Puntos de vista - a personal Spain blog

Montejaque has a registered population of less than 1000. Of those approximately 40 are foreigners or guiris. Another 40 or so are property-owners in the village but live in other countries.

^{View of Montejaque from high up in the village [Photo courtesy Ayuntamiento}} 

Astonishingly, for such a small place, the range of nationalities represented is very wide, from Asia to Zimbabwe, from the European Union to North America, from Eastern Europe to New Zealand. 

Added to that, many Spanish who live and work elsewhere, eg in Málaga, Marbella, San Pedro and Sevilla, have holiday or inherited family homes here. The property market is buoyant again post-economic crisis and post-pandemic, with between 40 and 50 properties having been bought and sold in the village in 2022 alone! 

There are two estate agencies with offices located in Montejaque and several others, including one independent, who are active in the area. 

Back to the cosmopolitan nature of Montejaque. To this writers’ knowledge the following nationalities are represented in the village: American, Canadian, Dutch, English, French, German, Gibraltarian, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, New Zealanders, Polish, Scottish, South African, Thai and Zimbabwean.

There are two American couples who have recently moved to Montejaque on a permanent basis. Karen and Larry are one pair. I haven’t met the other yet. Apparently, our American cousins no longer want to live in a post-Trump USA. 

A third couple, Paul and Dana from Texas, have a house here which is an official vivienda rural (holiday rental) until they eventually retire here. 

Much-travelled Carolyn and Kevin are English-born but hold Canadian passports from the time they lived in North America. Their children and grandchildren still live in Canada. 

^{Carolyn Emmett, adopted montejaqueña} 

Carolyn and Kevin moved here to live in 2012, when Kevin retired from his job in South Africa.

Canadian Caroline L has lived in Spain, France, Italy and Spain again, for the last year or so in Montejaque. An engineer, she can work remotely. A natural linguist, she speaks English with a Canadian accent, Spanish, French and Italian. 

Two Dutch couples bought property in the village in 2022 and a Dutch teacher, Erwin, in 2021. None live here permanently, although Anja and Ronald intend to move here permanently in a couple of years. 

Both can work from Spain; Anja intends to start a catering business and Ronald will continue to work as a truck driver. 

Iwo and Katja are still relatively young and have their careers elsewhere, but they are often to be seen in the village. 

The English are probably the most-represented nationality in Montejaque. The residents hail from places as far afield as Birmingham, Brighton, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Essex, Greater Manchester, Hastings, Liverpool, Portishead (Bristol), Stratford-on-Avon and Yorkshire. 

Most guiris are retired but some dabble in property development, house sales, offer “fixing” and translation services or are engaged in tourism activities. 

Jill, from Manchester, moved to Spain over 20 years ago. With husband Bill, they bought an ecological farm in Yunquera but decided to live in Montejaque. Sadly Bill died suddenly in 2009, but Jill continued to run the farm for several years. She has since sold it and recently has got together with an old friend, Scotsman John, a retired bobby, with a house in Montejaque who has now, despite some difficulties as a result of Brexit, achieved residency status. 

Tony and Lynne from Hastings moved here just before the pandemic. They have two houses. They live in one and rent the other. 

Steve and Rosie, from Lymm in Cheshire, had a holiday home here and got trapped here by the pandemic lockdown. They enjoyed life in Montejaque so much that they are now virtually full-time residents. 

Mike and Chris sold their thriving restaurant and pub portfolio in Portishead and moved to Montejaque in 2022. They are early retirees who enjoy an active life hiking, running, skiing and so on. Mike is not so active at the moment, however, as he broke his shoulder whilst snowboarding in France earlier this year. 

Steve and Margaret retired here some five years ago. They recently sold their original house in the village and bought another, higher up. 

Andrew and Tracy are still young enough to have to work. They have rental properties in Ronda and Gaucín but live in Montejaque. 

Early retirees Jane and Colin bought a lovely villa with pool and almond orchard at the entrance to the village. They have now clocked up seven or eight years as residents. 

Other English residents are Fiona and Ray from Cheshire and June  and her husband Ian from Derby.

Paul has been resident since 2008. He fell in love with a local German lady, emigrated soon afterwards, married his “girl” and the rest is history. Paul, a graduate in Spanish and former teacher and school inspector, offers a variety of services including translation, “fixing”, home-finding and holiday accommodation. He also operates two websites: www.help-me-ronda.com and www.a1-holidays.net.

There are a couple of French property owners. Brigitte and husband Pedro/Pierre own Casitas de la Sierra, a luxury “holiday resort” of nine houses round a swimming pool with private gardens. I haven’t met the other French folk yet. 

^{Aerial view of Casitas de la Sierra, Montejaque} 

The foreigner who has clocked up most years in Montejaque is octogenarian German, Elke. A pioneer property developer, back when Montejaque was in danger of dying, she bought, did up and and sold dozens of dilapidated properties in the upper Moorish part of the village. She retains a portfolio of rental properties in this part of the village. 

There are other Germans too. For example, Rita, a retired intensive care nurse, came to Montejaque as a tourist 20 years ago from twin town Knittlingen, where hundreds of montejaqueños had gone to work in the 60s and 70s. She fell in love with the village and bought an old house on the second day of her visit! She had it “reformed” and she moved in two years later. She still has the house, Casa Rita, which is now a luxury holiday rental, although she now lives in Ronda with her husband of 12 years, the afore-mentioned Paul. 

^{Rita poses on the roof terrace of Casa Rita [Photo courtesy Karl Smallman]} 

Isolde, another German immigrant, has lived in Spain for many years, at first on the coast in San Pedro de Alcántara and latterly in Montejaque. 

Gibraltarian David and his English wife Sue alternate between the village and their home on the Rock. 

There are two Hungarians, mother and daughter Judit and Krisztina from Budapest. They are currently renting an apartment in the village. Both teach English to Spanish adults and children and Judit organises lifestyle retreats. 

The Irish have had a long tradition in the village. Longest serving is Pauline, married to a Spanish local for many years. Some Irish folk have moved back to Ireland because of old age and health issues. 

Another, Freida, moved away to Mallorca for several years but is now back in the area and living in Ronda. She is a trained TEFL teacher. 

Aisling and English partner Rick bought a house here in 2022, which they are currently doing up. Two young Italians bought a house in the village last year. Manuela, a former CNN journalist, now a lifestyle coach, and husband Biagio, a chef, lived previously in Alicante but sought a quieter life in Andalucía, where they were based in Tarifa (Cádiz) before settling in Montejaque. Both are fluent Spanish speakers. 

^{Manuela Lanza, from Italy, life coach [Photo courtesy LinkedIn]} 

Michael left South Africa aged 18 because he couldn't stand apartheid. After spells in the UK and the USA, he finally settled in Spain, where he has lived for over 30 years. Before moving to the mountains he lived in Estepona and Benahavis where he was a successful entrepreneur. After a spell living on his finca in Benaoján Michael is now settled in Montejaque. A fluent Spanish speaker he does a bit of house- and pet-sitting, although he's officially retired (he's nearly as old as I am!). 

New Zealander Richard bought a house in Montejaque in 2022, with a view to moving here eventually. I haven’t met Richard yet but we are firm Facebook friends and keep in touch regularly. From his photos on Facebook, he clearly likes a drink, so he should fit in very well! 

My next-door neighbours are Polish. Robert and Edita bought the house at the beginning of 2022 and plan to move here eventually. They apparently have Polish friends who are also keen to invest in the village. Watch this space. 

Scotsman George is married to Zimbabwean Jill. They have lived in Montejaque for donkey’s years and enjoy the quiet, relaxed Andalucía lifestyle. 

Non-residents who own property in Montejaque include Brenda and Jeremy (both retired educators); Patricia (painter) and Ian (retired civil engineer) from Nottinghamshire; Petronella and Frank from the Lake District; Erika (translator) and Michael (university professor), Kristel (writer) and Heino (artist), and Jason (antiquarian bookseller) and Anne (teacher) all from Berlin; Till also from Germany; Melanie (travel agent); Angie (record producer); Jutta (German artist); and Thai Miko and English husband Barry (retired). Kathryn from York has a small portfolio of property at the top of the village, two of which, Casa La Paloma and Casa Pinzón are holiday rentals. Kathryn is unable to live in Montejaque full time at the moment, but hopes to do so eventually. Caroline H and Will have two houses in the village. Casa de la Roca is available to rent, Casa Rincón is for sale at a great price (contact A1 Holidays and A1 Inmobiliaria respectively - details below).

This article first appeared in "El Hacho" magazine, August 2023, the bi-ennial publication of Montejaque.

Amy is my daughter. She is 39, recently divorced with two young boys aged six and three. She lives in London.

Lucy is her friend from Perth, Western Australia. She is 29, single and lives and works in London also.

Amy and Lucy are great friends. They met through their work in the charity sector.

Lucy had never been to Spain, didn't really know much about it, but Amy brought her out for a short visit. They stayed in Montejaque, in the house of my wife Rita.

Lucy told me she was blown away by what she saw: spectacular Ronda; little and pretty Montejaque. So much going on.

"Quite unlike anything in Oz", she said.

They spent their last night in Seville, hot Seville, and, judging by their photos, had a super time. I await, with bated breath, Lucy's final verdict.

Photo gallery:

©  Pablo de Ronda

I read George Orwell’s ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’ when I was a student. A great book. I’m sure he won’t mind me borrowing and changing slightly his title for the purposes of this article.

Actually, this piece should be entitled ‘Dining Out in Hastings and London’, as that’s what it is about.

I went to England recently and dined out several times, first in Stratford, then on the East Sussex coast, Hastings, Eastbourne and St Leonard’s on Sea.

London

Stratford is in East London and was the main site of the Olympic Games in 2012.

As in most cities that have hosted the Olympic Games, or the FIFA World Cup, or the Commonwealth Games, or the World Athletics Championships, there have been massive boosts to the local infrastructure.

The Olympic Village, where the athletes stay, subsequently make an important contribution to housing. In the case of Stratford, the Olympic Stadium was converted into a Football Stadium, now the home of West Ham United. The Olympic Swimming Pools are now the local swimming facility.

Indeed, that’s where Amy, Felix, Jude and I headed on Sunday afternoon after the Circus earlier that day in Leytonstone.

But, hey, I thought this article was supposed to be about dining out!

Sorry!

My first meal out was on the plane on Friday. Meal out? I hear you say. Well, it was delicious – not like the dreadful airline food of yesteryear.

Next up was dinner at home after we had played with my grandsons, Felix, 6, and Jude, 3, read stories and put them to bed. Amy prepared a delicious curry which we gobbled up hungrily, accompanied by a beer or two. Then an early night.

On Saturday we walked to a local restaurant run by a group of young Ukrainian refugees. We were joined by the kids’ gran, my first wife, Jeryl. The food there was great. We all had different things and they were delicious. An excellent lunch, made even better when Jeryl paid!

On Sunday, we “dined” in the café at Jubilee Park, Leytonstone, in between the circus and swimming. Nothing special, just expensive!

Hastings

On Monday morning I caught the train to Hastings and walked to my son’s house. Tom and wife Su used to live in Leytonstone, East London, in a tiny flat, a cupboard really, but they wanted to move out of the ”Smoke”, as London is known, to a healthier environment on the coast. They chose Hastings, East Sussex, where Su is from. Her parents, Claire and Nick, still live there, so they would have plenty of support.

After the Covid pandemic, which devastated the theatre and live performances in the UK, Tom and Su, both professional actors and singers, found themselves down on their luck performing-wise. No matter, they were happy, and Su soon became pregnant, and gave birth to Wilbur, now three years of age.

They lived at first in Su’s dad’s rental flat in St Leonard’s on Sea while they looked for a house of their own. They found one, a Victorian pile to do up in a nice part of Hastings. They sold their tiny "cupboard" in Leytonstone and bought the huge 3-storey villa. And, because of the huge price differentials between London and Hastings were able to pocket/bank a significant amount!

So, after meeting my new grandson, Buckley, just six weeks old, that afternoon we headed into Hastings for a late lunch, to the famous George Street, and went to the The Albion pub for pies and mash.

"Pies and mash?" I thought. But I tell you what, the food was outstanding, and the choice of cask ales, to die for.

On Tuesday we went to Eastbourne, where we had a distinctly unmemorable lunch at McDonald’s before strolling to the beach, taking a ride on the Big Wheel and playing with Wilbur on the beach.

On Wednesday, my last day, we dropped Wilbur off at his gran’s, Su’s mum Claire Hamill, a famous singer-songwriter in her day, and went for lunch to a recently refurbished pub, The Royal, opposite the station, St. Leonard’s Warrior Square, from which I would catch my train for Gatwick Airport to get my flight home.

A-ma-zing! We all had two courses and I had a pudding. It was outstanding, albeit expensive! My treat, this time. 

So, replete, we crossed the road to the platform, said our farewells, and I hopped on the train.

At Gatwick I had time to kill, so I checked out the Wetherspoon’s pub there. 3.85 pounds a pint, by far the cheapest all week!

On the plane, a Vueling flight back to Malaga, I debuted on their meal offering of tapas (Vueling is a Spanish low-cost airline). Delicious, and not unduly expensive.

So Dining Out in Hastings and London was a pleasant, if expensive experience. I can’t wait to repeat!

© Pablo de Ronda

Notes and links:

Susannah Austin:

Forgive and Forget (Let It Go) - Susannah Austin - YouTube

Susannah Austin Don't Turn Out That Light - YouTube

Claire Hamill:

Claire Hamill

claire hamill - Búsqueda (bing.com)

Claire Hamill Live .June 2020 - Bing video

Tom Whitelock:

(8) Facebook

Leytonstone actor Tom Whitelock is starring in Park Theatre's A Clockwork Orange | East London and West Essex Guardian Series (guardian-series.co.uk)

Should they go? Sunny Afternoon posts West End closing notices, 29 Oct | Blog | Stage Faves

© Paul Whitelock

Tags: Amy Whitelock, Buckley, Claire Hamill, Eastbourne, Felix, Gatwick, George Street, Hastings, Jeryl, Jude, Kinks, Leytonstone, McDonald's, Olympic Games in 2012, Olympic Park, Olympic Pool, pie and mash, Ryanair, St. Leonard's on Sea, Stansted, Stratford, Sunny Afternoon, Susannah Austin, The Albion, The Royal, Tom Whitelock, Ukrainian refugees, Vueling, Wetherspoon's, Wilbur, Wimpy