KARETHE LINAAE
Let me be completely clear, my husband abhors dressing up. In all the years I have known him, I have never seen him as much as paint on a fake moustache. To him, Halloween and carnivals are a waste of time, costumes are plain foolish, and the people within them even more so. But when…
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Though it is debated whether it was the American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead who first spoke these much-quoted words, it cannot be disputed that they indeed are very true. Little did I…
Artist and non-artists alike are invited to take part in a recycled art competition on May 17th, El día Ronda Limpia in the Palacio de Congresos de Ronda – Convento de Santo Domingo by the world famous Puente Nuevo in Ronda, Andalucía, Spain. Ronda Limpia is a public engagement initiative and volunteer community movement to encourage good environmental…
My mother, bless her heart, has always looked at apartment living with distain. Dad and her enjoyed separate floors in their house, which possibly can account for their long life together. When I would mention that they ought to consider moving into a smaller abode, my mom would look at me in horror and tell…
Spring is here! Well not really, as we have had some rather cold and rainy days lately. But when we went for a hike in the Sierra de Lijar region this Sunday, we witnessed our very first almond blossoms, as well as wild-growing daffodils and a very rare pink orchid, whose Latin name has escaped…
Ronda is spectacular by nature, surrounded by mountains and devoid of big-city smog and pollution. Seen from afar, it is truly pristine. Yet like many Spanish towns, we have a problem with garbage and dog ‘droppings’. Clearly not something a major tourist town would like to be known for, nor wish to admit to, but…
Virgins are a vanishing lot, especially if one is to judge by the lack of native sisters entering the hundreds of convents still in operation on the Iberian continent. (To fill this gap, Spain now actually needs to ‘import’ virgins from Africa, Asia and South America, but that is another story…) Historically and culturally, however,…
“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…
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…
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……