To find this idyllic place turn off the A369 Algeciras to Ronda road at Algatocin and follow the steep winding road signposted to Genalguacil.

Then on through forests of chestnut trees, which give the local villagers their living, until the Genal river is reached. Park alongside the road just before the bridge, or at the venta. Most times it will be quiet, but on weekends the Venta San Juan just across the bridge can be busy. It has great barbequed meat and is the perfect place to have a hearty lunch.

There is an information board on the left and right side of the road which gives you information about the rivers life and how the area evolved.

Follow the path just to the left of the bridge going up river, this leads on to smaller inlets and rivers running shallows and knee high pools which have been banked up by accumulated stones and fallen trees. Walking along this path means you get your feet wet so make sure you have suitable shoes.

A number of tempting places alongside the river and pools entice, but ignore these even if the cooler box is heavy, or stop and paddle for a while. Then walk on until a long stretch of the river is reached and the path is no more.

Here under dappled chestnuts is the place to spread the picnic blankets, blow up the floats and relax with cold wine or beers.

For the adventurous there are long stretches of crystal clear water to paddle along. Possibly to find out what is making that constant splashing sound in the distance.
Or just to find absolute privacy and quiet.

Further up river you will find more falls and pools which could lead you on along the whole length of the river if you had time. The high mountain walls alongside the river hem it in but slope out from it, so they do not make it feel oppressive.

So . . . the secret is disclosed, I hope the locals don’t find out I have told you!

Quite how different may be seen by how the owner reckons that, if you are on the train, you can ask the conductor to stop at the normally not-stopping station, and once you finish lunch you can signal the returning train to stop and pick you up!

The hours of the restaurant are posted at the doorway, but can change.

The train times are posted on the outside terrace of the restaurant but no instructions of how actually to hail the train to pick you up!

The outside terrace is the old platform and is covered for shade and the odd splash of rain. A shaded lawn garden surrounds the restaurant, with cats and birds vying for crumbs.

As the long lunch takes its course the odd train will pass by, from the new local bullet nosed ones to the long distance Talgo’s on their way to Madrid. Adding to the ‘sleepy station being passed by’ feel to the place.

The food is excellent and presented on the plate in a very attractive way. All courses have wide choices and are changed often. The service is good and not rushed.
A favourite place of ours to eat, not least for its quirkiness as an old railway station, complete with a station masters uniform and hat on the wall.

The link to their website is at: http://laestacion.sanpablodebuceite.com

The recipe I followed was from the website: www.ivillage.co.uk.

Everything worked out fine but I had much more mixture so I put the leftover amount into a small tin, lined with greaseproof paper. It worked well and when it was cooked made a small oblong sandwich cake. The cakes took a little longer to cook but I always feel that oven cooking times can vary so much that you have to use your own judgment.

As you can see from the photo, I went one step further. My butterfly cakes are delicious. I scooped out the middle bit from the each cake and put a dollop of butter-cream icing (75g butter & 150g sifted icing sugar beaten with just a little milk at the end for a better consistency) and a little bit of homemade plum jam on half the cakes and homemade nectarine jam on the other half.

Mmmmmm! . . . simply delicious and reminded me of when my children were young and I used to bake fairy cakes. It was a fight between all three of them as to who was going to lick the bowl, beaters and spoons!

Basic recipe for fairy cakes

Makes 24 mini cakes or 12 larger ones

For mini cakes you will need a 12 hole tartlet tin (these are 5cm at the rim and 1½ cm deep) and you will need to use it twice. For larger fairy cakes use a 12-hole bun tin (these are 6½ cm at the rim and 2cm deep). You can use the little paper cases according to the size tin you have. If not, butter the base and sides of the holes before filling with the mixture.

Ingredients: 125g/4½ oz softened butter 125g/4½ oz caster sugar 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract 125g/4½ oz self-raising flour 2 tbsp milk

Method: Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5. Either butter the tin or place the paper cases in the holes (see above). In a mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. You can use an electric whisk or a wooden spoon. Add the beaten egg, a little at a time, whisking to incorporate, then beat in the vanilla. Sift in half of the flour and fold into the mixture. Add the milk and the rest of the flour and fold until well combined. Spoon into the tin and bake for 12 minutes or until risen and golden on top. Allow to cool for ten minutes on a rack before removing from the tin.

We had sulphered but this year as usual but downy mildew took its toll and stopped leaf and vine growth in its tracks. The tempranillo was more or less wiped out but the syrah was okay and had reasonable grape growth. We have learned this year that we should use Bordeaux mixture, here it is called ‘Caldo Bordeles’ to stop downy mildew. The sulphur is to stop powdery mildew.

We like to harvest near the full moon when it is waxing gibbous. The best date was the 10th August and the brix levels in the grapes that we had were on average 20.

So at 5.30 we started cutting having laid out tables and work areas on the terrace and washed down all the buckets and basins and prepared our new destemmer or ‘despalilladora’ as it is called in spanish.

Friends arrived to help, being put into teams of cutters, carriers and table sorters. We did not have so many grapes and the new machine made easy work of destemming which last year had taken up so much time. By 9.00 it was all done with maybe only 200 litres in the fermenting tank. A big disappointment when we were expecting 1500 litres, but a lesson that nature can be fickle.

We cleared away all the buckets and had a harvest breakfast of hot sausage and bacon rolls washed down with bucks fizz, then some beer. Tortilla, cold meats, cheeses and prawns did the round of the table until all were full and ambled off ‘muy contento’!

Thanks to all who helped namely Carl & Jill, Carmen, Christine, David, Sarah & Antonio, Ikuku,  Jenny & Einar, Jim & Louise, Julia & Gordon, Paco, Penny, Thiery & Breda & Alannah.

The last word goes to Molly, our lost and found basset hound. She found it all too much and just laid down and fell asleep!

On the same tree will often be found the two different types of olive. The ‘manzanilla’ olive which has the shape of a little apple, round and plump, and the slightly elongated olive which is left on the tree to become black and is picked in late November or December and is used to make oil. Some trees have just one type of olive but grafting can give double cropping.

So now the verdear begins, clambering up a ladder to reach as many olives as possible. Standing on branches, stretching out and up, the olives seem to dance out of reach just when you think you have them in your grasp. The sun blazing down . . . hot and thirsty work, also very dirty as the trees seem to collect dust. The olives cannot be bashed down with a large stick like they can later in the years as they will bruise.

Olives that have small marks are okay for preserving, as the mark can be cut away, but deep marks are no good as it usually extends into the flesh of the olive and once cut away leaves very little left to eat.

Once collected, the olives with bad marks are discarded and the rest washed. Next job is to slice around the olive to allow the flesh to be cured. There are some wooden lap crushers that do the job of opening up the olive, but it leaves the olive looking battered with a gaping wound . . . not nice to look at when eating.

A washing up bowl full of olives will make about eleven or twelve good sized jars. I put the jars into the oven for 15 minutes at 200°C and boil the jar lids on the stove for the same time before filling.

I put 3 table spoons of salt into 1 litre of water, the salt water is thus the main medium for curing and this is not a too salty mixture, you can experiment here and maybe use less salt. It will take about 4 litres of this preparation to deal with our washing up bowl full. Now we start to bottle the olives. Some methods have you soaking the olives pressed down under water and changing the water until the water is clear, but this often leads to the olives going mouldy.

Into each jar put olives so that the jar is half full, then use some small pieces of lemon, two crushed garlics, a sprig of rosemary, a torn bay leaf, some torn basil leaves and a sprinkling of dried chilli. Pour the salty water over then fill the jar full of olives with more pieces of lemon, garlic, rosemary, bay leaf, basil and dried chill. Fill the jar to the brim putting a final layer of olives on the top. Seal and store in a dark place for at least 3 months.

This recipe can vary, red peppers can by used or fresh chillies or oregano. Any number of herbs can be used.
The salt water cures the olives by way of the cut made and the added ingredients give flavours. When the jar is opened it often foams out as fermentation has taken place. Rinse the preserved olives off several times and discard any olives that have discoloured. Pour over good quality olive oil before serving.

The devil is in the detail, so . . .

Barrel One

Five days prior to bottling,in mid January, I used four egg whites mixed with half a litre of  salty water to pour into the barrel. This is to take down to the bottom any remaining sediment that may be in solution.

Used 4 crushed camden tablets (sodium metabsulphite) in small white bucket for corks to soak. Used 10 crushed camden tablets in larger white container to flush through the pump and then put water into bottle soaking bin. We are using the pump to transfer the wine from the barrel to a container that has a tap and can thus fill the bottles easily.

Used two crushed camden tablets in container with tap and put water in  bottle soaking bin.

Rinsed bottles in sink using bottle brush then into black bin that has crushed camden tablets added. Soaked and rinsed bottles thoroughly, then into oven at 200 degrees centigrade for 15 minutes. The bottles have then to cool down for 10 minutes or so and then go straight to have the wine poured in and corked.

Changed water in soaking bin after processing 100 bottles or so and used 10 crushed camden tablets each time.

Started bottling at 12.30 and finished at 6.30 having bottled 256 bottles from the barrel before the sediment came through.

We tasted as we bottled and found the wine to have a bright, clear and fresh burgundy colour, there is some nose which should dissipate and the wine has medium length and a fresh young fruity flavour.

Barrel Two

Late February and time to prepare for bottling.  Used exactly the method as previously.

Bottled 252 bottles, which took nearly 6 hours.

The wine has a bright and clear burgundy colour, this time with no nose and good fresh berry fruit bouquet and flavour.

Barrel Three

Late April and time to prepare for last bottling of the 2010 vintage.  Used exactly the method as previously as it has worked well.

Bottled 238 bottles, which again took nearly 6 hours.

This final bottling has bright and clear colour with no nose and fresh berry fruit flavour, but is a little dryer.

Next year we will go into stainless steel tanks as I want to have consistent flavour.

Tubing wine from barrel

Using a narrow tube and capillary action we took the wine from the barrel and put it through a Vinturi Wine Aerator so that the wine was oxygenated before going in the bottles. This was a slow and laborious job involving many hands and because of the position of the barrel we had to sit awkwardly. A lesson to be learned for next year! We then poured the wine into the bottles

Hands, Tubes and Funnels

The bottles had previously been thoroughly washed in a cleaning and disinfecting solution and then had 15 minutes in the oven at 200C. As the bottles were filled we then took a cork from a separate cleaning solution and using our super corking machine pressed home the cork. This requires a strong arm as the nozzle first compresses the cork to make it smaller than the bottle opening and then pushes it down.

As the day continued and the line of finished bottles got longer the tedium of this particular job struck us and with a ready supply to hand we had to sample as we went. This led us to think of seemingly inspired variations of how we could accomplish what we were doing more easily. As our talkativeness increased so did our need to quench our thirst on what was after all a hot day anyway.

The line of bottles increased until at last we had over 200 of the blighters. Now where to put them? The coolest place in the house was in the porch, where the barrel had been, and in the family bathrooms. So the bottles were racked and stacked under the double sink tops in boxes to lie quietly to see how the taste would mature.

Many green bottles waiting by the wall!

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After five minutes you will see a large rock in the left side with a yellow and a white stripe painted on it. Shortly after this there is an unmade track on the left which you take. It passes some fincas and gradually ascends giving views over the village of Estacion and up towards Cortes de la Frontera. After approx fifteen minutes you will come to a Y junction where you must take the left fork.

The track descends and you will see a another track to the right and then an official sign for Jimera and Cortes. Keep straight on following the path. You will climb and then the road starts curving to the left and you start dropping down until you reach a red gatehouse with many security cameras. Follow the track and then walk under the bridge going crossing the river (dry or wet). There is a dirt road on the right which you follow and then is straight for quite a while as it heads towards Jimera.

Eventually the road arrives at a river crossing but don’t cross unless you want to go back to Estacion de Cortes. Cross the railway at KM 104.8 and you are now on a road between the railway and a fenced field.

After approx 20 minutes of walking on the farm road you reach a fence followed by two streams which may be dry or wet depending on the weather. Be careful as the path from here was marked coming from the other direction, so all the markings are facing the other way. You must look back to see them. There are marks are on trees, rocks and fences. Between the last two railway crossings are twenty or so such marks.

After the streams, you walk through small woods which have oak and cork trees and through small pastures.

When you reach a six-foot high tree stump take note that it is marked on the other side. From here on keep walking at the same level and same distance from the railway.

The track will bring you to a level crossing and then from here it is dirt track past an old mill and natural swimming pool then on past some walnut trees to Estacion de Jimera de Libar and some refreshments at Bar Allioli or Quercus restaurant.

Train times

Trains to Cortes from Jimera: 10.32 / 17.19 / 20.05

Trains to Jimera from Cortes: 8.14 / 13.28 / 16.54

Check train times at the railway station or online at www.renfe.es

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Most of the men shrugged except for one unkempt old man who turned his attention from the TV, which was blaring noisily, up high on the far bar wall. The old man who had glaring eyes and long matted grey hair trailing into his beard, shouted loudly and angrily ‘BAM . . . BAM . . . BAM’!

This brought nervous laughter and some derision from the drinkers at the bar, and also questions to the old man, which he answered with a garbled stream of words which made no sense. Interest subsided as the old man was considered to be a live-alone eccentric and not much attention was paid to him as he often talked and shouted to the TV in the bar.

Carvings on side of Casa de Piedra

Door & opening above on left side

It emphasised the mystery of the Casa de Piedra.

Was the old man referring to some incident from the war or a hunting incident. Certainly he was imitating the noise of shooting and even brought his hands up as if firing a rifle.

When local people are asked about the place they respond by answering that it is very old and that it was a church, some older men can remember the place being used as a bar as it was half-way up the track to Cortes, with local mosto being made and served. Mosto is made from the local grape-wines from vines called ‘Rey’, which means literally the ‘king’, quite what the variety it is I don’t know, maybe its a leftover from the old wine-producing days, as there are some rusty old presses in many an old shed in the valley producing the stuff for home use.

Described historically as paleo-christiano, meaning early christian, which should indicate a date of up to 325 AD when the Council of Nicaea met and brought an end to the early christian period. The term is often used in a narrower sense of the very first followers of Jesus and the faith as preached and practised by the Twelve Apostles, their contemporaries, or their immediate successors, also called the Apostolic Age. Could it be that an early Christian or Anchorite hermit made his home here in an unusual place, or maybe in what was an existing holy place from a much earlier time?

The 6th and 7th centuries, so between 500 to 700 AD, are usually mentioned as to when the excavation was made, but no evidence is given. This would mean the work was done in the time of the Visigoths as the Romans left this area in the early 400’s. The Moors were only here in the early 700’s. But who would have made this excavation and why?

The monastic movement when priests left their original place of instruction and went to new lands to preach the new gospel and lived in caves was during this time. Perhaps a roman christian made a base here and persuaded locals to make the excavation. Or there could have been a natural mold in the rock left over from a trapped animal or vegetable matter which was opened more.

The time to hollow-out the rock by one or two men would be many weeks depending on the tools available and how they worked the rock. The internal area is roughly 2 metres high by 3 metres wide by 5 metres long so 30 cubic metres of rock to remove.

Maybe they used a fire and water technique, called fire-setting, which was employed by the Phoenicians who established gold mines on the nearby Sierra Bermeja mountains. Romans also used fire-setting as part of their building and mining techniques so it could have become a standard practice for a populace who worked with rock.

Carved detail

Carved detail

In the local catastral or property register of year 1752, the Casa de Piedra is notated as ‘la bodega del cura’ or ‘the winery of the priest’.The word ‘lagar’ or grape treading floor, is also used at a later date. The references to wine making has echoes with our vineyard which is just down the track and has the name of ‘La Vinha de la Iglesia’ on its title deeds.

This whole area encompassing the Guadiaro river valley up to Salitre and over into the Genal river valley was covered in vineyards.

The Phyloxara infestation wiped out all of the vineyards in a very short time in the 1870’s and many local villages were emptied as people immigrated to South America.

As you approach the Casa de Piedra the track shows sections of Roman or Visigothic road interspersed with what looks like natural or normal track. This track is used by cattle and sheep when they change pasture and the hooves erode the laid stones, so to have complete sections is fortunate.

Dressed and shaped curved stones are laid end to end in such a way as to allow water to run-off and there is some cambering. A spine of rock runs along the centre and stones run off at angles to the edges. This indicates an ancient all-weather track and an important route from the river valley up to Cortes de la Frontera. Along the way are some curious stones with round holes in them as if to hold poles.

A wire fence runs in front of the Casa de Piedra as the land is used for grazing sheep, cows and the odd bull and is private land.

There is a crude wire gate which should be unhooked carefully and closed behind you which gives entrance to the site.

Entrance Door & window from inside. The door has a date inscribed at top of arch but is hard to see

The entrance to the stone house is an arched doorway in the centre of the hollowed-out rock.

There is a date carved in the middle of the arch, but is hard to make out.

A simple bowl carved out of the rock on the right of the doorway probably contained holy or blessed water and was called a font or stoup.

A window opening is on the right side of the door above the font and another opening is high above the door and hard to access.

Higher up is a carved water run-off, a gutter-like groove, which makes you think that rain-water was enough of a problem for someone to spend time carving it out of the rock. Below the carved gutter are square holes where beams for an outer temporary construction must have been located.

The remains of an old building is joined to the stone house and consist of a combination of stone and bricks and is covered in bramble and vegetation. At the rear of the stone house is a jumble of stone which must have been the site of another construction, the outline of the walls can still be made out.

Window at end looking across onto road to Cortes de la Frontera

Round holes in floor filled with rubble which were used for Olive oil or wine storage jars

Inside on the extreme left, as you go in, is a window which looks across a small valley of pasture land to the road up to Cortes and hills above the road.

On the right hand side is a recessed area with two rubble filled round holes which is where large earthen pots could have stood and would have probably contained wine or oil.

In the middle of the far wall is a recessed area with a grooved circular runnel in the floor which has a single groove which leads to the floor.

This indicates that liquid was processed here and emphasises the probable use of wine or olives.

There are square post holes in the floor and ceiling which may have housed a press for crushing the grapes or olives.

Carved run-offs in floor

On the opposite side, next to the door, facing east, is a small shelf at shoulder height which may have been a place for an altar.

Carved details showing 1856 date & other details

On the extreme right of the boulder is a beautifully carved decorative font with images of pillars and symmetrical decorative images. It has ‘ANO DE 1856’carved at the top. The name ‘DIEGO DEL RIO’ appears just below, carved in between recessed decorative buttresses.

He could be the stone-carver of the decorative details made on the outside of the stone house. Underneath, carved in between triangular elements the words ‘SEGU?AD A+D ??73’ appear. The cross between the A and D has a crossbar at the end of each of its arms and is called a cross potent.

‘Potent’ is an old word for a crutch.

The outwardly curving carved base on the right holds water and was probably used in ceremonies for anointing converts or children.

Carved capitals, imitating church columns, showing detail of fruit or floral symmetrical carving

Carved font, which dates from mid 1800’s including outside area on right-hand side of Casa de Piedra

Mention is made of the Casa de Piedra being a Mozarabic church, this may be true but does not convincingly explain its origin. It is a small area inside and is alongside what would have been be a main trade route from the Guadiaro river valley up to Cortes. Mozarab is the term for christians living under Muslim rulers in Al-Andalus, which is present day Andalucia. This would give a date from early 700’s when the Moors invaded. The celebration of the rites, derived from Visigoth christianity would be held in secret and so a hidden church inside a boulder would be a perfect place of worship.

Carved detail. Is this style of carving a clue to origin of Casa de Piedra?

The only documented Mozarabic church known in Andalucia is in the ancient village of Bobastra, the other side of Ronda, some 90 kilometres away to the east, which is not that far and this church is also cut directly out of rock. Its structure is made of three sections separated by horseshoe arches. The church is perfectly orientated towards the East, which is similar to the Casa de Piedra.

Cows regularly shelter inside the boulder so care should be taken when approaching and entering as they have large horns and if the weather is hot, it is cool for them, and if raining, they are dry so either way are not happy to share!

View down and along the Guadiaro valley from the top of Casa de Piedra

As a footnote it is interesting that a local resident, who has Masonic connections, was very interested by the Casa de Piedra because of its shape and that its internal alignment was east to west. He seemed to think its hollowed out shape resembled an upside-down chalice. He has spoken quietly about the traditions of ‘that which was lost’ and ‘travelling from the east to the west’.

He was intrigued to know that the man who lives at the foot of the track leading to the Casa de Piedra has a surname that is strongly associated with Masonic history and tradition.

It all adds to the mystery.

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It is a time of year when the skills of the horsemen and the horses themselves are on show and villages all over Andalucia stage Romerias. These have a religious and cultural origin going back into the mists of time. A horse-drawn covered cart contains a religious statue, usually of a local saint or diety and in a procession leads the people to the open air site of the celebrations.

A programme of events, lasting usually from Thursday to Monday, begins with the loud bangs of rockets fired high into the blue sky. Dancing and drinking, but mainly drinking, occupies everyone’s attention. Large paella’s are cooked for all and tapas from the large bar maintains the stomach’s balance with the drink. Traditional music is played by live bands for couples and families. In the late evening there is a disco for the youngsters who flock from near and far.

The main event for the ‘Caballeros’ is the ‘Cinta’ competition. This involves the horse and rider to be in perfect unison as they gallop at a wire containing rolled ribbons with a hook hanging down. A small spear the size of a pencil is used to lance the hook which unfurls the ribbon and is tucked into the horseman’s belt. This competition continues for hours with much drinking of whisky by the men to counter the dust that is churned up by the horses. The spectators yell encouragement and then need drinks as well so that the whole dusty area becomes a noisier and busier bowl of people and horses. Occasionally a horseman will lose control and the horse will skitter towards people crowded against the bar, a space opens up as if by magic as men, women, children and drinks swerve away from the horse until the rider regains control. Sometimes there is a competition where a lance is used to lift a Cinta from a post in the ground. This is often towards the end of the afternoon and is a very hit and miss affair with participants often giving up.

The horses are trained to respond to the riders’ slightest leg movements and make detailed and delicate side and high-stepping movements. The acceleration is amazing to watch – from a standing start to a full gallop in seconds. It is said that the horses have Arab bloodstock from the time of the Moors. They certainly have a grace and slimness combined with a sturdiness that is unlike other horses.

Salitre is an area set high up with its back firmly set against the mountains looking down to the Guadiaro River valley where Estacion Cortes de la Frontera, also known as La Canada del Real Tesoro nestles between the river and the railway. Quite what the road of the royal treasure refers to is a mystery and as metal detectors are frowned upon no treasure has turned up.

Cortes de la Frontera lies opposite Salitre on the other side of the valley. The concentrated white of its pueblo blanco contrasting with the speckled spread-out houses of Salitre.

The setting for the Romeria is in an out of the way old quarry along a dusty and rocky track just off the A373 road that drops down from El Espino on the A369 Gaucin to Ronda route.

The area for the Romeria is small, especially for the horsemen. Lines of horses crowd together, often waiting on the hillside edges, queuing to charge the Cinta ribbon line which gets obscured by fine dust kicked up from the sprinting horses.

The manes of the horses are all plaited by their owners in unique styles. Sheepskin covered saddles and woven leather halter straps complete the picture. Square iron stirrups give strong support to the riders’ legs so they can lunge forward at the right moment.

Sitting proud and high in the saddle, whether in traditional horseman clothing with a round Cordobes hat, or in check shirts and a flat cap, or a combination of the two; the poise and balance of these riders on rocky, difficult ground is remarkable and a tribute to the age old traditions of horsemanship in this area. This is epitomised when a youngster is seen carried in front of the father on the horse or is left for a while, alone in the saddle, under careful eyes, while the horse stands restful.