Last Tuesday was a holiday here in Andalucia, and we spent it with Lidia and her family. We had loads of fun hanging out with Lidia, her brother Jose, sister Maura and dad, Antonio.
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| Doin' a deal |
This region of Spain is one of the main production areas of vegetables for all of Europe, particularly in the winter. There are thousands of acres under plastic which traps heat and allows all types of veggies to grow. Twenty years ago, Antonio started a distribution company that buys vegetables from the auction houses, called "subastas", and sells them, in turn, to the suppliers of supermarkets. The subastas buy produce from the growers and then hold daily auctions to sell it to the next level of distributors. So Maggie and I accompanied Antonio on his rounds to buy veggies for his company Oasis. He was born and raised in this area, has held various responsible positions in the local economy, is very well known, and does not speak a word of English. His nickname that he himself acknowledged is "The Radio" which explains why he happily chatted with us all day long despite our limited ability to comprehend what he was saying and providing appropriate responses. Bless him.
The auctions operated a little differently from what I have seen before. A price for a lot of veggies is stated, either on a computer screen or vocally, and a count down begins until a buyer cries out. I am not sure how the amount purchased is set, but the countdown continues until the entire lot is sold. Once all the lots are sold, the buyers go out to the warehouse and claim their goods. This seemed to be a chaotic process and, again, I am not sure how things got decided, but there did seem to be some flaring of tempers.
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| Chowtime with Antonio and Lidia |
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| Chew-the-fat-time |
Once, Antonio and his various purchasing agents got everything that was needed, it was back to Oasis to await delivery of the goods. Client's orders would have to be filling, the produce put onto pallets and delivered, and invoices sent that same day. All three siblings amicably work there, so it really is a family business. Inside in an enclosed area, there is a fully equipped kitchen where the family makes their meals while at work. Talk about fresh food! Apart from all the produce that comes in daily, out back in several pens there chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats, sheep, pigs and a variety of pets for Jose's young daughter, Laura. A few weeks ago when Maggie and Lidia ran in the Adra race, Lidia took us to visit Oasis for the first time. We arrived shortly after a few animals were slaughtered and made into various sausages (a few a which are now hanging from the boom gallows) and cuts of meat. Maggie and I had fun looking at all the animals in the menagerie. I was shocked by the "equipment" that the male pig was sporting. WOW! For all you city slickers that don't know what I am talking about, look it up on the internet *he he*.
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| Goat or sheep? |
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| Andalucian specialties |
Lidia whipped up a great meal consisting of typical Andalucian dishes, like patatas del pobre or "potatoes of the poor", another dish of smoked eggplant and peppers, and some chorrizo. Yum yum!
Antonio gave us a ride back to the boat, and we left happy and laden with fresh produce, chorrizos and morcilla (blood sausage), and freshly laid eggs. Lidia, Jose, and Maura remained to finish up work. We had a great time!
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| Lidia and Laura |
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| Laura |
Making friends among kind, generous people such as them is going to make it hard to leave in a few weeks. However, we are already talking about returning to spend some time here next winter to continue hanging out with all our new Spanish friends.
Branko
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