KARETHE LINAAE
We live in strange and uncertain times. There are days when I prefer not to watch the news, as whole countries go back into lockdown, economies plunge, the USA segregates into Republicans and Democrats, and record numbers of CoVid cases are counted. It is easy to get a bit down by it all, but since…
Ever since I read Jules Verne’s book ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ in my youth, I have wanted to fly in a hot air balloon. What could be more timeless and irresistible than floating wherever the wind takes you? Since we moved to Ronda in southern Spain, I have often seen balloons over…
Ronda with its world famous bridge and to-die-for views should be on everyone’s bucket list. This Andalucian mountain pueblo simply lives and breathes history, having been ruled by Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Catholic Kings. In the 18th Century, the infamous bandoleros and other law-breakers practically ran the town. It was also the birthplace…
If the last time you had Sangria you drank three carafes by yourself and ended up on the floor of a Benidorm bar, I can understand why the mere mention of the word turns your stomach. However, Tinto de Verano, Sangría and other Spanish summer drinks can be quite refreshing. And they are just as easy…
Most world-class luxury retreats will pamper you and cater to your every whim, but can a couple of nights away from the hustle and bustle of life truly change you? If any weekend getaway can be transformative, it is Andalucia’s Finca La Donaira. Described as an exclusive eco-escape, La Donaira is situated on 1700-acres…
Whatever one thinks about getting down and dirty, gardening, like cooking and making art, is an activity that can spread joy. Granted not everybody who beholds a garden will be awestruck by its beauty and hypnotized by its scent, but there is something undeniably magical about observing life emerging from plain dirt! If…
You know when you are young and regard everyone say over thirty as ‘ancient’? Then comes the day when you pass the 30-mark yourself and suddenly they don’t seem old anymore. The same happens as you become 40 and 50, and according to my mum who will be 90 this year, even at 80. …
I cannot believe it. We are walking again!!! I mean real walks, outside in the open, step by bouncy step, arms moving like overeager pendulums, lungs drinking in much-needed change of air and starved eyes rejoicing at the open landscape. After seven weeks of being confined to our homes while the rest of Europe…
I never thought I would say this, but I feel rather calm. For almost forty days now we have been in lockdown. In Spain this means that the only legal reasons we can leave home are to purchase food, medicine. I have stepped outside our front door all of seven times in the past month,…
It was bound to happen sooner or later. The virus, I mean. The planet is a very small place, and we are all interconnected – in sickness and in health, as the traditional wedding vow goes. Take the example of Spain. With a staggering 83.7 million tourists visiting last year, this country is like a…