Monda, Andalucia

One missed train and an abandoned bike later we did eventually make it to our second destination, a tiny village in Andalucia called Monda.  Here we spent our time preparing vegetable beds for winter crops, fighting back brambles, grazing goats and sampling the local sangrias.  For lunch we would cook in the outdoor kitchen and we had fun trying some of Jamie Oliver´s recipes such as Chorizo and Tomato salad, which were very yummy.  We also spent lazy days on the beach in Marbella enjoying the sun and the ocean.  While we were in Monda we were able to experience Halloween the Spanish way.  In Spain, Halloween is known as Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead and is a very sombre occasion.  On this day Andalucians eat a special pastry known as the bones of the holy and decorate their family graves with candles and flowers.  It was very interesting to see the cultural differences between rural Spain and the UK and USA. Sometimes we felt like we were being transported back into time watching the children play marbles on the streets, asking the shopkeeper for groceries from behind the counter and toasting bread on the stove.


Summing up our time in Monda, we'd say that Christina was one of our better hosts. She definitely enjoys the element of exchange in the wwoofing system. Unlike our previous host, we felt she was very interested in our own experiences and actually had questions for us. The food we ate with her was simple, and as much as possible of it was freshly harvested from her garden. She offered a few different options for places to stay - at a neighbor's house, at her house, or up in the hills in her little caravan.

our lunch trailer

the outdoor kitchen

Marbella beach

The Mediterranean Sea