Andalucia

Once again, we are off to the South of Spain, to our village on the Granada coast. We have had our small apartment there now for fifteen years and have enjoyed every moment of our time. Now we are thinking of selling and buying a similar place in Turkey, simply for a change of scene. They are both lovely countries in their different ways. I love the rich earthy colours of Spain: the russet fields and coffee coloured hills. The mountains of the Sierra Nevada are rather grim, but the white villages that decorate them are a delight. In the Spring there are wild herbs growing everywhere: the warm clear air is full of their scents. I also admire the Spanish for their tolerance. There must be over a thousand expat holiday home owners in La Herradura, a village around the same size as my village in Suffolk. If that number of Spanish people descended on the Suffolk village, the residents would be up in arms. Not all the residents of La Herradura are dependant on tourists for their income, yet I have never heard any grumbles about 'immigrants'.

Turkey is another country of course and they do things differently there. It appears to me - though I have only been on the South coast - even more rugged and earthy than Spain. The people I have met are polite and welcoming, warm and ready to talk, mostly in English (which always makes me feel guilty, though I do speak reasonable Spanish now it's not much use in Asia Minor). The food is wonderful, the living

inexpensive. Perhaps we will never sell our apartment in Spain, things being very desperate there, but if we do, Turkey will be our destination. They have golden eagles, wild forests, secluded bays, good public transport. One of the pleasures there will be not having to hire a car. 

The first photo was taken near Javea, where my good and ancient friends Trinny and Lorraine live: the almond trees in bloom. The second photo is a long shot of La Herradura and our apartment is one of those white dots on the hill at the back.