Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

The Ramirez family has been making classical and flamenco guitars in Madrid for over 125 years. We visited their workshops in Madrid, spoke to Amalia Ramirez (pictured at work below), and heard a professional musician play one of these world-famous instruments in their shop, near Madrid’s Puerta del Sol.

Listen to the podcast, check out all the photos on Flickr (try the slideshow!), and read on below for more information on everything mentioned in the podcast.

More information: Read the rest of this entry »

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

Today we talk to Patricia Dawn Severenuk from SpanishCyclePaths.com – who in March 2008 is leading the Trans-Iberian Express, a 1,500 kilometer, 6 week cycle ride from one corner of Spain to the other.

If you would like to ride from the Basque country all the way down to the depths of Andalusia, then guess what, you’re invited! Contact Dawn via her site if you want to join her for some or all of the trip, and if you can’t make it, then you can always follow her progress on the trip via her blog, www.trans-iberian.blogspot.com.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

Photo: Jonathon, Rosie, Ben and Marina, by Fred Shively

This week we talk to Jonathon and Rosie, who set up Kaliyoga, a holistic yoga and detox center in the Alpujarra mountains south of Granada. We talk about the difficulties of setting up a business like this in Spain, how they marketed their new business in the beginning, and the rewards they now reap a few years down the line…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

Ben and Marina take a trip to the wonderful Alpujarra mountains south of Granada. We talk to Arpi and Fred Shively – check out Arpi’s blog Andalucid, and Fred’s photos on Flickr.

The image above (large version) is of the view from the track up to the O Sel Ling Buddhist retreat. For more photos that accompany this podcast, click here.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

Lessons learned living in Spain… and questions for you: What did you last learn? What was the motivation? What did it lead to?

Answers below or in the show’s forum post!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

Retro-casting from our terrace, Ben talks about honesty in bars, gypsies, knickers factories, and the future of tourism in Spain.

Relevant links:

• BBC news on the closure of the Delphi car parts plant in Cadiz
• The closure of the knickers factory in Ronda (La Fabrica de las Bragas) harks back to the wonderful Jamon Jamon
• La costa española es un lugar ideal para venir a morir: Houellebecq on the death of tourism in Spain, in El Pais
• Discuss the last point, on the future of tourism in Spain, in our forum

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

Ryan from catavino.net (best Spanish wine info on the net!) thought we might like to spend a day wandering around a vinyard and tasting wine… he was right!

Check out the podcast, and if you would like to visit the abbey and vinyard, full details are available at the Abadia Retuerta website (they also have a wine blog!) Check out more of our photos from the trip here, and view the map below to find out where to locate Sardon del Duero (the vinyard is just to the east of Sardon on the main road – click on the blue marker and use the controls to enlarge). Cheers!

View Larger Map

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

Marina and I traveled down to Cordoba in May to check out the famous Patios and Rejas competition, when courtyards and windows all over the city are decorated with incredible floral displays.

Further info:

More photos from our trip (flowers galore!) over at Flickr.

Want to make your own salmorejo? Check out our salmorejo recipe and podcast.

We stayed at the simple, and highly recommendable Hotel Marisa and ate and drank wonderful things at Bar Santos, at Magistral Gonzalez Francés 3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

Ben and Marina chat to Jamie about an interesting way of spending a few months in Spain.

You can read about Jamie’s time in Madrid and subsequent travels on his blog. The organisations he mentions in the podcast are: Twin Work and Volunteer Abroad – the organisation in the UK that helped Jamie find the family placement, and RCI – their sister organisation in Spain – who helped enormously during the ups and downs.

You can talk about this episode, and ask Jamie questions, in this thread in the forum.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[Download MP3]

The image above perfectly sums up the horse fair in Jerez: proud men on beautiful horses, huge barrels of Fino wine, and attractive Andalusian women in wild Sevillanas dresses…

Listen to the podcast, see all the photos in Flickr and check out the short video below…

The Feria de Caballos in Jerez (map) takes place every year at the beginning of May. We found details of exact dates at Andalucia.org
. You can also see a Spanish video blog from the event here.