40. Spain’s Olive Oil Obsession

Your olive oil habit might be costing you flavour, money, or both. We head off on a little “Triple O” mission (oil obsession) to visit Señoríos de Reyu, a single-estate producer a winding drive inland from the Alicante coast, and the day changes how we think about every casual drizzle in the kitchen. When you learn that olive trees flower heavily but only around three per cent of those flowers become olives, “cheap” extra virgin suddenly feels a lot less straightforward. 

We talk through what makes a premium Spanish olive oil producer different: growing, harvesting, processing, and bottling all on site rather than sending olives to a co-operative. We get into coupage blends, why modern machinery protects quality, and how sustainability can be built into the land itself with biodiversity projects, composting, and using every part of the olive so nothing goes to waste. And yes, we nerd out over packaging and design, including aluminium bottles that better protect oil from light, heat, and air plus a bold designer collaboration that turns a bottle into a collectible. 

Then we get practical. We share what to look for on an olive oil label (harvest date that goes beyond the year, origin wording, acidity) and we bust one of the biggest myths: “cold pressed” or “first press” as a guarantee of superiority. We also give a quick shout-out to other award-winning Spanish olive oils we love, and we answer a listener email about Aena airports and how to request free support for invisible disabilities and neurodivergent travel in Spain. 

If you enjoy food travel, Spanish culture, and smart buying tips you can use immediately, hit play. Subscribe, share with a fellow olive oil obsessive, and leave us a review and tell us: what do you check first when you pick up a bottle?

Transcript

Welcome To Made In Spain

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Welcome to Made in Spain, the show that takes you past the postcards. We are two friends who live here, absolutely love it, and can't stop pulling at the threads of what makes this country tick. I'm Nalini and I'm Laura.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

And every week we go past the flamenco cliches and the tourist maps, tourist traps into the food, the design, the festivals, and the people who make this place unforgettable.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

One story, one flavor, one episode at a time.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Support yourself something good and come along with us. Yay! So

The Triple O Road Trip

SPEAKER_00 0:38

uh Laura, today we are doing uh we're calling it the triple O. Yes, the triple O.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

That sounds pretty interesting. That's what oil obsession.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yes. So um let's talk about where we went. Yay! Okay, so it the town itself is called You Can Do It Do It Rayo. Yes! Oh my god. She did it. It's actually really hard to say because when you at the end, and it is almost impossible for a non-native speaker to kind of have that sound phonetically because in English You don't finish any word with ew. No, it doesn't ex it actually doesn't exist. Right. So it yeah, it was very it's difficult. So I apologize if I say it incorrectly. No problem. But we did we did drive up, Lord did the driving. It's uh a bit of a windy drive from where we are. It is um, what would you say, about 10-15 kilometers from the sea, but in the interior?

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Yes, so 10 kilometers exactly from the sea. Okay. If you were to go in a straight line and fly over everything. Uh, but yes, 10 kilometers. Uh it is, like Nalini said, it is a windy road, but it's definitely safe and worth it.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Okay, so we went up there and we visited the uh this olive oil producer. Would you like to say the name?

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Uh Senorios de Reyou. There you go. She by the end of this, she's gonna have it perfect. She's gonna have dreams about Rayo.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

We also had uh early morning breakfast in the little town, so we supported local. You should get a point for that, even though if I mispronounced the town's name. Cookie point. Yeah. Um, now this is a really interesting project. It's a really interesting small company, and uh it was, I would say, a fantastic, fabulous experience. They are so hospitable. Um very kind, very kind. They welcomed us in. They do tours, which we'll talk about in in a little bit.

How Olive Oil Actually Begins

SPEAKER_00 2:42

But first, we just want to talk about olive oil itself. It is the, I think, one uh, if you were to think of the Mediterranean diet, the first thing that anybody would say, maybe outside of fish, for example, is olive oil.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Right there with fish. Because I think fish without olive oil to me is not even the Mediterranean diet.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Exactly. So this is um, you know, one of the oldest uh flowering fruit trees, you know, in the history of the world.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

And I actually felt very ignorant when we went because even though we have visited olive oil farms before and shout out to Mashiyal Al Ted, which was actually like one of the first ones that we visited, I never realized that olive trees have so many flowers on them.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Do you know what? I was about to ask him, how do you act how do olives actually grow? Because I don't recall seeing flowers on the tree. I literally was about to ask him that question. And then he's like, Look, here are the trees when they're flowering. And I thought, oh, you know what? In this whenever they flower, I don't know, but um, in my garden, the olive trees that we do have, you do kind of see little flower, but they're so tiny. And they have a very fast growing season.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

They do. And the other thing that was very interesting about that is that he said that of all those flowers, only three percent turn into olives.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

You know, this is to me when you you go to a place such as this and you learn about where something comes from. Something that if you I mean, anywhere in the world, olive oil is prized, you know, extra virgin olive oil. Um you consume it, but when you see what it takes to actually make a bottle of olive oil, the good one, a good, high-quality bottle of olive oil, it gives you a whole new respect for kind of just like pouring it on your whatever or using it you just willy-nilly in the kitchen. It gives you a completely different appreciation of the amount of work um and really engineering that goes into something that you just take for granted, that you can go to any supermarket and pick it up.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Exactly. I think it also makes you more willing to pay the price because you understand the effort.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

You understand the investment behind it, and you understand that if things go wrong, you know, they lose the production.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

They and historically, did you know that when olive trees died, like when you look at the history of Europe or even parts of the world where olive trees are native to, when olive trees died or they were burnt, those civilizations also burned down. Yes, and had to start from scratch. Makes my hair sound. Right? So you think like this is part of the fabric of not just Spain, but huge swathes of Europe. And I know every country will argue who has the best olive oil. Uh, some will say it's um Turkey, Italy, uh, Israel, um Palestine, you know.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

I appreciate all olive oils. I'll just put it out there if they're high quality, well produced, same thing with wine. You know, it's not something like I've tried great olive oils from different parts of the world. So I I just think we are very lucky to be able to see this process here.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Now I just want to give you a little uh quick um kind of historical fact. The Thomas Jefferson wrote that the olive tree is the richest gift of heaven, and he uh Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, they had traveled abroad and they tried to bring olive trees back to the southern United States, but it was too humid and really, yeah, it could not grow. So he considered it to be um one of the like one of the greatest things that he could have tried to plant in America in the you know the Americas and this new uh fledgling country at the time was to grow olive trees, but it never took off. That's amazing. Yeah. So I thought, oh, it's even you know, it's just like it's tried to be extended throughout the world.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

And there's so many relations as well, with like if you see, you know, olive branches and religion as well.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

It's a symbol of peace. Yes, right?

A Family Legacy Becomes A Brand

SPEAKER_00 7:05

So now we'll uh talk about the our visit and what we learn from there. So, do you want to talk a little bit about the history of family and how they got started?

SPEAKER_01 7:16

I found this very touching, and maybe both Nalini and I gravitate towards family run or family inherited businesses because it is so hard in today's age for people to actually say, I want to continue this legacy that my father or my mother, whoever it is, you know, left. So Eliseo Quintanilla, who was Hugo's dad, was actually a pharmacist, which I found really interesting. And they had this project where they were trying to create or sorry, to produce oleuropine. Oleuropain. I'm gonna I'm sure I said that right is a difficult word to say. Yeah, and I think in Spanish it's oleuropeina. Okay, and it's a health compound that is concentrated in the olive leaves. Okay. So they had this uh, you know, massive kind of land that they planted with olive trees. They were trying to do this project and the project failed. So they'd already planted thousands of trees. So then Hugo Quintanilla, who trained as an agricultural engineer, decided to then turn that effort into an olive oil tree farm or an olive oil farm, you could say. Yeah, I don't know if you if it's called a farm or an orchard or yeah, I'm not actually sure because when you say granja in Spanish, farm, like that's not what you picture. But you know, uh I he said farm, right? So I'm gonna stick with farm, but I'm not exactly sure if it is an oil tree farm or how it's called, but basically a production of olive oil with their end-to-end um basically manufacturing process right there.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Right. And what we learned about this particular type of olive oil is that they grow it, they harvest it, and they bottle it right there. It is not um what you call a cooperative where they don't take in other little farms in the area and package their olive oil and ship it out. It is absolutely all their hard work.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

And that is unique. And that's one of the reasons they have an Italian machine that actually helps with the processing. Because normally here in Spain, unless you are a very big producer, one of the only ones that, you know, very few of them actually have their own machine where they don't do the cooperative or cooperative where they actually take their olives to be processed at a different place because they don't have enough to justify having all this machinery. Right. So that's kind of unique.

Design-Forward Bottles With A Purpose

SPEAKER_01 9:38

And I think what was also cool is the artwork. Uh you want to talk a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Yeah, we have to talk about that. So now they uh they've done this um aluminum bottle, which we'll talk about in a second, but they the Teoladi, yeah. Teoladi is sparrow in Valenciano. Yes, right? So that's their emblem, and they have an artist from the Alicante area that she came out and kind of did uh like an immersive stay and then painted something that represents the story. So do you want to go through the bottle and just show up? I have it here.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Okay, it's the same thing that's on the bottle. Uh, but it's so pretty because it basically, in a very naive style, in a very kind of uh abstract way, represents the different layers of the finca where the olive oil is uh made. So you have the house, you have the different terrains, all the way down to the last blue bird that is the Mediterranean Sea.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Yeah. So it's all represented by birds. It's actually really, it's very clever, very pretty, it's beautiful. And um, I don't really can't remember seeing bottles like this on a shelf somewhere. No, I think they're very unique. No, and they're it's very bespoke. Yes. So they make uh they use five different varieties. So they have the manzania uh via longa, they have the blanquetta, changol real, alfa fara, and genovesa, plus uh arbecina. Arbecina brilliant. That's not that's not easy. I'm trying, I'm trying. But they basically do um with all they use the the oils in different intensities and um, I guess, you know, recipes to make their coupage. So whether it's the mild, medium, or intense, that varies with the types of olives that they use. Yeah. So

Sustainability Without Wasting Anything

SPEAKER_00 11:33

what what what would you say is the most uh, I don't know, the interesting thing that you found?

SPEAKER_01 11:38

I think the interesting thing that I found is that you can have this incredible commitment to sustainability while having a business that works. Uh, you know, they had everything from insect hotels to little uh, you know, houses for birds. So they've done this collaboration with the University of Chain to make sure that their whole uh finca, the whole uh production is sustainable. So it's a great place for animals to prosper as well as the trees and the business. And I just found that super amazing.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

And they they're also really committed to using every part of the olive because I asked them what happens after you extract the the oil, you know, what happens to the pulp and the seed, and they use it for compost. So nothing actually goes to waste. They take it, they compost it, and it gets put back onto the land. So it's completely, yes, it's completely fascinating how this is done. And I, other than the obviously the automation and the machinery behind it, this has been done for thousands and thousands of years.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

So that was the other thing that I found very interesting from our visit, is he explained the whole cold press and pressed and centrifugation, and they showed us the pressing system that was used before. Yeah. And I remember standing out there and it was pretty hot, you know, looking at all this and looking at all these massive stones, and he described how they would have donkeys before pulling the stones, and how then people would just basically transport this uh mush up by hand to this uh other part of the machine. Right. And, you know, he said this was a very unhygienic process before, you know, you got animals, you got people with their bare hands.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

So also the pulp would rot basically and not smell very well.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

So imagine what the oil would actually taste like. Exactly. So this was the olden way, and they have respected the steps, but obviously now it's a much more hygienic process and it's much better for the end product. So sometimes we have this, I think, romanticize oh, things are done the same way that it was done a hundred years ago. Well, yeah, if you want to end up in the hospital, probably a good idea, but salmonella or something or I don't know, E.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

coli.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Exactly. So I like the way that they've modernized the process without taking the tradition out of it.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Okay, now

Reading Labels And Spotting Hype

SPEAKER_00 14:02

I did a little research, and these are um five things to read on an olive oil label. And I was actually, I mean, I ex suspected that they would actually cover this themselves, and they do. So you have to look for the harvest date. And I mean, I'm talking about a higher quality of olive oil, obviously, not the you know, the standard one that you buy the Mercadona at the supermarket, and not to say anything against Mercadona, they maybe they do have higher end olive oil. I don't necessarily buy my olive oil from there, but you have to look not just for the year, you have to look for uh month. So date and month. And the you know, the closer it is to when you actually buy it, the better the quality because it hasn't been sitting around for that long. So you have that and I noticed on the bottle that I had it said uh later harvest and it was from March. The date is actually March 28th.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Yeah. So I was like, oh, they actually have a stamp on here that says 2026 when it was actually bottled. Yes. And I looked at some other quote unquote higher end bottles that I had at home. They only had a year, it didn't have a date. So I was like, oh, mind blown. I'm now I'm like this olive oil expert. I can read this. You have that exactly what we talked about. Coal pressed is a marketing term. So for anybody listening out there, coal pressed doesn't mean anything because he explained it, Ugo explained it very well. He said, think about this. You you have all the olives or first pressed. You have all the olives and it's going into a machine.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

It's not pressing.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

But it's not even that. It doesn't matter if you come out first or last from that batch of olives. It's not like they're, you know, it's just like only these ones go in first, and that's why it's it's you should pay more for it. They're all going into the same machine. Uh however, they're jumbled around and the seeds taken out and pressed and the oil is coming out. Whether you're the first bushel or the last bushel is irrelevant. You're all going in the same machine. It's first harvest. So that is a huge distinction. If you want to pay more because you like the bottle, fantastic. But first press does not mean you should necessarily pay more. The other thing is acidity level, which I can't even I try to understand it, but anything under I think 0.4%, somebody can correct me on that, is higher quality. Okay. That um the certification. So you have to look at the where it it originates from. And even if it says uh product of, you have to really read the whole bottle to see if it is a single source. So if it's from a particular farm, uh and it doesn't say also packaged with olives from the EU. So there's that. And yeah, I think that's it.

unknown 17:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

I think those are the things. Maybe that wasn't five, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

So it's already quite a lot to be looking at to understand the quality of the olive oil that you are having. And by the way, I think a lot more people look into this kind of detail when it comes to wine than when it comes to olive oil. But you know, as you consume more olive oil, you'll see you can tell a big difference. So I think that's um, we have so much to say about Señorio de Rayu, but I do think that kind of sums it up a little bit. But definitely encourage you to, you know, if you're in the area, visit them. They do have some very beautiful uh tours that they do, as well as picnics that you can take there.

SPEAKER_00 17:41

And we do have to talk about if you want to just mention why the bottles are aluminum and not glass, because they are, I don't know if it's the only um olive oil producer that has aluminum bottles.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

It must be one of the only ones, at least from Spain, because you don't see it that often. No. So, first of all, there's some obvious reasons of differentiation from the other brands. Also, the branding that they can do on it is much prettier than if it's a glass bottle. Right. But it basically protects the olive oil more in terms of the potential heat, light, or air getting into it. So, would you mind passing me that pink bottle? Oh, yeah, yeah. I think it's important to mention as well, there is a very famous designer called Agata Ruiz de la Prada, and uh she actually visited uh Señoríos de Rey, and they did this collaboration where they came up with this bottle, and this Nalini described this is from the first day of harvest. Yes, and it's a very uh beautiful, great quality olive oil, and also something of a collectible. Yeah. So I love how creative they've been with this. So if you're not seeing this and you're just hearing it, it's a bright pink bottle basically of olive oil.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Yeah, it is uh really, I mean, just really, really fascinating. And of course, this particular olive oil uh producer, they have won numerous awards. There are just so many different awards that they have been given over.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

I think within their first two years, they won the gold award for the competition that happens in Los Angeles. Yes, uh, which is amazing. I mean, for a newer olive oil. And then the other one I think that stood out was one of the top um the top uh recognitions from a very big competition in Israel as well.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Yes, and also I think it's very important to note that you can become an olive oil somalier, and that is a very long, complicated process. It's not some little quick course you can take over a few months. It's very long and involved. I actually read the whole pro and it's very expensive. Yeah. I think you said it was like 10,000 euros or something. It's a very expensive specialized program, but what I think if you were to pursue a career like that, you would end up working at maybe a very high-end hotel group or restaurant group to curate their olive oils for them.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

That is a very specific job. So if you are an olive oil familiar, please write in the comments which I'd love to hear from you.

Other Award-Winning Spanish Olive Oils

SPEAKER_01 20:06

So I think two worthy mentions that we have to do. Uh Castillo de Canena. Yes. This is one of the best olive oils in Spain. And they were kind enough to send us their first day of harvest. Nice uh bottles.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Uh I haven't opened mine yet.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

You haven't? No. I pretty much use it on everything. Oh, really? It's so delicious.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

Oh, I haven't opened mine.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

I have a hard time understanding how I'm gonna go back to something else now because it is such a nice and the difference I think between Castillo de Canena and Señorio Terrell, they do focus more on single olive. Uh so for example, Picual or Arberquin. This one specifically is Picual. Okay. And just a little bit of history that I thought is interesting uh from the Bagno family. Rosa and Paco Bagno left corporate careers, Coca-Cola, banking to turn the family grove into a premium brand. And she is one of the only women that is in this um uh space of olive oil production that is leading something like this.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

That is fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Yeah, so she's one of the only women that is in this space, and again, very, very nice people. They were lovely and you know, sent these bottles, but one day we'll visit them. And I even saw that again, they do have some very special uh editions with an oak-smoked amontadillo sherry cask, so that gives the uh the oil a special taste. Okay, and then they also have one that they do with plankton.

SPEAKER_00 21:34

Plankton?

SPEAKER_01 21:35

Yes, like from under the sea. C. Oh, yes, okay. So they have some very unique things. Wow. So same instinct as that, you know, Señorillo de Rayo, like special editions, something a little bit different. And where are they located? They are, I believe they're south. I think it's high in actually.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Uh, let me check one quick second. Well, wherever they're located, I'm officially asking for. An invitation. Yes, please.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

We'd like to talk about it. I think it's Chaen, which is also a big kind of olive oil production. And then the other one, would you like to talk about Marcial Altet since it's been a while?

SPEAKER_00 22:11

This is that was actually our first field trip. And uh where where are they located? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

So goodness. Uh Sierra Mariola near Alcoy.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Yes, again, another windy drive because I do believe that the wherever you grow that many olive trees, you have to be away a distance from the sea and sort of in the interior to be more protected. But this is that was our first interview that we ever did. We didn't know anything about anything. We just said, we're just gonna go out there and ask some questions. And um, it's their family home. So they're not really open for tours. They don't do tours, yeah. No, yeah, they do not do tours, it's their family business. And we kind of drove into their, which is a spectacular family compound. I mean, it's something out of a movie, you know, that you would see. And we get there and you know, just like, should we knock on the front door? But um, they were just so lovely and very welcoming. And this is where we started to really learn and do a deep dive into just the things that interest us, and then we try to share with people. So we thought, you know, that was us just kind of scratching the surface, but why don't we, you know, actually go somewhere closer to our home and learn a little bit more? But what's very interesting is that both of these visits that we've done, what we've learned, because I said, um, where is your biggest market? And for most of these very bespoke olive oil producers, it is not within Spain or even Europe. So you have Marcial was Japan where they they the he said the Japanese, their Japanese market, they take they want the most expensive bottles. So, and that's where uh they have huge consumption, and also uh the South Korea. South Korea. Yeah, South Korea was another huge uh market. And he what he said was really interesting is their marketing because they make the olive oil in smaller bottles, and he said South Koreans love the little bottle, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

It's also like a present. Yeah, I will say that we do have good taste because the Macial Alt has won 600 plus prices. So between Castillo de Canena, wow, Señorías de Reyu, and Macial Alte, those are three of the best olive oils in Spain. And we didn't set out to go and find the three best olive oils in Spain.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

No, we just this is how we look for things, in all honesty. We uh put in something in on the, you know, in Google and see what's closest to us. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

So we're very, very lucky in that way. So that's it for our little exploration on olive oil, and next we're gonna go to our slice of life.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Slice of life, slice of

Slice Of Life Local Creative Shout-Out

SPEAKER_00 25:04

life. So um we just want to do a quick mention that Senorios de Reao. Yeah, okay, close enough. Close enough. They also have these really cute little, I don't know, it's almost like a little lip gloss. Yeah. Little tube of olive oil. And it's very clever because you can, I mean, it's a little souvenir you could buy in the gift shop, but I think it's also really good for, I don't know, travel, a picnic, um, just to put in a gift basket, but they have their coupage and uh medium. Most I think they had medium when we went. So this was uh just a really cute thing. We want to do a really big shout out to uh Valencian designer. Um and this is her uh t-shirt. We'll hold this up and hope we can see it. This is by uh Nellie Castro, she is a Valencian-based premium stationary illustration and gift brand. So she has hand-painted cards, notebooks, mugs, totes, and they're all designed by her. It's sold across Europe since 2003. The she has a studio/slash store in Valencia. Um, the cups are hers as well, these cups here, which are really, really cute. And she has all of this um lovely little merchandise. And I always find it so interesting that stores such as these have uh, you know, they've they she's been around over 10 years in this little studio in Valencia and uh her stuff is sold across Europe, and you think, oh, well, what a what a difficult space to be in. But because she hand um, you know, these are her design, they're her paintings. Yeah. She said when people come for a tour or they're visiting Valencia, the the thing that they ask her the most is that, oh, can you do a picture or like a painting of you know the three of us or the two of us, especially on a girls' trip? She said, because it's so time consuming and then to have to send it out and et cetera, et cetera, it's difficult. So what she tries to do is kind of capture, I guess, the you know, the female spirit, all different, you know, women and colors and hair and styles. And also Nelini's dog is featured in all of this stationary. She has she has a dog that is it looks exactly like my little dog, but it's really, really cute. So yeah, I thought that was a nice uh collaboration that we had, and it was very kind of her to reach out.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Yeah, we're all about female empowerment, and I think Nellie's built something very special. Very special, and again, local. Yes, 100%. So, next we're gonna move on to an email from one of our listeners, which by the way, we just want to reinforce thank you for taking the time to write to us. It always makes our day when we get something that is like genuine uh from the listeners, and we just encourage you keep writing. What do you like? What do you like, not don't like, what questions do you have? Because we love listening from you or hearing from you. So this is from yes, Jess, sorry.

Airport Support For Invisible Disabilities

SPEAKER_01 28:04

Jess from Jessica from Yorkshire. Yes, Yorkshire. I learned it's not Yorkshire, but Yorkshire. I would say Yorkshire, but I've been corrected, it's Yorkshire, I think. So she told us in her email, uh, my son is autistic, and I know how thoughtful you are about sensory needs on your adventures. And just suppose, because uh my daughter is also on the spectrum. I do know quite a bit about this. And she said, INA Airports in Spain no longer recognize the sunflower lanyard for neurodivergent travelers. They've brought in a new recognition system. Have you come across how it works? I used to live in Madrid and love giggling along with you, my new Spanish besties. Yay! Thank you, Jess. Yeah. So the one thing I wanted to mention on this, if you are traveling uh with neurodivergent uh adults or kids or even with people with other disabilities, Spain has a really fantastic system. Again, we haven't been paid to say this or anything like that for also disabilities, but also invisible disabilities. The most important thing is you have to give them a heads up. So before 48 hours of traveling, you go on the website that will include in the episode notes, you mention, hey, I have this family member or I have a disability and you know I will be needing assistance. It is free. Yes. And what you do is when you show up, you go to the specific meeting point and they'll escort you through security. Usually there's a separate security line, they help you on the plane. So I have to say, with as much as this country sometimes is not great about bureaucracy, they really do a fantastic job. So I do think it's worth like preparing yourself for a trip when you're traveling with a disability or with someone with a disability, and make sure you sign up on the website.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

And it's also I from what I read, you only need one per like group family. Yeah, for so if you have one person who needs that application, it I think you travel together with them, they don't separate you, they're not separating you. No, and it just makes travel a lot easier.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Yes. I like I remember going to Alicante with my daughter, and I was surprised at how well organized it was. And then we were met off the plane in Barcelona. So, you know, we even got to drive in the little buggy, which I was really excited about. But you know, it's like, oh wow, you know, it's like, oh, this is actually really well organized. So it's a nice surprise. But if you're traveling to Spain from outside uh and you may not have this assistance at your airport, but you can also do it for the airport of destination.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

Yes, yeah. I know when I had my injury, I had a fracture and I couldn't walk. So they I it was the same thing. They put you in the wheelchair, you have your meeting point, yeah, and they take your whole family through. If you get my son said he's like, you're like Paddington Bear. They put a tag on you and they put you and they say uh you stay here. You stay here because we pick you up to put you on the plane. So it was really uh, I mean, it was not a good experience, but they made the travel part a really great experience.

SPEAKER_01 31:04

And my experience as well is that they're super friendly, like they're really nice, don't make you feel like awkward and they have a different um outfit.

SPEAKER_00 31:12

A different outfit. Yeah, it's it's actually a fantastic service. Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

So shout out to Aina.

A Spanish Saying To End On

SPEAKER_01 31:18

So thank you very much for being with us today. We're going to get to our saying of the day or sentence of the day. Okay, Nalina, are you ready? Yeah. Deep breath. Okay, el aceite de oliva todo mal quita.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

The oil from the olive is the gift of life.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Almost. So olive oil cures every ill. Okay, so it's Instituto Cervantes actually names this a real, like I was gonna say real. My Spanish coming out, a real refrán. Um, it is you know kind of cool if you tie it back to the story of uh Hugo's dad, yeah. You know, trying to find something that would cure something out of the oleoperine. Um yeah, so el aceite de oliva todo malquita.

SPEAKER_00 32:13

It's perfect, and also very fitting because Spanish women live the longest in all of Europe. So there has to be truth to that.

SPEAKER_01 32:21

Yep, absolutely. We look forward to hearing, seeing from you, and please uh uh make sure you follow along and subscribe and until the next episode.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

Yeah, bye for now. Bye.