A Drive through the Andarax Valley by Bob Bovington We took the A391 out of Roquetas and, after a pleasant drive up the mountainside,

diverted along the ALP702 road to the picturesque village of Enix. After a brief stop to

fill our containers with water from the fuente, we returned to the A391 and drove up and

over the Sierra de Gádor whence we reached the A348 that runs all the way from

Almería, through the Alpujarras to Órgiva in the province of Granada. Our route today

was just a short drive through the Andarax valley to the village of Padules.

Sierra de Gádor between Roquetas & Enix

It was a lovely sunny day and we drove along a pleasant valley with the Río

Andarax on our right and were pleased to note that the river, whilst not exactly a torrent,

did have a steady flow of water - proof that even in May the mountains of the Sierra

Nevada still have snow on their upper slopes. We drove past orange groves and fields of

almond and olive trees through the villages of Instinción and Rágol and thence through

the small town of Canjáyar. We were gradually climbing into the foothills of the

Alpujarras and on our right could be seen the pueblo blanco of Ohanes. Only a few

kilometres further on we reached Padules.

Padules

We had wanted to visit the place where they

produce the excellent Padules wine but, on

this particular day, the establishment was

closed. No matter. Our main purpose was to

revisit "Barroso" restaurant, where on a

previous visit we had enjoyed an excellent

meal. We arrived on the café's doorstep to

find that they were not serving main meals

for another hour so we decided to take a

stroll around the village instead of taking our

time over an aperitif.

On our last visit to the village, the place was

alive with workers - some driving tractors towing

carts of grapes or oranges. Today the place was

quiet. A cluster of cats stretched out lazily in the

sun on a street corner. Only in the little town hall

square were any members of the human species to

be seen. A group of old men with their flat caps

and walking sticks chatted on benches. "¡Hola.

Buenos dias!" echoed around the square as we

passed. We held a vague conversation with one of the men who clearly delighted in

showing off his English. However, his grasp of the language was probably worse than

our knowledge of Spanish. Eventually we made our Adióses and, after a short stroll

around the village returned to the restaurant.

Restaurant Barroso

Diners are not presented with a menu at the restaurant Barroso. There is a limited

choice of food but it is exceptionally well prepared and is very good value. With our

limited knowledge of Spanish we managed to order our requirements.

I ordered gazpacho to start with - the other choices were sopa del día, consomé de

pollo and possibly potaje, a thick broth. We also ordered chuleta de cerdo - the other

choice was also a pork dish but my Spanish was insufficient to determine exactly what.

We also ordered a bottle of the excellent Padules Tinto.

While we were waiting for our first course, a plate of cheese was put into the

centre of the table. My gazpacho was excellent, very refreshing and it came with a little

dish of extras - croutons, cucumber and Serrano ham. After the waitress had collected

our soup plates, a large, splendid salad was put in the centre of the table together with a

basket of bread.

The pork chops were excellent - succulent and tasty - they had been char-grilled.

They were also rather on the large side and were served with excellent patatas fritas

(chips).

We also had a second bottle of wine, a bottle of water, a quite reasonable dessert

followed by coffee. The cost was 50€ (£36) for the five of us! Excellent!

We waddled back to our vehicle for the journey home. The trip home was very

pleasant. We drove up and down steep Alpujarran roads, stopping occasionally to

stretch our legs and to take in the exhilarating views. Eventually the grand Sierra de

Gador mountain scenery was replaced by the monotonous sprawl of plastic that exists

between Berja and Roquetas but nevertheless we had had a lovely day out.

Robert Bovington Roquetas de Mar June 2005