KARETHE LINAAE
When my almost 85-year-old father visited Ronda last year, he exclaimed that he had never been kissed so much before in his whole life! Like it or not, Andalucíans are a passionate lot. They live, love, talk, dance, eat, drive, and certainly, as my late father pointed out, kiss with more ‘gusto’ than most of…
Fall has come to Ronda. I was alone in the community garden this morning, except for a couple of bees hiding in the Spanish lavender and a flock of birds doing their communal fall thing, flying south towards warmer climates.
Much like a spaghetti western, La Feria de Ronda is a rather rowdy affair. It celebrates many Spanish icons, such as flamenco dancers, wine, proud stallions, macho men and last but not least, big black bulls. Foolish or not, men have fought, worshipped, leaped over and sacrificed bulls since time immemorial. Bulls are depicted in…
For us who like nature hikes and village walks, the Andalucían summer poses a major problem – the heat. In July and August the temperature may rise above a stifling 40* C, which doesn’t encourage one to strap on a backpack and lace on heavy hiking boots. So, when, where and how do we get…
Went on a sunset hike to Cascajares last night. The stone formations are similar to the Rif mountain chain in Northern Africa, as the two continents were linked just a few million years back. On a clear day one can see across to Africa from the 1416-meter peak, but the August heat brings in clouds…
This summer, we have been following the fight to keep the Arbutus Community Gardens in Vancouver, Canada. We had the privilege of living just around the corner from the threatened gardens, which was our favourite evening walk from spring to fall. A community garden, or allotments as they are called in the UK, is a…
“You haven’t seen the Holy Chestnut tree?” our friend Rafa exclaimed and immediately offered to bring us there. Somehow his spontaneous kindness did not surprise us, as this is not the first time we have experienced the heartfelt hospitality of the Andalucíans. Two days later, our friend Mamen, her son Dawda, plus my husband and…
In North America, nuns are usually a thing one only see in the movies or during Halloween, which is why I keep expecting the nuns we pass in town to break into a Monte Python song and dance routine. But of course, they never do. They are real nuns. One may be right to think that…
Last week I had the opportunity to play a fly on the wall on a film shoot who shall remain nameless in a small Andalucian mountain village that also shall not be named. Having spent most of my work life in the North American film industry, I found it very interesting to observe this European…
The last year we resided in Vancouver, in 2012, I was living vicariously through the sumptuous blogs of two Andalucia-based friends – writer Arpi Shively and French pastry chef and artist Lala Ema de Haro. When the heavy grey BC skies got me down, I escaped into their sinfully delightful epistles from the Spanish South,…