Last year (er, I mean end of 2005) we were invited by our friend Maria José to celebrate New Year’s Eve in her family’s cave. Yes, they have a cave underneath their house.
For some reason, we didn’t go last year, but we were glad we did last night. There were thirty people in the cave, and I was told it has held up to one hundred and twenty. It would be great for weddings, I thought, wondering at a business opportunity. 
There was one very long table, and a small barbeque area outside. The meal began with caldo, a kind of soup, and was followed by thinly sliced fillets of pork with a green peppercorn sauce. Then we had pinchos (kebabs) and brazo de gitano, which literally translates to Gypsy’s arm. It resembles swiss roll.
This was a classic Andalusian scene. The whole family together, young and old, singing, clapping and dancing. No age barriers, no inhibitions, just relaxed and wholehearted fun.
I asked Ismael, a twenty three year old student I hadn’t met before, what marks out Andalucia from the rest of Spain. The pause before his reply gave me time to fix myself another drink. When I returned he said: ‘La sencillez’. The simplicity.
Click here to see more photos of the cave night.