The day of the sardine

Every year, oriolanos travel the 22 kilometers from their city to Murcia to enjoy the great parade “del Entierro de la Sardina” (the Burial of the Sardine) which is one of the last celebrations of Spring. Such is the interest, that RENFE lay on special trains to take people from Orihuela to Murcia and back for the event.

The highlight of the day is the parade of Doña Sardina at 1pm. However, there are plenty of other activities planned for people to enjoy including the Macroferia Nacional de Vehículos de Ocasión just in case you want to pick up a car whilst you are there.

You can expect plenty of singing and dancing to take place with groups from the Carribean and Malaysia taking part along with majorettes from Hungary. No doubt there will be fireworks!

The fun will begin at 10am and last until dawn when they will ritually burn the Sardine.

Sadly the Día Nacional de la Salsa en España has been postponed because of the threat of rain. The forecast is for a cloudy day with showers and occasional heavy rain. Let’s not forget that is is still April.

My comment

I love sardines; I like fresh ones cooked on the barbecue and I like the tinned ones in oil or tomato sauce. Like mackerel and most fish, sardines are good for you.

Pamela, on the other hand is not that keen. She will eat sardines which are tinned in tomato sauce but even then it is not her favourite dish. She says she doesn’t like the feel of the fine bones in her throat.

Truth be told, Pam is not a great fish lover. She says the smell of them puts her off. I, on the other hand, like most fish, including shellfish. I also enjoy pulpa, calamares and sepia (varieties of squid and octopus). One of my favourites are the little fish (boquerones) either fried in flour or in vinegar. The equivalent in England I suppose would be whitebait. And, if I am having a salad, my preference would be for atun (tuna) which is sadly becoming an endangered species in the Mediterranean.

The only dish I don’t enjoy a lot is merluza (hake) especially when it is overcooked and drowned in a heavy garlic/oil salsa. On the other hand, dorada (sea bream) tastes wonderful when it is opened up and cooked butterfly style on a grill.

The fish dish that I enjoyed most here was a pan fried tuna steak at La Finca de Eduardos. It was literally dropped into the pan to sear it both sides and then removed, leaving it pink inside. It was delicious!

Since cod fried in batter is definitely not on the diet sheet that the doctor gave me, the one I enjoyed at the Pedrera (well one and a half because I had part of Pam’s as well) must sadly be my last!