KARETHE LINAAE
With the present economic situation in Europe, Spain has thousands, if not millions of properties for sale. Anything from mansions to flats to utter ruins are at offer for those who have money to spare. Especially on the coast they are literally trying to pass on beach properties for almost nada, but the expat-infested, developer-ruined,…
The first time we came to Ronda, we were enchanted by the rolling landscape, the Arabian horses living beneath the city walls and the Sierra de Ronda mountains far above. It had been raining steady all day, but suddenly the sun came out and with it appeared not one, but two rainbows. It had to…
If you ever wonder what the well-used cliché mañana means, just visit a Spanish bank. A couple of days ago we had to go to three different banks in town, quite a timely affair, even if the banks are located within a few blocks of each other. I will neither mention names, nor give a…
I wanted to write something about Spanish tapas, but realize that I need a whole lot more ‘field research’ before I will be able to speak with any kind of authority on the subject. Yet, as we lick our chops and smack our lips, I thought it was only fair to introduce you to at…
My uncle from Lillehammer told me that they have 15 degrees below zero at the moment, so they stay mostly indoors. Winter in Ronda is not hot by any stretch of the imagination. Our town is located nearly 800 meter above sea level and surrounded by a mountain chain (la Serranía de Ronda), which these days…
This morning I was sitting in the back of the car of our future Rondeño car mechanic, who was bringing us to a guy who sells cars. He spoke Spanish with Jaime, I knew that much. Just that it wasn’t the Spanish I know, nor a Spanish I can fathom how I ever will learn…
Waking up in our neighbourhood, one can hear birds and bees and other country-like sounds, reminiscent of Grieg’s ‘Morning Sonata’. Usually there is a stray dog out in the campo barking into the wee hours and sometimes an entire canine choir joins in. Every so often one can discern the bleating of grazing sheep on…
Ever since we got to Spain I have seen Almodóvar everywhere. Not Pedro himself, mind you, but all the ‘Almodóvaresque’ characters that populate his films. They may be seen walking down most Spanish street for those who care to notice. Ronda does, at least on the surface, lack his most infamous characters; transvestites, whores and junkies,…
Flying across the Atlantic, I saw a 75th anniversary video about Air Canada’s history. I decided that next time I’d see my mom, I would ask her about working as an air hostess in the 1950s, before the age of jet planes, charter flights and mass tourism. My mom was born in 1930, in a…
I was walking home last night, across Puente Nueve and into the Casco Viejo, the old part of town, between hundred-year-old stone houses, passing the old minaret, meandering through alleys where cars barely can pass, coming out through the old Arab city wall into Barrio de San Francisco, our new ‘hood’. I cannot believe we are here…