I recently posted the first two parts of the story of how I came to live in Spain. It took longer than I had hoped, but I made it in the end!
The Puente Nuevo in Ronda [Photo courtesy of Secret Serrania]
After three decades of regular visits to Spain, it got to the millennium and 25 years of married life.
So, in summer 2000 my wife, Jeryl, and I decided to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary by touring Andalucía, a region we didn’t yet know. Flight to Málaga, two nights in spectacular Ronda, two in stunning Arcos de la Frontera, a sherry tour in tranquil Jerez de la Frontera, via beautiful Carmona to two more nights in gorgeous Córdoba, surely the best of the big three Andalusian cities (Sevilla, Granada and Córdoba), then via Roman Antequera back to bustling Málaga. We were both hooked on the region and decided to spend some of an upcoming windfall on a property in the Serranía de Ronda.
First steps into the Spanish property market
The following year, 2001, after several further visits to the area and lots of viewings, we bought a little apartment in the San Francisco barrio of Ronda, We called it Piso Blanco. Then in 2003 we bought a run-down house nearby, and called it Casa Blanca.
We enjoyed both properties as a family for a number of years until life took a sharp turn in a different direction.
Major Life Changes
After redundancy, early retirement and divorce in 2005 I was able to spend lengthy periods in this beautiful cliff-top town. Over a couple of years, I did up two houses: Casa Blanca, and one for my new girlfriend, Maude, which we called El Rincón.
I got to know lots of people, locals and immigrants alike. The social life was something I’d always craved, but never really had before, apart from when I was a student in San Sebastian, over three decades earlier.
Maude and I split up in 2007, but I still kept en eye on her little house in Ronda.
"Coup de foudre"
Then finally in 2008, my somewhat chaotic life sorted itself out, everything came together at the right time, I met Rita and I was able to fulfil my dream of moving to Spain to live full-time.
So here I was, married again and living contentedly in our little old house in Montejaque, one of the white villages near Ronda, dabbling in a bit of writing and translating and feeling a lot younger than the 60 years old I became in 2010!
It took all of 60 years to get from North Devon to South Spain, but I made it in the end! And, by gum, it was worth the wait.
© Diary of a Nobody
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Note: The original version of this article first appeared in The Olive Press in August 2010:
https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2010/11/03/from-north-devon-to-south-spain-in-six-decades-part-three/
A revised and updated version appeared at Secret Serrania in 2020:
From North Devon to South Spain in seven decades... Part Three: A New Life in Andalucía (secretserrania.com)
Further Links:
From North Devon to South Spain in seven decades… Part One: The Early Years
From North Devon to South Spain in seven decades… Part Two: After The Hangover
From North Devon to South Spain in seven decades… Epilogue: ¡La carne de burro no es transparente! (You’re blocking the sunlight!)
Photos:
Amazon
booking.com
Karl Smallman
Secret Serrania
Tags:
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