Mushroom Days get started tonight

JIMENA This year's Mycology Days, in their fourteenth edition, get under way this evening with their official opening by the new President of Diputación de Cádiz, José Loaiza García, and the equally new Delegate for the Environment of the province, Silvia López Garrido, who will be introduced by Mayor Guillermo Ruiz. There are also four lectures on the subject of wild mushrooms planned for today until Sunday and tomorrow, Saturday is the day to head off into the Los Alcornocales Nature Park to collect them - and Sunday is for eating them. There are all sorts of mushroom-related activities for the children at the Aljibe primary school just a bit further up the hill from the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre, which is the hub of it all. See the full programme for the 14th Jimena de la Frontera Mycology Workshops (or Days, whichever you please):>>>

Mushroom Days are here again

JIMENA This year's Mycology Workshops are scheduled for the weekend of November 25, 26 and 27, by which time it is hoped that the rain will have brought out a good crop of wild mushrooms to pick. The Jornadas Micológicas will be opened officially on Friday 25 at 18.30 by the new President of Diputación Provincial, José Loaiza García, together with the Provincial Delegate for the Environment, Silvia López Garrido, and Jimena Mayor Guillermo Ruíz Ruíz. There will be a total of 4 lectures on the subject over these days, at the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre, and Saturday is when registered visitors go out to pick mushrooms in the Los Alcornocales Nature Park. Activities for children will be held at the Aljibe school in Estación. See the whole programme below, and download the registration form with instructions here or below.>>>

This year's Mycology Days: November 25, 26, 27

JIMENA This year's edition is the 14th for Jimena's annual Mycology Days are scheduled to be held over the weekend of November 25th to 27th. Many details are yet to be worked out, according to the 'Chantarela' Mycology Society, which will be working with the XCouncil. Among decisions to be made are whether to move the main venue from the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre in Estación to the Casa de la Cultura in the village, with other events and activities, such as those dedicated to children, to be held at the Misericordia church just below the castle. In any case, below is the programme of activities for 'Chantarela' for the next few months.>>>

Wild mushroom cookery book to be distributed tomorrow

JIMENA To coincide with the opening of the XIII Mycology Workshops (see full programme here), the Council is to distribute a cookery book with some of the municipality's restaurants' favourite mushroom recipes. Titled Setas y Fogones (loosely translated to Mushrooms and Cooking) and only in Spanish, its aim is that it should be used as a tool for tourists. The booklet contains recipes from Restaurante Cuenca, Hostal-Restaurante El Anón, Restaurante La Tasca, Restaurante El Ventorrillero, Restaurante Las Rejas, Hostal-Restaurante Los Arcos, Restaurante La Vía, Restaurante Mesilla de Los Ángeles, Restaurante Cacholla and Restaurante La Estación, both these in San Pablo. Look out for it at any of these establishments and, please mention you saw it here first!

'Collect some mushrooms, collect some rubbish'

That is the slogan being used for an excellent campaign organized by Agaden, the environmental group, who presented it at a meeting at Los Alcornocales campsite yesterday morning. With the annual Mycology Workshops approaching on the weekend of November 27 to 29 (see programme here), the idea is that anyone going out to gather mushrooms during the season, should also bring back any rubbish they may find. For that purpose, the organizers of the campaign handed out bio-degradable bags, t-shirts for volunteers, cotton talegas (bread bags, usually, but very useful to take out to the country) and various other promotional material. Agaden plans to make a similar presentation of the campaign as part of this year's Mycology Workshops. We have to say that Agaden is doing excellent work this year, but needs the cooperation of all of us: 'the environment is everything and everyone'.

Mycology Workshops programme

You will find the programme for the 12th edition of Jimena's Mycology Workshops below, in Spanish. Since all activities will be held in that language, we did not feel the need to translate them - except for those that involve children, which you'll find at the end. Los Alcornocales Nature Park is a treasure trove of wild mushrooms of all kinds, though the chantarella (chantarelle, a much prized species - that's it on the illustration) has for centuries been one of the area's economic pillars. The programme this year includes not only guided mushroom collecting in the countryside, but also a series of lectures and a 'route' around the restaurants of the village to try their particular way of preparing these delicacies. It is well worth the experience, as many people from around the country know, who come in specially for this annual event