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It’s not the first time we’ve had a guest post from Charlotte, who lives in the US. She loves the Alpujarras as much as we do. Her previous stories – A Quiet Escape on the Ruta Olivos Centenarios and On the buses – an American in Paradise are a joy to read. So it’s a … Continue reading
While perusing a local shop aimed at healthy people – hikers, trekkers, climbers etc – we came across a cute book all about our local mountain range – mainland Spain’s highest, second only to the Alps in western Europe: the Sierra Nevada. We never cease to marvel at its beauty as we drive to Granada, … Continue reading
Late July and it’s been a cruel, cruel summer…so far. Enough sweat has already been expelled from our bodies to fill an English village pond (we’ve written about the heat before). Unable to simply hang up their fur coats like Zsa Zsa Gabor in a Bel Air restaurant, the cats have found their favourite spots which … Continue reading
Life is – in the countryside here in Andalucía – never having to say you’re sorry…for killing things. Huge ants build empires under the lawn, wild boar trash the place, processionary caterpillars cause a risk to animals; they need a tough talking to now and again, lest they take over one’s entire house and garden. The muffled … Continue reading
Regular readers may be aware of our past attempts at building a grave-shaped herb garden, growing ‘special’ seeds from Órgiva’s very-own seed bank/exchange – and generally planting, pickling and preserving stuff. We’ve taken a step forward and built two large vegetable beds (20 sqm total) so we can become Tom and Barbara, only not as attractive. … Continue reading
We recently noticed white ‘clouds’ in our pine trees – like blobs of candy floss abandoned high up in the branches. We discovered they were the silk nests of processionary caterpillars. Should you touch one – or a dog or cat step on one – it can be very unpleasant and even fatal to animals, … Continue reading
A friend told us recently: “do not leave that huge hole in the orchard without filling it in, otherwise it will turn into a well if it rains heavily.¨ Oops. Imagine pouring a bucket of water over a couple of ants; that’s how we felt earlier today. One of us stayed inside ‘holding the fort’ as … Continue reading
Heading east along the coast from Motril, the greenhouses around Almería sweep right to the seashore giving the impression you might be driving through a winter-wonderland rather than the driest place in Europe. More than half of Europe’s fresh fruit and vegetables are grown in these vast greenhouses which cover an area the size of … Continue reading
A small piece of the Generalife in the Alhambra was seemingly plucked from Granada and gently placed in this sleepy town, a short distance inland from the Costa Tropical. But the Jardin Nazari, tucked away in the backstreets of Vélez de Benaudalla, is no Johnny-come-lately – it´s been here, in one form or another, since … Continue reading
As we enter the last week of February, devoid of a leap day (the next is 2016), we awake to light and not dark. For several days the air has been warm, the daily ritual of building a fire will soon be gone. Away from the roads and bustle of Órgiva, the rocky, mainly dry riverbed of … Continue reading
We stumbled upon this brilliantly-edited, beautiful time lapse film of the ever-changing skies above the town of Pitres, a 40 minute drive from Órgiva. The photographer – Francisco J Perez Herrera – states that ‘it’s the result of 4 months of work taking over 18,000 photographs, through more than 30 hours of editing and countless hours … Continue reading
If the orange earth under our feet were the sea, our house would have headed for port a long time ago. A bride leaving Órgiva’s church would be in tears (or hopefully laughing); her hair in tatters, her bouquet ruined. The lights flicker; banshee-wailing winds have come with a vengeance. The outside area has been rearranged, … Continue reading
It’s sometimes starless here, sometimes bible black; and on those still nights you could hear an olive drop. At the new moon – as it is today, 20 January 2015 – the valley’s dogs will know it’s time to settle down on this dark night. Our knowledge of ‘country life’ – in Ireland, England and … Continue reading
On a clear day you can see forever – just not today. While the UK faced its coldest night of the winter so far, here we experienced our first Spanish snow. Not exactly crisp underfoot – more soft and a bit sludgy – we still had to take care on the road leading into Bubión, one of … Continue reading
We awoke early and headed to a friend’s olive grove, the oxalis – yet to show its yellow flowers – was crisp underfoot in the cold air. Two gigantic nets were laid beneath the first tree and off we went, agitating each branch with bamboo sticks to remove the olives. Hitting and shaking the branches resulted … Continue reading
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