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Despite my protestations that having moved to Spain we work hard, I find it difficult to convince friends and relatives back in the UK that we do not sit around all day quaffing sangria – obviously that’s what siestas are for – so the fact that my answer to the weekly “what have you been up to this weekend?” conversation was “oh, eating organic trout in a town recently visited by Gwyneth Paltrow” has now given them reason to believe I secretly won the lottery and fled the country. The meal in question cost a mere 4.95 €; the town in question Riofrió, near the bigger town of Loja, in the western extreme of the province of Granada. |
Despite my protestations that having moved to Spain we work hard, I find it difficult to convince friends and relatives back in the UK that we do not sit around all day quaffing sangria – obviously that’s what siestas are for – so the fact that my answer to the weekly “what have you been up to this weekend?” conversation was “oh, eating organic trout in a town recently visited by Gwyneth Paltrow” has now given them reason to believe I secretly won the lottery and fled the country. The meal in question cost a mere 4.95 €; the town in question Riofrió, near the bigger town of Loja, in the western extreme of the province of Granada.
We stumbled upon Riofrió purely by accident after deciding to take a last-minute weekend break. We spotted Loja in an Andalucian guide book, did some Internet research, booked a hostel and set off. Loja itself is a picturesque town with a Moorish history – it was originally called Medina Lawsa – as the town was used as a strategic defensive centre by the Moors due to its location between Malaga and Granada. It is also on the route of Washington Irving which is from Seville to Granada. Now maybe it was my Comprehensive School education, but until I moved to Spain I had never heard of Washington Irving. The leaflet I picked up describes him as ‘the American diplomatist and writer who is the prototype of the romantic traveller’. I must say he sounds like a bundle of laughs.
Loja is an interesting town to wander around, but do not do as we did and arrive during siesta, as there did not seem to be much going on. However, I guess the same could be said of any town. We found the Historical Interpretation Centre which was worth a visit for the 1 € entrance fee. The exhibition informed us, amongst other things, that the vista of the town of Loja was used in the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup as the capital of Sylviana, the imaginary country featured in the film. We made our way to the Fuente de los 25 caños (Fountain of the 25 water pipes) which in the brochure looked lovely, but in reality was in need of some tender loving care, or a clean or both.
As we were leaving our hostel, I asked the owner where we could find Los Infiernos, according to the brochure the very impressive “incessant waterfalls”. He answered disappointingly, that there was not much to see due to the lack of water, but asked if we had been to Riofrió, adding that on a Sunday there was a market – el Zoco – and was very busy due to many people visiting from Granada and Malaga. So off we set to Riofrió.
The market is relatively small with the usual array of stalls selling sweets, toys from China and underwear. There was an interesting stall selling Spanish antiquities from old gardening and farming tools to kitchen ephemera such as hand mincing machines and coffee grinders. So whilst Riofrió would not win any awards for its market, it is probably best known for its organic fish farm. Trout has been fished here for at least 300 years. In 1964 a fish farm was started by a local family. Since then the fish farm has flourished and produces trout, sturgeon and caviar. Having always used traditional methods, the farm applied for organic status in the year 2000 and is now thought to be the only organic sturgeon farm in the world.
Whilst in Riofrió we sampled the trout and smoked sturgeon which was delicious. The smoked sturgeon was served with a sprinkling of albino caviar, which was only the second time I have ever had caviar, after sampling some at my aunties wedding when I was 5. This time I enjoyed it and did not spit it down my velvet pageboy outfit!
There are 10 restaurants in Riofrió; we chose one at random and the food was excellent and good value for money. Sundays are obviously their busiest day of the week, so service was very fast and efficient to free up the table for the many people waiting.
You are able to fish all year round in Riofrió and recently brown trout have been caught weighing more than 5kgs. Should you wish to fish, you will need to obtain a permit. These are available locally from the Alberge de Pescadores de Riofrió, Riviera de Riofrió. The telephone number is 958 323 177.
It was not until after our trip that I was aware Gwyneth Paltrow had visited the area whilst making an American TV series on the gastronomy of Spain. Gwyneth first visited Spain as an exchange student when she was 15, staying with pig farming family in the village of Talavera de la Reina, half an hour south of Madrid. During her first visit, she fell in love with the Spanish way of life, the people and the food. In an interview I read with Ms. Paltrow, she said that when she first arrived in Spain she was homesick for a week; then said “But a week later I could speak Spanish, and never wanted to leave.” Forget the acting Gwyneth; you need to write a book on how to learn Spanish.
Having driven to Loja and Riofrió via the scenic route, we decided to go back on the A-92, heading for Malaga and then joining the E-15. This was at most only 10 minutes quicker than on the way – via the A-356 from Velez Malaga – and nowhere near as interesting, so I would advise leaving more travelling time and to go cross-country. One thing you will notice in this area, is the amount of olive trees that stretch for miles planted in perfectly straight lines. It seemed silly not to purchase some locally produced olive oil, so whilst we were in Loja we purchased a bottle of Extra Virgin produced in the town.
Riofrió and Loja are very easy to find and are located just off the A-92 Autovía de Andalucia, approximately 70 kilometres from Malaga and 45 kilometres from Granada. I would heartily recommend a visit to the area, and if it is your thing the smoked trout.
