Hurray! There’s obviously been a bit of fuss about the swimming pool closure – yesterday evening another note appeared to say that it would reopen from today, 4th October, until 15th October. Far more sensible and there are quite a few people taking advantage of it today.

My swimming has been in the sea today. It’s probably at its warmest right now, having had the summer sun on it over the last few months and it’s just fabulous. The waves were strong enough to make it interesting without being dangerous and despite ongoing concerns re sewage etc, the water has been very clean for the whole of our trip. So while Chris lazes and listens to his flamenco tutorials, I read my kindle, walk up and down the beach a couple of times, take a dip in the sea, shower, dry off in the sun…….and repeat! It’s tough……😎

Last night we tried to learn more about the Spanish obsession with el jamon – the ham. Everywhere, the ham is seen as a delicacy and enjoyed by all. We know that the most sought after is bellota ham from Iberian pigs which feed on acorns in oak forests. There’s a whole range of standards and classifications – from 100% Iberican bellota (from pigs with two parents of Iberican lineage), which get a black tag, 50% Iberican (one parent, usually the mother) with a red tag, Iberican that are sort of free range in the countryside – green tag – and Iberican fed on grain – white tag. We know that the purest bred pigs have a black hoof – la pata negra – and an elongated leg. The fat is the desirable bit – it’s supposed to melt on your tongue. Prices can go to well €100 per kilo. Cheaper is serrano ham, which is what us usually served up in tapas bars.

Feeling like we could make some choices without appearing totally ignorant we visited one of the local jamonerias. The fact that they served manzanilla sherry from the barrel was a promising start. Si, senor – dos copas por favor! Hams hanging from the wall had the various coloured strings attached so we thought we knew what was what! Not quite! A tasting platter was put together for us – a few slices each of Serrano, Iberican and bellota ham. The or ice for the few thin slices ranged from €2 for the Serrano through €6 for the Iberican to just over €10 for the bellota. To be honest the ham didn’t deserve a five times price differential and our favourite was the mid priced variety. We still don’t feel we’ve had the jamon wow were looking for – are we expecting too much, I wonder? Never mind, as long as it’s served with good sherry we’ll keep trying!