For the first time on this trip, today I felt like a tourist. I’m sure just about every other person I’ve interacted with so far has thought on every occasion I’m a tourist, but for me, it was a first. The reason – we went to see the Andalusian Horse Stables at [Yaguada de la Cartuja](http://www.yaguadacartuja.com), 300 horses whose blood line can be traced back to 1450 when monks from the nearby monastery started to breed them as general work horses.
We received a tour of the stables and all the paraphernalia of running a stud farm. 60 stallions are kept on hand for ‘keeping the ladies happy’, and the ladies in turn get no end of pampering to make sure that the end result is fit, healthy – and worth a fortune. The guide said that depending on age and level of training, the horses can be purchased, starting from €50,000. Now that’s some very expensive Pedigree Chum!
I recorded a few video segments that give you an idea of the beasts at work. I have some possibly better ones on the other camera which I’ll share when I get a chance to transfer them.
So why did I feel like a tourist? It’s the first time this trip that we’ve paid an entry fee then shuffled around in the sunshine with mostly overweight octogenarians with minimal peripheral vision. Why is it that people on guided tours go into a room, in the full knowledge that they are with 30 other people, and then decide to stand in the doorway preventing anyone else from coming in whilst they gorp like guppies? Mind you, you should have seen them at the end when someone mentioned they were giving out free samples of sherry. You couldn’t see them for dust, cloth caps and toupees knocked off in the frenzy! And don’t get in the way of a elderly, portly Spanish lady with walking stick and a penchant for sherry, unless you want to discover the unorthodox medical uses of a walking stick!
