The Best Cafe Con Leche Ever
We are in 'Driving over lemons' country, where Chris Stewart landed and bought a farm - with a farmer - which had no running water or electricity...
The adventure turned into his life and a best selling novel many of us know...
We had googled where he lived the other night and discovered his village Ferreirola is just eight kilometres away from Bubion...
We made a plan that Monday being our 'rest from running day' seemed a good day to be regular tourists going for an outing in our car...
We picked Tim up from Teide where he had been enjoying cafe Doble, and wound our way down the mountain and then along a road that lead us to our destination...
Ferreirola is a beautiful white, well kept village, with hardly a soul about, some cats... Of course, and an old man with rosy cheeks and a walking stick, 'mucho sol' he said as he passed me; Tim and Anadi were looking at the map... I wasn't!
A church with a big strong brown door, firmly locked; gushing water from the mountain into the village trough, a woman knitting on her doorstep, a man lying opposite her on the ground, leaning on a step too, 'Ola', they said to us and then carried on chatting and laughing...
A wiry man in grey trousers, his shirt sleeves rolled up, was picking his way through a sludgy pile he had tipped from his barrow... 'Ola...' Quiet narrow whiteness, peaceful sleeping ginger cat with long arms... Stillness.
A big house for Sale... 79,000 euros...
'We could buy that and live here..' I said. Anadi laughed 'says the woman who doesn't want to live anywhere or own anything....'
We wandered on, past a lady in her nighty sitting on her terrace....
'It's funny how wherever people are, they are often stuck' I mused... 'Yes' Anadi replied, 'it's the mind that's stuck, there is nothing to stop anyone, but their thoughts...'
The energy of the village dictated our pace and we meandered, exploring, being, enjoying... Our steps naturally led us in a big loop and we arrived back at the church with the brown wooden door... Having not found an eatery, or even a shop, we climbed back into our car and made our way back to Portugos....
Great plates of food were brought to us, too much, very delicious... 'We don't have to eat it all' I murmured as we expressed to one another the amount of food...
I am getting used to being in Europe, and generally ordering less than we think we might want, and often asking for a portion to share between us....
We then explored together beliefs around food and eating... How much is for fuel, how much is for pleasure, how much is about sharing and being together, how much is unexplored habits, ingrained, not questioned... Ideas given us in childhood from our parents 'eat everything on your plate, or you can't have pudding...', 'Dont waste food..'
But isn't it just as as much a waste to out it in our tummies when we don't want it..?
And so we ate a delicious meal, of just what we truly wanted....
Followed by the best cafe con leche and cafe Doble ever....
