GEG Spain

Updates:

Food:

Travel Tip: Para llevar means To take out - as in Take-out food.

In Granada I am very sad to report that the green earth guide favorite Canela Y Clavo restaurant is no longer there.

In Nerja you can find a store selling organic and natural food and products including gluten-free selections. They also have a holistic health center offering Tibetan Massage, acupuncture, naturopathy and other therapies. Eco Shop Flor de Loto, Avda Mediterráneo, 4 bajo, 29780 Nerja (Málaga); Tel: 615 365 825 Email: vincenzomerante@hotmail.com; Web: http://www.ecoshopnerja.com/english/masajesyterapias.html

In Valencia you can find the butcher El Gourmet de la Carne, specializing in natural and organic meats (but you must ask) – some meats are not certified organic but are naturally raised and free-range. El Gourmet de la Carne, Mercado Colon puesto 3-4 (downstairs), c/ Jorge Juan, 46004 Valencia; 963 944 652.

Accommodations:

To find Organic Places To Stay around Spain search the Spain listings on the wonderful Organic Holidays Web site

There are four apartments squirreled away in the Albayzín old part of Granada where you can stay like an eco- local. There is a shared roof terrace and each apartment sleeps two to four people. They have solar panels for their office equipment and use energy saving bulbs, toilets and radiators, and provide recycle bins in the apartments. Prices range between 45 and 75 euros per night depending upon apartment and number of people, with a two-night minimum. http://www.elnumero8.com/en

Available from the begiining of May to the end of September, you can stay at the mountain retreat of Molino Taponero where you will find a cottage sleeping up to four people and a house sleeping up to six people nestled in the Andalucian mountains by a river - a former water mill - near the town of Gaucin and forty minutes from the famous white village of Ronda. The houses are rented by the week for £480 per week for the house and £380 per week for the cottage - or equivalent in Euros. Owners Dawn and Paul Sutcliffe are weavers and produce natural fiber shawls and blankets in the winter months. Molino Taponero, Gaucin, Andalucia; Email: ptsutcliffe@yahoo.com; Web: www.molinotaponero.com

Nearby the Molino Taponero you can find the solar-powered Andalucia yurts. There are two locally crafted yurts which sleep 4-5 people and a double-room on the side of the main house. There are indoor and outdoor showers - the outdoor has riverstones on the floor and eucalytus wood walls. Natural health services are offered and they have a wood-fired sauna by the river. Here you can stay for 35 euros/night and have dinner for 20 euros per person. Andalucia Yurts, La Huerta, Gaucin, Andalucia; Tel: 952 117 486 (Evenings & Weekends) or Cell: 686 888 409; Email: Kit and Penny Hogg at hoggs@vsatmail.com; Web: http://www.andaluciayurts.com

Nearby is a WAY cool yurt making company, Baltasar Bent Yurts, which makes handcrafted yurts from chesnut wood. They say, “We make the wooden elements of our yurts using traditional hand tools and sew the canvas using sustainable solar power where possible. All the poles are cut, stripped, sanded and oiled by hand - the result is a yurt with no hard edges - all in all a magical, organic, beautiful space.” www.baltasarabentyurts.com

Meditation and Retreats:

O.Sel.Ling, meaning place of the clear light, buddhist monastery is in Bubión, in the Alpujarra mountains. The O.Sel.Ling monastery was founded 25 years ago in honor of a local child who was the reincarnation of Lama Yeshe. You can visit the monastery or go for a retreat. Visiting hours are every day from 3:30 to 6:00 pm. Office hours are 9:am to 1:00 pm/3:00 to 6:00pm. They offer educational programs and you can go for a private retreat - minimum stay is one week and costs 34 euros/night for a small mountain hut. You can get their by car or bus, or hike. It is a 3 ½ hour walk/hike from Orgiva – 16km (10 miles). See the website for specific directions. O.Sel.Ling monastery, Apdo. 99, 18400 Órgiva, (Granada); Tel: 958 34 31 34; Email: oficina@oseling.com; Web: www.oseling.com

The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition is a worldwide network of centers established by Buddhist Lama Thubten Yeshe in order to preserve and make available Tibetan Buddhist teachings of compassion and wisdom. You can find all the centers in Spain at their web site: http://www.fpmt.org/centers/spain.asp