A Tale of Two Villages by Christine Smith.

                     A Tale of Two Villages by Christine Smith.

"Trees and foliage were being swept along, down in the raging torrent, and then suddenly, we saw a car being swept down the road, over where a wall had been demolished, and come to rest on its side, in the mud."

For all you expats and lovers of Spain I pose an interesting question: Is Spain a haven of "sun, sea and sangria" or is it overrun by "concrete, fish and chips and all day breakfasts?" To continue this line of thought, do you find the esplanades full of cheap shops selling tourist junk and blaring music "disgorging lager louts" from your local bars?  I'm not just referring to Benidorm. And finally, are Spanish destinations a "carbon copy of UK seafronts, but with more guaranteed sunshine?"

Christine Smith chose to live in the real Spain, uninhabited by tourists and like many of us, spent some time exploring possibilities and travelling around Spain. The result is an interesting diary/travelogue containing some of the details she wanted to relay to you the reader. She was attracted to Spain because of the people and lifestyle. Her quest to find the perfect home focused on exploring traditional Spain somewhere "completely unspoilt, undeveloped, a non-tourist region that would give her the taste of Spain as it was before we invaded by the plane load." Yes, you will have realised that she is critical of the expats who attempt to make their dream become a version of Little Britain, a carbon copy of home but surely she has every right to voice her opinion? Viva la difference!

The coastline attracted the tourists, the author though was "hungrier to explore" those places beyond the beaten track, places such as La Rioja, or Aragon even Don Quixote country, Castilla La Mancha perhaps?

Interestingly enough, "A Place in the Sun" was showcasing the pretty village and beautiful scenery of Extremadura and environs. "I watched entranced."Just like that. There were visions of a fertile area lying between the Gredos mountains, two provinces: Caceres which borders onto the west of Portugal and Badajoz, bordering onto Andalucia in the south. A priority was to be able to integrate with the local Spanish and their way of life without becoming too isolated. Extremadura is seen as the "poor man of Spain" like Almeria. It is isolated but not exploited by tourists so it seemed ideal-in theory anywhere!

Success. Santiago Del Campo was the place where Christine found what she was looking for. Her daughter showed some interest in joining her as well as her son, Ben who rented a chalet on the hills above Careres. The area represented peace/tranquility and beauty, with splashes of spring around the countryside which proved to be an absolute joy. Fields of blue hues. Small streams trickling through the rocks. What more could you ask for? My favourite, the swifts "swooping down skimming across the water." Bats down by the river. Fantastic sunsets. This is Spain at its best, the Spain that we love.

"Great streaks of red stretching across the sky as if it was on fire" as well as "hundreds of tiny insects dancing just above the water creating an illusion of rain falling."
La Vera nearby, is famous for pimento, smoked paprika. Also the Monfrague National Park is well worth a visit, home to many beautiful raptors: eagles and buzzards.

As a contrast to the unspoiled, natural beauty, the inevitable concrete jungles have sprung up of Torremolinos and Fuengirola with the indolent glamour of Marbella and Puerto Banus providing a bit of a let-down apart from the interesting line up of Ferraris on show.
Ben wanted to find somewhere a little more populated and was drawn to Almeria because it was undeveloped and the rent was cheap. Whilst renovation was underway in Santiago Del Campo, Christine accompanied her son, exploring the region. Christine writes about the flash floods in Almeria late 2012. I was working down there at the time and remember them vividly. The Almanzora valley usually flooded every 40 years so it shouldn't have been such a shock in 2012 but it was.

"Few escaped the intrusive flood water, bringing its dirty sludge into their homes." Olive groves were absolutely shattered and eight people were killed during those floods, three in the Almeria region.
Useful tips on places to eat and drink, fiestas and flamencos to enjoy, it shows Spain at its most seductive. Readable and frank.

Available on Kindle from Amazon.

REVIEW it by Carol Naylor.

Copyright 2014. Permission must be obtained from the writer before any of this article review is reproduced.

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