Wednesday - a day at the seaside

We swam in the hotel pool because we knew we were not going to wade through the low tides and fish when we reached Sanlucar de Barrameda, home of Manzanilla sherry and of the people who make it. We met our friends in the business at their 18th century cortijo just outside the town and after a few choice Manzanillas headed for a seaside restaurant at Chipiona, a few km along the beaches from Sanlucar.

This coast has all the fish you could think of. The estuary of the Guadalquivir meets the sea just at the point where the Atlantic funnels into the Mediterranean. You have fish from all three waters here, and plenty of them. Some of the ancient fishing methods are preserved here - the tuna caught in the arab traditional "Almadraba" nets, fish and shellfish caught in "corales" - tidal pools created by making rock lagoons where the fish are caught as the tide goes out - the rocks themselves acting as natural homes for oysters, mussels and other rock-hugging shellfish. Several species are unique to the local waters - gambas de Sanlucar, a small sweet prawn and Moro Negro, a member of the black bream family only caught here. Both sell at high prices in the local restaurants, both delicious. We know.

Another perfect lunch for four:

Gambas de Sanlucar

Chiperones a la Plancha

Almejas Marinera

Moro Negra a la Plancha (about 2 kilos)

Ensalada de Tomates

2 Bottles of La Gitana Manzanilla

A little bread

To describe this any further would only be repetitive, but suffice to say there is nothing better than sitting within metres of the source of your lunch, with your friends, in the sunshine. And when the food is not just good, but good for you too, how can there be anything more sublime?

This kind of lunch also makes you think about good things. The short drive from Jerez to the coast reveals how much the local authorities have also been thinking about the future. Apart from the route being lined with the vines that produce all the sherry made in the area, it is also a virtual forest of windmills - the new elecricity-producing kind, not the ones that Don Quixote tilted at. These presumably take advantage of the flat estuary land swept by the Atlantic winds. And in between the vines, there is also the appearance of a strange black crop - fields of solar panels on sunflower-like stalks, turning their heads to catch the rays... Across the estuary from Sanlucar and Chipiona is the Parque Nacional de Doñana - an exensive nature reserve and a haven for birdwatchers as well as birds.

And while on the subject of natural things, these friends of ours live a good and natural life. They grow peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, melons, olives and more in their garden, not to mention oranges, lemons, peaches, figs, apricots, apples and pears; they shoot and eat the wild rabbits that threaten their vegetables; they have fish and game of all sorts at their doorstep, and unlimited supplies of Manzanilla to wash it all down with. Que bueno! One day...