Ronda, a worthy World Heritage Site?
“I searched all over for the city of dreams and at last I found Ronda….. in Spain nothing is more unexpected than this wild mountain city.” Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) Our heritage is our legacy from…
Postcard from Sierra de Grazalema, January 2014
We passed this tree hanging off a cliff on the magical walking route between the white villages of Grazalema and Benoacaz in the province of Cádiz. I have met many bent souls in this life, but few that can match this black oak. If you ever wonder if trees can have back ache, here is…
Postcard from El Chorro – December 2013
I saw a video of ‘El Camino del Rey’ before we came to Spain and told my husband that I would not even make it up the first set of stairs. After too many fatal accidents one is not allowed to climb there anymore. But as you will soon see, some people still do……
An ‘Andaluz’ Christmas story
December is here, and are celebrating Christmas in Spain for the first time. Like anywhere else we have lived, the fiesta is seen and felt far and wide. People elbow their way through the supermarkets with bulging trolleys, prepare meals for a small army and eat and drink far too much. Yet, Christmas in Andalucía…
The mighty olive
There is nothing lovelier than an olive tree – this symbol of peace with its silvery leaves and its twisted body. Sometimes the trunk will divide at the root and grow like entangled lovers, Siemese twins or like a couple who separated in mid-life and came back together in old age. You may strip the…
A year in Andalucía
Last November, my husband and I packed a few belongings, left Vancouver B.C. and set out on a new journey. We arrived in Ronda the following night in torrential November rains, not knowing how long we would stay nor where we would go next. A year later we are still here. Ronda is one of…
When the young buzzard came to town
Ever since my dad took my sister and I to see Disney’s Jungle Book at the World Theatre in my little hometown in the late 1960s, I have had a special affinity for vultures. Remember the friendly barbershop-quartet in the bleak petrified desert? Originally, Beatles’ manager wanted the band to record the song for the movie,…
Osuna and the unknown Spain
In a country with an abundance of historical and archeological sites, many places get overlooked and others are left to ruin. There isn’t enough money in the Spanish coffers to restore all and even though some 50 million tourists visit Spain every year, many astonishing places are overlooked or forgotten. Living here one gets used…
The most difficult and circuitous road to a Spanish driving license
My husband got his first driving license in Mexico in 1969. I got mine in Norway in 1981. We both have valid Canadian driving licenses, international driving licenses and official prof of perfect driving record in Canada for the past five years. We have been driving for a combined 78 years – Yet, we found…
Community gardening Andalucía style – or “Who let the sheep in?”
When my husband and I lived in Vancouver, we loved to stroll along the railroad tracks and admire the Kitsilano Community Gardens. We always wanted a plot, but we never imagined it would be here in Andalucía. Truth be told, we are not what one can call avid gardeners. I have always had flower orphanages,…