Near fatal flashback to Mojo’s

May 8th, 2009 Posted by john
Queimada Flames 5 Originally uploaded by hegarty_david.

So there we were, in the Atapuerca hotel (described accurately as ‘for truck drivers’) an isolated place with a couple of villages close by, but too far to walk to after a long day outside.

After dinner Ignacio said we’d be having the Queimada. Then, seeing the blank looks on our faces they proceeded to explain.

You take a litre or two of orujo (preferably home made, with a high alcohol content), chop orange peel, apples, lemon peel and add them and coffee beans, and a ton of sugar. All this goes into a ceramic cauldron.

Then you light the thing and stir it with a ladle (hopefully not made of wood). When the flames go completely blue, you put them out and serve it.

It’s warm, sweet and quite strong (even after the burning off process).

While it’s being burned you’re meant to recite a conjuro (a spell) which is a call to the earth, wind, sea and fire to purify the drink and share it with souls of absent family and friends. So of course we did this, fifty or so people, much to the amusement of the few additional guests in the bar.

Yes, all this was done in the hotel bar. A health and safety nightmare!

Tags: , , ,
Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.