Of course Spain is a popular holiday destination for the British and other northern Europeans but it is a pity that so many travellers come here only for sun, sea and sangria. There is so much more to experience than just a beach or poolside holiday with a bit of wild entertainment in the evening. There is the wonderful history and tradition to experience, which is of course well documented in the various travel guides on sale. What I will describe in this chapter is not the stuff of the travel guides but the many wonderful everyday experiences which can only be fully appreciated when you live in Spain throughout the year.

CIVIC PRIDE

I suppose that one of the first things to strike me in Spain was the real sense of civic pride which even the smallest town seems to have. The streets are clean and free of litter. The houses when occupied are kept well painted on the outside and the owners fill their balconies, terraces and window boxes with a riot of brightly coloured flowers. Seafront promenades are being restored and even in towns which are not really significant tourist resorts there is ample and elegant streetlighting. The other thing you notice is the almost total absence of graffiti. In areas which are recognised as tourist attractions, believe it or not, the owners of properties repaint them at their own expense virtually every year.

The absence of litter was demonstrated in a practical way when we went to the ‘Three Kings’ procession in Estepona during the Christmas period. The procession takes place on the evening of the 5th January and really is the major festival of the Spanish Christmas period, and of course a public holiday. The procession was spectacular and took quite a long time to pass by. The celebrations were accompanied by the people on the floats throwing sweets to the assembled spectators which, of course, led to quite a lot of rubbish on the streets. Imagine our surprise to find that the procession was followed at a respectable distance by the local rubbish collection team who were clearing the streets of all evidence of the procession. I think it unlikely that their equivalent in the UK would do this on a bank holiday at 10 in the evening.

Incidentally, domestic rubbish collection is organised differently in Spain. There is no collection from individual households. The collection is from large communal refuse bins which means that we have to carry our refuse to the collection point, but in return the collection point is emptied more often – once a day in the summer months.

DAY-TO-DAY PLEASURES

Just driving around on everyday business is a real pleasure in this part of Spain. We usually drive along the coast road to the next small town to visit the local English butcher, the three garden centres which are to be found there and the log yard where we buy our firewood in the winter. Ordinary everyday chores can become a source of real pleasure and wonder. Some days the sea is so blue it looks as if someone has poured blue dye into it. There is one particular bend in the road when suddenly on a clear day almost the entire coast stretching towards Gibraltar comes into sight, and in the distance the most wonderful view of the Riff mountains in Morocco. I have to say that I never really thought that I would see Africa on an everyday visit to the butcher’s shop.

Driving in the opposite direction our view is of the entire bay of Estepona right along the coast to Marbella with the surrounding mountain ranges. Such views are not what brings the tourist to Spain but they certainly brighten up everyday life and make you feel very good to be alive.

The other simple pleasure is rising every morning to blue skies and our wonderful view over the golf course towards the mountains and the sea. At the end of the day when the dogs are taken out for their last walk the skies are usually amazingly clear and you are aware of the brilliant canopy of stars which are so much a feature of Mediterranean life. Added to this is the sound of the crickets in the undergrowth.

THE WONDERS OF NATURE

The tourist who comes to the south of Spain during the height of the summer may return home thinking that the landscape is parched and dry. It is only when you live here that you experience one of the true delights of nature. At the end of the summer the first rain for several months falls. Within a few days the wild flowers are growing again and soon the countryside is a mass of colour. The seeds have remained dormant over the summer but they have always been there.

We were horrified one day in the middle of the summer when a JCB arrived and cleared land fairly close to us prior to redevelopment of the site. Clearing it in July turned it into a dustbowl. Fortunately the developers did not obtain planning permission for the intended buildings so the land was left empty. When the rain arrived the road outside our apartment became a sea of mud for a period as the soil washed off the hillside, but this lasted for only a very short period. The JCB had successfully spread all the dormant seeds in the soil and soon after the rain nature reclaimed this land. It rapidly became a sea of wildflowers. Unfortunately this land has now been built on!

Keeping to the subject of plant life, when you drive along the valley of the Guadiaro river you are immediately struck by the fact that almost as far as the eye can see there is nothing but citrus groves. In season these trees are absolutely laden with oranges and lemons. This valley has now been recognised as one of the major citrus growing regions of Andalucia and the growers are allowed to put stickers on the fruit stating its origin. The harvest is so extensive that many of the growers sell oranges by the sackload at the side of the road – at the price they charge, they are almost giving them away.

As you climb further up the valley the next sight which takes your breath away is sunflowers filling the fields. This is another local crop used for sunflower oil production. The hills on the opposite side of the valley are home to hundreds of black bulls which are still bred in Andalucia for the bullring. I appreciate that many people are against bull fighting. I suppose that I fall into that category, but as I read in one local publication here, which is more desirable? In the UK bullocks might live for two years in cramped conditions before they are sent off to the abattoir, whereas in Spain they graze the fields for five years before being taken to the bullring for their moment of glory. I realise that the fight will always end with the death of the bull but at least he has the opportunity to fight back to some extent and may in fact inflict severe injuries on the matador.

We have also been struck by the wonderful variety of birds we see all around, which attract many keen bird-watchers to the area. Although we are not ornithologists we were still so fascinated by the profusion of birdlife that we had to go out and buy a book on European birds so that we could identify as many as possible. We are only one kilometre from the coast but we have kestrels and buzzards soaring overhead. There are colonies of green parakeets who have made their home in Spain and who arrive regularly in the gardens of our urbanisation to strip the dates off the palm trees. A pheasant has taken up residence in our gardens and if you go a bit further inland into the hills and mountains, without too much difficulty you will see eagles soaring majestically overhead.

Further down the coast towards Gibraltar we were amazed to see that the local authorities had actually put platforms on the top of the telegraph poles to provide a place for storks to nest. During the breeding season it was fascinating to look out for the chicks sitting on the top of the nests waiting for mother to come back with food. There are many rare birds which only breed in this part of Spain, and we discovered that the new toll motorway actually has a tunnel to take the road away from a particular spot where some very rare birds have colonies.

FIESTAS AND FERIAS

The average holidaymaker may be lucky enough to experience one of the many fiestas or ferias which take place throughout the year in Andalucia. It is, however, unlikely that anyone will actually come here expressly to experience a fiesta, with the exception of the Semana Santa, (Holy Week) celebrations in Seville. It is only when you actually live in Andalucia that you really begin to appreciate fiesta and how important it is to the local population.

During a fiesta the real character of Andalucia comes to the fore, with singing and dancing, prancing horses, religious icons and food and wine in abundance. Many of the festivals can trace their roots back to pagan times – the Church took on board the old traditions and built those pagan festivals into the Christian calendar. As in Britain, Easter is associated with the arrival of Spring and is always held on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. Christmas in turn is closely linked with the winter solstice which has been celebrated for centuries.

Christmas in Spain is a two-week celebration which begins with Nochebuena (the good night) on Christmas Eve. On New Year’s Eve, Nochevieja, people meet each other in the town square and eat the 12 grapes of good luck, one for each chime of the clock. Finally on the evening of 5th January the country celebrates the Feast of the Three Kings, Epiphany. This is the occasion for major processions through the streets and is the traditional night for Spanish children to receive their presents.

This Christmas cycle of fiestas is followed in many towns and villages with Carnival, which is the last fiesta before the period of abstention, Lent, which leads up to Easter and Holy Week.

Holy Week is a major fiesta in many of the towns of Andalucia. The processions often start as early as Palm Sunday and continue throughout the week, building up to a major procession through the streets of many towns on the evening of Good Friday. In this procession the sacred icons from the local church are carried through the streets of the town preceded by the brotherhoods of the penitents in their characteristic hooded outfits. The icons are followed by a procession of veiled women walking barefoot through the streets.

The best known Semana Santa feria is that in Seville. This has become a major tourist attraction for the city and hotel rooms can be very difficult to obtain, such is its popularity. The events start on Palm Sunday when the whole of the population of Seville appears to have taken to the streets, and the bars are open throughout the day and night. The actual processions are organised by the lay brotherhoods, cofradias, who also own the effigies which are paraded through the streets in procession. Each day during the week there can be up to 11 processions, all of them beginning and ending in the church where these effigies are kept, although all the processions pass before the magnificent cathedral. On Wednesday the Sevillians stop work and the next two days are public holidays. This is a signal for the celebrations to really get into top gear and they reach their peak on Good Friday. Saturday is relatively quiet and on Easter Sunday, rather than more processions, the major event of the day is the first bullfight of the season. About two weeks after the Semana Santa processions the Seville feria begins. This is the signal for the women of Seville to dig out their flamenco dresses and with the entire city on holiday and in festive mood the party lasts for a week.

Christmas and Easter are, of course, the two major Christian festivals of the year, but in Andalucia the fiesta and feria season does not end with these festivals. Every town and village holds an annual feria, usually during the summer months. These ferias are held simply for the enjoyment of the local population but there are also the other ferias which are associated with certain dates or events.

One of the most spectacular is the Fiesta de San Juan which is held on Midsummer’s Eve. In the coastal areas this is spectacular. Huge tableaux are built on the beach with imagery of family scenes, demons and devils. Along the beaches barbecues are lit in the sand and sardines are barbecued on long spits. On the stroke of midnight the tableau is set on fire and as the flames die down members of the local population run through the smouldering embers into the sea to purify the spirit. This is usually followed by a huge fireworks display and various bands playing for dancing in the street for most of the night. What really hits home at this fiesta is that virtually the entire population of the town appears to turn out for the festivities. In our nearest town, which by anyone’s standards is quite small, this fiesta is really spectacular.

We live in a grape growing region where there is a strong wine producing economy and this leads to yet another fiesta – the Fiesta de la Vendimia – which celebrates the grape harvest. Not to be outdone, other communities hold harvest festivals to celebrate whatever produce they happen to produce locally.

Coastal areas have their annual processions to honour the Virgen del Carmen, the patron saint of fishermen, and these processions culminate in spectacular sea-borne processions of the effigy of the Virgin. Increasingly, neighbouring towns are combining their resources in order to make this fiesta even more spectacular. Away from the coast, many towns and villages have their own fiestas to honour a local saint. These are often called romerias after the tradition of gathering wild rosemary, romero, along the route of the procession. The largest of these romerios is held on the edge of the Coto Dõnana national park at Whitsun when around a million people gather to watch the Romerio el Rocio.

As a tourist you could be lucky enough to find yourself in Spain at a time when one of these events is taking place. If you live here all the time the various fiestas and ferias soon become part of your normal life and you begin to participate along with the locals.

PEACE AND QUIET

Fiesta is by no means peaceful, but the one thing which is striking in this part of Spain is the absolute peace and quiet which can be experienced. You will not find it in the large urban resorts along the coast but you only need to drive a few miles inland and the activity and buzz of the coast disappears totally. Park your car and just walk in the countryside and you are immediately struck by how calm everything is. Of course you hear the sounds of nature, the birds singing, strange rustlings in the long grass made by some unseen creatures, the noise of the breeze in the trees overhead, but at other times there is almost complete silence. Go higher into the mountains and often as you walk across what appears to be grass you will find that you are actually walking across a carpet of fresh herbs which release their delightful scents into the air. Stop for a few minutes and just listen. In the mountains you are likely to hear the distant ringing of the bells hung around the necks of the goats.

You do not even have to go very far from the coast to experience this peace. Where we live on the high ground close to the sea the quietness of the evenings and mornings is stunning. Should you wake up in the middle of the night you hear almost nothing.

This aspect of Spain is one of the most amazing of the hidden delights of this country.