KARETHE LINAAE
There is nothing more peaceful than a trickling fountain. We always wanted one in our backyard, but living in rainy Vancouver it was a mute idea. Then, after moving to Andalucía, long before we bought our reform-needy ruin, I began plotting our future terrace water feature. The first summer came and then another one, and…
Ever since I read The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho in the latter part of the last century followed by Shirley MacLaine’s movie-star-incognito account of the route, I have wanted to do El Camino. When Coelho walked it in the 1980s, there were barely any people venturing on the almost-forgotten pilgrim trail. On the other hand,…
When they began to refurbish a ruin a block from our house a couple of weeks back, they found eleven skeletons. Literally. Eleven bodies. The discovery neither shocked nor surprised the construction crew, nor the archaeologist who was called in for the occasion. Actually, skeletons are common in our neighbourhood, not only in closets, but…
There is no better travelling companion than a good book in my opinion. A book will not weigh you down, be it in electronic or paperback version. It fits into most handbags and costs the same as a light lunch in a mediocre restaurant, while offering endless hours of entertainment. It can cheer you up…
If I were asked to define the mythical Eden, it would be a place of natural beauty with abundant native flora and fauna, where wild and domestic animals roam freely, nature is managed sustainably and people live in harmony with their surroundings. Not many places fit these criteria anymore, though there are still a few…
The advantage of calling Andalucía home is that we live a short distance from some of the world’s most amazing cities, such as Granada, Cordoba and Sevilla. With Ronda as our chosen base, we also have the added bonus of near proximity to Andalucía’s famous White Villages or Pueblos Blancos. Picturesque, peaceful and pristine, they…
Not all of us manage to get things right the first time. Take me for instance, who has been married three times… Many of us have probably already broken our New Year resolutions and abandoned the carefully designed life improvement plans we made on December 31. If this is the case for you, do not…
Just like an actor firmly believes that he will be discovered in a Starbucks line-up and a teenager is positive that she will be the next supermodel if only Elite takes a peak at her Facebook, almost everybody who doodles with a pen knows in their heart of hearts that they can write a book….
Some stereotypes, such as the tardiness of the Latin people, are seen as universal truths. But are they really so? World renown for being less than punctual, Spain is often described as an eternal mañana culture where everything and everyone is behind schedule. There are of course exceptions to such broad national claims, and there…
A couple of years back I wrote a story about the renovation of a ruin into our present Ronda home. It was my first fictitious episode of a non-existent Andalusian Extreme Makeover Television Series. Amongst later ‘episodes’ was a 10-1 countdown of Andalusian ruins and potential fixer-uppers. The idea remains off-the-air, but I…