A most ‘florido’ season
April is here and the fields have been transformed into a deep green colour, looking like a velvet patchwork carpet with stone fences as seams. Though the poppies won’t come out in their full splendor until May, the country …
Palm Sunday with the gypsies
In Norway, Easter is synonymous with spring skiing, while in Canada it seems to be all about bunnies and egg hunts. Nothing wrong with chocolate and skiing, of course, but Spanish Easter is certainly more spiritual.
Yesterday was Domingo de …
Food shopping in the ‘hood’
Since we moved to Spain, we are relieved that our 300 000-mile Canadian diet (wild guess…) has been reduced considerably. We use olive oil, cheese, meat, oranges and wine from Ronda’s own fincas and bodegas. In the winter months …
Mind over matter
It always amazes me how nature finds its way, in spite of our most concerted efforts to dissuade life with cement and concrete. Therefore, I love the way Andalucian roof-tiles and stonewalls seem to allow flowering neighbours to take …
Car Boot sale with Sunny and Cher
A car boot sale, as the name implies, is where people sell stuff from the boot of their car. These markets happen all up and down the coast, with the largest one held at the fairgrounds in Fuengirola. This weekend …
Happy Roman New Year
New Year in January has always felt completely wrong to me. It is cold and dark and does not signify the natural beginning of anything. Certainly not a time when one are supposed to reinvent oneself and become a new …
Morning reflections
When I went out this morning to hang up laundry in the communal garden, the grass was still frozen. Yet, the sun was already pulling humidity from the ground, creating a sense of walking on a fine layer of mist.…
Community Service
Since we arrived here in November, we have been looking for a way to give back to the community that has welcomed us so kindly. We have always volunteered, so when we heard about a network of environmental volunteers who …
Costa del sol – development and decay
Costa del sol is the sunny coastline along the Mediterranean in the Spanish south. It embraces the coastal towns and communities of Malaga province. These traditional white fishing villages with their favourable sub-tropic climate were ‘discovered’ by international tourism is …
Springing ahead
These days, when I come to my furniture restoration class, the teacher slaps her arms around her body saying ‘Qué frío!’ (What a cold!)
People in our town say that Ronda has no spring. They claim we go straight …