KARETHE LINAAE
This is the first in a series of articles exploring lesser-known Andalusian towns through walks with their mayors. My starting point is Cartajima, a tiny village in Málaga’s Genal Valley, around a 40-minute drive from the Costa del Sol. If you don’t know the village, you’re not alone — very few people make the trip…
Most people come to Spain for the climate, culture, nature, and, not least, food and wine. One activity that combines all these elements is a visit to a bodega. Winemaking requires open plains and sunny hillsides, often set against beautiful natural surroundings. At the same time, it is a tradition-bound process deeply rooted in…
January is the month of new beginnings. It’s also a time for self-examination, self-renewal, self-blame and maybe even a little self-flagellation. And while we usually give up on trying to create a ‘new me’ by February 1st, we continue to make the same resolutions year after year. The most important New Year’s resolutions for Spaniards…
Have you ever wanted to step into an entirely different life and try something you have never done before? Then you should consider becoming a WWOOFer. WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a non-profit movement that connects volunteer helpers with organic farmers worldwide. Its goal is to promote education and cultural exchange, fostering…
2025 has been the year when summer refused to end. Every day in June, the temperature climbed above 30 degrees here in southern Spain. Then came the Terral winds, bringing the tropical heat of July and August, with new records for both highs and lows. That much was expected. What wasn’t expected was that the…
Most people who move to Spain have their own requirements. According to real estate agents on the Costa del Sol, most people desire a south-facing terrace, ideally with mountain and sea views, proximity to downtown shops and restaurants, and, preferably, also within walking distance of the beach. But when you are in a wheelchair…
Climate change is causing increasingly extreme meteorological phenomena, including heatwaves, intense storms, and prolonged droughts. These are things that we who reside in Andalucía must learn to live with, but there is one consequence of climate change that may threaten people and the natural environment more than anything else. In recent years, the…
On rare occasions, when all elements and planets are aligned and our creative willpower is unstoppable, providence will step in and spur a project along, far beyond our wildest dreams. This is what happened with a short film I made many years ago, called Off Key. In the 1990s, I was even a worse overachiever…
Several years ago, I received a rose bush as a gift from my friend, Jenny. She bought it at a street market in Pruna, a village in the Andalusian hinterland that few people have probably heard of. The rose lived on our terrace for several years in increasingly larger flowerpots. However, no matter where we…
On rare occasions when travelling, one finds a lodging where one feels completely at home. For me, it has only happened a couple of times. Once at an Inn on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, after a secret nuptial ceremony, and once in a picturesque Haveli in Pushkar (famous for its camel races)…