Sierra de los Filabres (Lubrín)

Friday 18th September 2015

A Day in the Sierra de Filabres

Well, who would have thought that a visit to a goat farm would have been so interesting, but it was and this was our first stop on our visit to Lubrin, a small whitewashed pueblo in the Sierra de Filabres.

It was a smallish family run farm, with only about 1000 goats; although some were out in the hills grazing. When we arrived we were all given plastic bag over shoes, to wear, very fetching, and a bit difficult to walk in, but we managed. We were then taken into the milking sheds, and shown the milking procedure, the farmer explained that  new modern milking machines had reduced the process immensely, which is carried out twice a day; it was amazing to watch as the goats kicked off the milking tubes with their back legs once it had finished. We then moved onto the next shed where the feeding was carried out, this was also done automatically with the new equipment, the feed is measured, and distributed evenly around the compound, so they are always given the same amount. They soon ate all the food, so we moved on.

We were then taken to the nursery, and we all fell in love with the lovely little baby goats. (Kids)

Next we went to visit a Honey producer, and were welcomed with a breakfast of tostadas with honey and olive oil, and soft drinks, delicious. Then we were told about the production process, and had hands on experience of scraping the wax off the honey frames, and filling the jars.

We had a very quick tour around the olive oil processing plant next door, another small family business, and were told if we wanted to return in small groups, when it was working we would be very welcome.

We were then told that we had a very special treat, and were taken to the little village theatre, rather a tiring uphill walk through the narrow streets, but well worth it, after a few technical problems with the music system, we sat back and enjoyed a display of Spanish dancing put on by 4 local girls.

We ended a lovely day, with an excellent lunch, with plenty of good food and wine.

Thanks to Kathy Duke for being our translator for the day, and making the trip even more enjoyable.

Bev Cross