Fingerprints
A spring recap, update on our visas, and some exciting news about our olive grove!
It’s 4:30am. I am jet lagged, laying in bed, feeling a bit mind-numb as I enjoy the quiet, slow moments just before dawn. I wander time zones as my mind begins to surface. Am I here or there? Waking or sleeping? I feel officially lost in transition.
The once barren road up leading to our cortijo has nearly disappeared, hidden beneath the crowd of freakishly tall purple thistles, bright yellow mustard flowers, and the prehistoric looking variety of dandelion. The olive trees, too thirsty to produce fruit last year, seem full of promise, now— their limbs heavier each day, dripping in the tiniest little white and yellow blossoms.
I thought Spain was pretty when I met her in her deserted form. Now, with the rains of relief flowing after many years of drought, the landscape is mind-blowing and dreamlike— a technicolor heaven of wild super blooms— The hills are painted red and orange by the flocks of poppy and calendula. The roadsides are fluffy with wild fennel and borage. The city streets are lined with flowering bitter orange trees carrying an aroma so sweet and intoxicating it stops me, dead and trackless. I huff the scent like it’s a drug, inhaling deeply to savor the memory, exhaling to fix the stress that comes with the motions of life, excitement and change.
Immediately after we closed on our new property (a farmhouse on 6 acres of olive tree land) we learned from the original owners that they were also listing the bordering plot comprised of an additional 12 acres of olive trees. Despite the fact that our house is set directly, and I mean directly, next to the property line, we barely considered the option of purchasing the additional land. Our hands more than full and our budget more than maxed, the additional land purchase felt out of the question. So, with a promise from the selling family to offer us first right of refusal, we put it out of mind. That is, until, only a handful of weeks later, we got word that there had been an offer made by someone interested in the land.
While still taking inventory of all we would need to budget for the home improvements and tree maintenance and visa expenses, taking on more land and costs felt impossible. I kept running the numbers, trying to brainstorm, but my girl-math wasn’t math-ing.
A night or two of restless sleep later, we still couldn’t shake the feeling we just had to figure this out. We knew we definitely couldn’t afford do make the purchase now, but with a developing relationship between us and the original owners, we wondered if, maybe, they might consider us paying over the span of a couple years… With a gut of nerves, we decided to pitched the idea to our lawyer to pass along. Much to our surprise, they said they would be glad to agree to a payment schedule and happy to know that the family land would remain whole. As a bonus, the family granted us the allowance to work the land for the coming seasons, harvesting the land each fall, as if it were already our own. We are overjoyed and have immediately begun devising our plans to raise the funds, while being mindful not to allow urgency to destroy our intended pace. (The hope is to make our fall harvest of olive oil available for sale as a way to accomplish some of our fund raising.)
To best let it all sink in, we walked the perimeter of the property once or twice on days when we could find the time. We took the map with satellite views and counted our trees— a total of 571 lively vessels, on what will eventually be our 7 hectares (18 acres total) of olive grove land. Incredible.
Driving through the region and seeing that almost every square meter of land is occupied by olive trees sets it to scale. It’s total mono-crop. Like the corn fields in Iowa, which means tending to our trees as naturally as possible will come with it’s challenges.
BUT! VERY HAPPY TO REPORT… Sergio, our local tree expert, has already helped us make the change to utilizing organic practices during his first maintenance visit. Meanwhile, I have been really enjoying digging into information that breaks down some of the ancient techniques for olive tree care. The tradition of cultivating these trees has gone on so long, it seems each family has their very own practices and something we can learn from.
Visa Update
Getting a visa sorted is nothing short of a run around. There is information out there, but nothing specific to really prepare you for what you need. It is all process and paper, paper and patience.
When we headed to Spain in January, planning to spend the first three months of the year there, we thought we had what we needed from the US for our visas. But, it wasn’t even a week after arriving that we found out we would need more documents from home. So, without another choice, we re-arranged our travel and booked it back to NY. We went for scans of our fingers. We submitted for official background checks. Then, we sent the checks to be “apostilled,” and waited while the State Department stamped the report as genuine. Weeks passed.
One last document we needed was still hung up in the mail when we were set to return to Spain. Seconds after we landed back in Malaga, FedEx sent a photo of the envelope resting on our porch— A sweet friend in the HV agreed to rescue it and overnight it to our lawyer here. We breathed a sigh of relief, until the two-day shipping turned into a small saga when the parcel was delivered to the shoe store next door to the intended address, misplacing our only copy of the document. In what seemed like a miracle, after a volley of WhatsApp messages to numbers found online, the mix-up was untangled and the last of our first round of paperwork finally arrived.
Our initial application has been submitted. And, we are back to waiting for a response.
Side note: WhatsApp is Europe’s secret superpower. Everyone—from bureaucrats to baristas—use it. The built-in translator has saved us more than once while our Spanish skills still limp along.
Green Almonds
If I hadn’t been so caught up in the process of the transition over the last several months that I fell behind on writing and substack-ing, I’d have been updating you on all the new tastes and flavors we’ve been enjoying.
Like, we were so lucky to be visiting Spain perfectly in the midst of peak green almond season. While our almond trees are struggling a little and not looking their best at the moment— we have been blessed with several, set amidst the olive trees in front of our property. I about screamed when I saw the glowing fruit.
I had never tried a green almond before plucking one of the tender fuzzy little guys from the branch and crunching right through the tender skin like it was a tiny unripe peach. The flavor is delicious, kinda tart and bright and citrusy with subtle hints of almond. I experimented using them in several dishes: Serving them raw with yogurt and honey and fruit. Stewing them with pork spareribs, dates, and orange. Roasting them with chicken and rice… I didn’t have the chance to poach in something sweet, which I think would be really tasty as well. I’ll have to start there, next year!
Upcoming
Travel Diary: A Return Roadtrip to the Algarve + Recipe
Field Trip: A Visit to the Worlds First Organic Caviar Farm + Recipe
NY Update: Our latest projects in the Hudson Valley + Recipe