Finca Buen Vino, near Aracena
When I close my eyes I see chestnuts. It's only been two days but many, many conkers have been gathered.
So far, I'm happy with this new farm. We were collected from Aracena bus station by Jeannie Chesterton, one of our new hosts, and whisked away to their hilly farm estate. Originally from Scotland, Jeannie is an amazing cook. She holds cookery courses at the house several times a year. I was looking forward to my dinner!
Later we met husband Sam, a writer, and their son Charlie, who is also a qualified chef.
Our reception was much more relaxed and down to earth than that of previous hosts. We grabbed a grateful bite of breakfast then headed out to find the other wwoofers and get harvesting.
Another immediately notable difference here is the climate. Although we aren't too far from hot, dry Seville, there is a lot of rain in these parts. The area is at such an altitude that it has its own micro-climate. I'm told that it gets the most rainfall in Spain. Looking up some figures, it seems that December in Aracena can see over 300mm of precipitation. That's almost half what "rainy" Manchester gets in a year. Rain in Spain.
Needless to say, it was raining when we started our great chestnut endeavour. I was never more glad of my trusty mac-in-a-sac. Finding our wwoofing companions James and Mons already tackling a steep, chestnut-studded slope, I tightened my hood and became one with the conkers.
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