Just over a week ago, Mrs Oregano and I made a 3 day trip to Andalucia...it brought back past memories.

Thirty years ago I went InterRailing and the highlight of the trip was going on a round trip through Spain. I started in Madrid then went through Córdoba, Sevilla, Cádiz, Algeciras, Grenada and Barcelona. Having saved with difficulty for the InterRail pass there was little money left for accomodation and food. I took a lightweight tent but stayed in cheap Hotstales where possible.

I was nourished with tapas and sangria for a lot of the time. I particularly remember tiny spicy meat kebabs, fried squid and ham. Given that I was skint I was greatly insulted when I met a Wearsider in Barcelona who scoffed the spicy meat kebab I bought for him only for him to denounce it as "foreign muck". If he had the grace to say he did not want it I could have had a welcome second helping! The other highlight was the ubiquitous tortilla Española (potato and onion omelette) which were pre-prepared and heated on a griddle when needed. Oregano is not an egg fan but this was a notable exception.

I always wanted to take Mrs Oregano to see Andalucia. We managed a 2 week Easter break 3 years ago with our boys up in a villa 500 m above Nerja. We mainly self catered enjoying excellent seafood, chorizo and fresh lemons and avocados growing immediately outside our villa.

One rainy day we visited a big shopping centre at Vélez-Málaga and had lunch in a tapas bar. It was how I remembered with a range of little snacks (though no little kebabs). However we tried different grilled vegetables, chorizo, morcilla (black pudding), etc. An enjoyable family experience!

On our 3-day trip last weekend I hoped to do the same. However we hardly got a true tapas experience. It might be the fault of my less than rudimentary Spanish; I never learned it in school - it was not even offered in my school though I had to do 3 yrs of latin. 30 years ago I borrowed a younger sister's Spanish schoolbook and managed to build up a vocabulary of about 100+ words and simple grammar. Three years ago I did two terms of an evening class but I'm afraid that's it.

In case you are not familiar with tapas, the term is used to denote a small portion; the term originates from a slice of smoke ham offered in bars in the past over a wineglass. Raciones are simply bigger portions of a tapa - enough for a light meal or to share between a few people. 1/2 Raciones are offered as an intermediate portion.

On arriving in Tarifa on our first day we went to a tapas bar recommended in the Rough Guide around lunchtime. The waiter made it clear pretty quickly that we could only order a combination of 4 tapas. When we did not like the standard choice I was offered the chance to look at the bar and I made the mistake of choosing 3 things. These defaulted to 1/2 raciones and I lacked the Spanish to question this.

The end result was mixed:
Nr 1 was absolutely delectable. It was, presumably, rings of squid boiled until tender and then served cold with a garlic oil. The squid was absolutely soft and the oil was delicious. I need to try something similar at home!
Nr 2 was mainly positive for Dr Oregano but negative for Mrs Oregano. It was Albóndigas or beef/pork meatballs with a tomato sauce. I liked the meatballs and sauce but they were served on greasy thin chips. They reminded me of McDonalds' chips but fried about 20 degrees to low.
Nr 3 was what I thought would be my spicy kebabs with a sauce but what was more like a diced pork stew. It was not horrible, but not great either but worst served on greasy chips again.

Lesson is that Oregano needs to learn more Spanish!

BTW, I had been in Tarifa 30 years ago when the bus stopped there between Cádiz & Algeciras. It looked unremarkable from the bus stop. It is, in fact, a nice little Moorish town with the walls largely in tact surrounded by a modern suburb. However I estimate that the old town is only 500 metres square. There are fantastic views across to Morocco, a wonderful beach and you are truly at the opening of the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.