Delicious UK - (08)August 2020

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 55

Itwasthebitof

SpainI’dalways

wantedtovisit

• andnowthe
  CostadelaLuz
  istheplace
  I mostwantto
  returnto.The
  stretchof
  AtlanticcoastfromPortugaltothe
  StraitofGibraltar,it’sa hallowed
  spotforseafoodgeekslikeme,
  withcelebratedlangoustinesand
  even-more-celebratedbluefintuna.
  (EachMay,followingancient
  tradition,fishermensetup
  a labyrinthofnets,thealmadraba,
  tocatchtunamigratingtothe
  Mediterranean.)Theareais also
  hometotheSherryTriangle– the
  threetownswherethedrink has
  beenmadeforcenturies.
  Inlockdown,flickingthroughthe
  pics,myfamilyrelivedlastyear’s
  tripseveraltimes:oursmallson
  catchinghisfirstwaveina surf
  lesson(watersportsarebigonthis
  wild‘n’windy,golden-sand
  coastline);mummyanddaddy
  lookingcomicallyflushedatan
  11amsherrytasting...If wegetto
  goback,perhapswe’llvisitthebits
  wemissedlasttime.Butmostly
  I wanttoeatthatseafoodfresh
  fromtheocean,inthesunshine.
  Andif wedon’tmanagetomake
  it anytimesoon– well, thanks for
  the memories...

THEVIEWI WANTTOSEEAGAIN

Wequicklybecameblaséabout

thevistasfromthewhitewashed

hilltownofVejerdelaFrontera

(“What’sthatyousay?Swathesof

oliveandorangegroves,stretching

downtothecrashingwavesofthe

Atlantic?Whatever...”).HowI’d

lovetobeupthereagainnow,

though...We’dheadfortheCasa

delCalifahotel (califavejer.com),

oncethehomeofa Moorishbigwig,

wherethefoodpayshomagetothe

landacrossthestrait.Theview

fromitsrooftopteashop,LaTetería,

hasthepowertore-blowanalready

blownmind,plusthemintteais

excellent (no booze before→

hungry traveller.

INTHELIGHTWindsweptgoldensandbeachesandthebeautifullypreservedhilltownofVejer
arevisualhighlightsofSpain’sCostadelaLuz,whiletreatsforfoodloversinclude sherry
from the barrel in vast ancient cellars and the world’s most celebrated tuna

PHOTOGRAPHS: ITOCK/GETTY IMAGES, LES DUNN