Santiago de Compostela for Softies

Northern Spain by Rail

FEVE Station Bilbao

As you realise I have a thing about travel by train so the thought of the narrow gauge trains which go along the north coast of Spain appealed.

I joined a tour run by Explore, an UK travel company for 12 days travel, we were 2 other couples and a fantastic Basque guide John.

Whitebait

Image on blog http://www.forestandbird.org.nz

I have always loved whitebait to eat. What we called whitebait in Hobart and my mother made into fritters when there was a run in the Derwent. What I have since eaten in New Zealand and once even when I was teaching people in periodic detention.

Bmpermie Why?

Archie holding Brenda

I write this blog about my travels, food and gardens. The name bmpermie says it all really,”bm”” is Blue Mountains west of Sydney where I live and “permie”is short for permaculture which is the design principles by which I try to live.

Food and Yachts

Yachts in Constitution Dock at end of Sydney Hobart Race 2013

Going to see the yachts at the end of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in Constitution Dock was one of the rituals of my youth but I haven’t been to Hobart over Christmas New Year for about 20 years.
The yachts have changed, bigger, slicker, more hi tech.

The Silk Road

I have now arrived in Istanbul after a journey of 45 days from Beijing. It seemed quite daunting at the beginning but went very smoothly and was so well organised that we just followed along.

Blue Mosque Istanbul

What are the common threads I wonder.

The first which came to mind are mulberry trees, there are mulberry trees all the way, we have eaten white mulberries from Beijing to Istanbul.

Sitting beneath the shade of a mulberry tree in Bukhara.

Markets/bazaars. Bazaars seem to be a thriving centre in each of the cities, selling fresh and dried food, spices, and goods of all descriptions. The word ‘traders’ is used which seem to suggest so much more than ‘shopkeeper’. Many of the foodstuffs sold in these bazaars are the same as has always been sold however much of the other items may now very well, I was going to say, made else where ie watches, mobile phones, clothes etc. but I guess bazaars have always sold goods from elsewhere.

Market in Osh

Different types of rice

Herbs and garlic in Osh

Currants and sultanas

Vegetables and chillis

Pomegranates in market in Georrgia

They have all been very crowded and busy. We went to the Muslim night market in Xian, mostly a food market which has been ‘tidied up’ in recent years. Then markets all the way to the miles of bazaar in Isfaban and then the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul now a mecca for tourists but with some traders who have been there for generations.

Islam is practiced from Xian to Istanbul. We visited the mosque in Xian and then mosques all the way to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Some of the countries are secular states which forbid the Call for Prayer such as Uzbekistan.

Marble mosque in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Food Kebabs first appeared to us as street food in Xian China and were very common food through to Istanbul.

Kebab

Bread was an essential part of every meal from Turpan. The shape of the bread varied from place to place but large loaves or baskets of bread were provided as soon as we sat down. For us use to a small dinner roll it was much too much bread.

Bread in the market at Osh

Cheese appeared on the breakfast table from Turpan to Istanbul. It is soft fresh sheep’s cheese as these people were nomads.

Sheep cheese wrapped in goat skin in the Spice Market Istanbul

Tea was the main drink along the entire journey.

Tea House in Beijing

Life was difficult for coffee drinkers until we got to Bukhara where the number of tourists meant cafes sold lattes.

Tea growing near Rize Turkey on slopes near the Black Sea

The Road
We travelled by train and mini van. In China the stations were full of men who seemed to be travelling to work in distant locations.
The roads were all sealed, except for the 200km to the border between China and Krygizstan which is under construction and the Military Road from Tbilisi to the Russian border which was a detour for us to see the monastery. Some roads needed much work such as between Samarkand and Bukhara. The road from the Turkish border to Istanbul was a divided 4 lane highway.
We saw long lines of trucks waiting to cross some borders, especially entering and leaving China.

However we also shared the road with donkey carts, cows grazing, sheep and cattle being driven, and small tractors pulling carts carrying the whole family or goods.

Sheep being driven along a main highway in Uzbekistan

Other sights in the towns were different for us.

Cleaning products being sold in the centre of Istanbul

Goods being moved in the midst of city traffic

Woman on mobile near her scooter in Kashgar

So all in all an extraordinary journey and much easier than most imagine.

Mulberry Trees

We had a mulberry tree in our house where I grew up in Hobart and there was one in our house in Western Sydney, dark red mulberries which stained our hands and the washing. We did not do much with them, ate them from the tree and stewed with ice cream.

I have seen mulberry trees from Beijing to Yerevan in Armenia.

White mulberries

Across these countries mulberries are planted as street trees, for shade, in front of houses in parks and orchards. Mulberries are picked by families and tourists.

The leaves are used to feed silk worms.

Weaving silk by hand

Hand woven silk scarves

Silk being taken from the cocoons in Fergana Valley Krygizstan.

The wood is used to make musical instruments and to make paper.

Musical instruments made from mulberry wood in Samerkand

The trees are used for shade.

In Gorgis Armenia we drank vodka made from mulberries.

Food

We know that travel is supposed to be broadening but especially for the hips. Food is one of the most fascinating aspects of this trip; what we see, the street and market food which we are warned about but I have eaten.

I enjoy food markets much more than other markets and here I really get a sense of the Silk Road and trading. Men and women behind careful piles of vegetables, bags of rice and grains, piles of spices and trays of dried fruit.

Then there are restaurant meals some more successful than others. We are still not sure whether one dish was pigs ears in China, cut into thin strips and very chewy with not a lot of taste.

I have discovered how tasty garlic tops are. Why have I never eaten them before especially as I grow garlic?

Night market in Xian with tour leader.

Sweet potatoes roasting on back of bicycle in Beijing

Mother’s Day lunch at market in Kashgar

Star fish at market in Tashkent

Fish waiting to be cooked at Beijing snack bar