GUAJAR ALTO: WINTER PARADISE

If you suffer from the type of seasonal affective disorder brought about by the short, dark days of the typical English winter, then a trip to Guájar Alto is guaranteed to lift your spirits because there is no greater tonic than winter sun, of which we have plenty.
In November, the citrus fruit begins to ripen and the contrast of the bright orange and yellow and the glossy green of the leaves, set against a deep blue Mediterranean sky, is a sight to hearten even the most depressed. Also, the climate of this area favours the cultivation of roses and in November and December they have a second flowering, something you cannot fail to notice as you drive into the village because, wherever you look, there are sprawling roses of all colours and varieties. Summer annuals, such as calendulas and cosmos daisies, which flowered in May and early June, have seeded themselves and are flowering again while in the surrounding countryside and on the mountain slopes the rosemary bushes and ericas are all in bloom. In the shade of the pine forests are violets ( V. arborescens) which grow in bushy clumps and have long, narrow leaves and a profusion of pale blue, very pretty, flowers.
On the downside, this is the time of year when a most unpleasant pest starts to make an appearance in the form of the larvae of the pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa. Its life cycle is as follows: the moth lays its eggs on pine needles, usually not more than two metres from the ground, and when the caterpillars, which are very gregarious, have hatched, they make their way upwards and on the tips of branches they weave silken tents into which they retreat during the day and emerge at night to feed on the needles. As the caterpillars grow, so the nests expand until they become very conspicuous, hanging from the pines like white candyfloss. In the spring, when it is time to leave the nest, they form themselves into a ball which then falls to the ground. Next, they unwind themselves and, nose to tail, begin their processionary march in search of soft soil in which to burrow and pupate. Finally, they emerge as moths and the cycle begins again.
The hairs of the caterpillars contain a toxin which can be fatal to animals and very harmful to humans and it is at the processionary stage, when contact with them is most likely, that they are particularly dangerous. As an unsuspecting foreigner, not long after I came to live in Spain, I came upon hundreds of caterpillars while walking under some pines. They were strewn across the ground like party streamers, each several metres long, and I stopped to investigate. While I was thus engrossed, I wasn’t aware that my Jack Russell was also carrying out his own investigation and by the time we’d reached home, he was showing symptoms of great distress. Alarmed, I took him straight to the vet who enlightened me about the caterpillars. Fortunately, my dog recovered but I have since met a couple of dogs with half of their tongues missing, and heard of several more similarly affected. The caterpillars are not only harmful to animals but also do a great deal of damage to the trees. The authorities are aware of the problem but say that they don’t have sufficient funds to tackle it although In Navarra I understand that they put up wooden nesting boxes to attract birds, such as flycatchers, which eat the caterpillars. The Great Spotted Cuckoo is an important predator, but the use of insecticides has caused its numbers to decline. It favours olive groves and pine forests where their is a population of members of the crow family, in whose nests it lays its eggs, and since we have a great many resident jays and don’t use chemicals detrimental to the environment, I’m hoping that the cuckoos will come here to breed. Until then, we have to dispose of the caterpillars ourselves.
The wine made from this year’s grapes is ready to drink and I’m pleased to say that at a recent sampling, ours met with approval. The flavour of these country wines varies considerably, depending on the type of grape and the area in which the vines were cultivated. The climate of Guájar Alto, with its long, hot summers and cold winter nights, produces grapes which are full of flavour. The white wine produced from the muscatel grape has a taste and dryness reminiscent of fine sherry, while the wine from the red grapes is sweet and fruity. Both are lethal!