Looking back at photographs from the past 12 months, we have been reminded how much we actually managed to fit in, despite feeling that this year did, at times, try our patience.

2022 did not get off to a great start. We had one of the gloomiest Christmases we can remember and then January kicked off another year still overshadowed by the spectre of Covid. Our traditional Christmas Day picnic at the end of 2021 was rained off. We did manfully attempt a hike, but driving rain of the sort that manages to penetrate every item of clothing turned us back. Even Alfie saw little pleasure in that particular outing and was glad to back in front of the fire.

For the first time, we missed family so much that it took the edge off any celebrations. As Covid was still hampering travel plans, we had nothing in the diary to look forward to and I think that had a major role in the all-prevailing grey mood. We had been skiing before Christmas to try and get some festive spirit, but I was cut-up on the slopes by Santa Claus, so that put paid to that!

January 2022

Although the sun shone in a brave attempt to bring a positive air to proceedings, it was difficult to gain any sort of momentum. Andrew and I were amongst the number of mayordomos (butlers) for the San Antón festival that takes place on 17th January, and we had been actively involved in trying to put together a new ‘Day of Culture’ for the village as a way of creating a larger fiesta that might attract more visitors to the village. For one reason or another, exacerbated by bloody Covid, San Antón was cancelled, so even that glow of brightness on the horizon was snuffed. I took to painting, and Andrew and I pretty much spent January in the studio, warmed by the newly installed wood burner, working on creative projects as a way of blocking out an ever-present gloom. We decided then that we wouldn’t spend another Christmas like that, and had to have something to look forward to.

February 2022

Casa Higueras Bed & Breakfast had been closed in January but as soon as we opened in February we had guests. This was great news for the business, and we had a steady stream of guests throughout 2022. Casa Higueras was never intended to be a full-time business. In fact, if it were, I think we’d be exhausted by now. We only wanted to open the B and B to cover the running costs of the house, and have a manageable number of guests visiting to enjoy the beauties of the village and surrounds.

February also saw a visit from my son, daughter-in-law-then-to-be, Hannah, and granddaughter. Due to Covid (again), we had seen very little of the family and had missed nearly all the baby stage of my granddaughter, Georgie. We were desperate to see family and it was lovely to have them here for 10 days, just pottering around and enjoying the occasional day trip. It was chilly and a bit damp, but we did get out for a day’s skiing (Hannah, Georgie and I opted out of skiing but did drive up to the resort to meet James and Andrew for lunch).

March 2022

As part of the Día de Andalucía celebrations (28th February 2022), Andrew and I had been told that we were to receive an award for our contribution to tourism in the municipality. Awards were the last thing on our minds when we started our various tourism ventures, but it is wonderful when our efforts are recognised and appreciated by our local friends and neighbours. I think this is especially so, given that we are extranjeros (foreigners) who have been presumptuous enough to come into a rural village and do stuff without being invited to do so. Never does a day go by when we don’t thank our lucky stars that we ended up in this village, where we have been made to feel so unbelievably welcome, and where we have been able to make a positive contribution driven by our own passion for everything we love here.

Carnaval in the village brought with it the first glimmer of post-pandemic freedoms, to enjoy a fiesta in the company of family and friends. There was a tangible sense of relief that we could get together and have some fun after so many months of having felt locked away in some monastic retreat against our collective wills. Carmen and a Can of Alhambra made their way onto the streets of Moclín and had a great time. Andrew’s Can of Alhambra won First Prize in the Fancy Dress competition, and Carmen was a worthy-ish runner up. It was a slight shock when a Spanish couple came looking for houses to buy in the village, knocked on our door and Carmen had to handle their enquiries in all her glory. However, it was carnaval so that was only to be expected.

We did fit in another day or two of skiing, under clear blue skies and a warm sun. The conditions were not perfect as there just had not been much precipitation over the winter, and what snow there was became soft in the afternoon sun. It was still very good to get out in the fresh air and I really enjoyed having the company of our friend, Nick, as I pottered around on the gentler slopes, while Andrew is far more competent; I never like holding him back.

Towards the end of March, we went to Venice. This short break was one of Andrew’s Christmas presents from Father Christmas, and we were very much looking forward to it. However, during our break, I started to get a few little symptoms but tested negative for Covid until I returned home to Spain. We then both tested positive, but we were relatively lucky that we did not have a bad dose. Andrew had a fever and a couple of nights of sweats, but we managed to recover fairly swiftly. A guest before our Venice trip had tested positive; one of the downsides of having guests to stay during that time.

We documented our Venice trip in this blog, and looking back at the photographs now I wish we had fallen in love with the place. There is so much beauty in that city, and it is not going to be there forever, but it remained slightly aloof and did not let us in sufficiently for us to fall under its spell.

April 2022

The downside of the new-found post-lockdown freedoms was plain to see during Semana Santa. In previous normal years, we have rather loved being in Granada for Semana Santa, both during the day and at night for the very atmospheric Silencio procession on the Thursday of Holy Week. This year, we went in and met up with our friend Maria and her daughter, but the crowds were dreadful. Normally, we ‘d find a spot in Plaza Nueva and watch the procession from there but this year there were far too many people. It felt intimidating and nervy, and we kept getting separated from each other as large swathes of bodies barged through, or younger groups tried to weave their way roughly through families knocking people in their wakes, fuelled by drink. Andrew and decided that enough was enough and cut a difficult path through the densely packed spectators to return to our car, missing the procession completely.

April saw the blooming of wild flowers everywhere, and our garden looked lovely. The shrubs and plants we had put in last year had become established and everywhere looked lush, planned and healthy. We took our first visit to the Fortaleza de la Mota in nearby Alcalá la Real, theoretically in the name of research for one of our cultural courses, but more because we had not bothered to visit before and we felt we should. It was a lovely trip and we have recommended the castle to every visitor since!

A friend of ours, Irene, from my tapas tours days in Granada opened a new wine bar and art gallery in a beautiful old building in Granada, and we enjoyed nipping in to the city for the opening night. We were also introduced, that night, to a new Flamenco tablao next door - Casa Ana - and we went a couple of times to see flamenco shows here; some of the best flamenco in Granada, with some of the best performers. The bar scene in Granada has changed and continues to change. One or two of our favourite bars closed during the pandemic and have since changed hands. Other bars have had a revamp and have shunned the very traditional styling that represented so much of the tapas route, and the interior designers have been busy creating themes and style. Foreign influences are gradually creeping into the menus, and the food is becoming more diverse and interesting as a result. Our all-time favourite bars are still very present and we hope they never change.

May 2022

The highlight of the month was the visit from my daughter, Lucie, and two of her friends, Megan and Anna. I have known Megan since she was 14, and so she is not unlike another daughter. Anna, Megan and Lu were great company and brought a lot of brightness with them. Megan was pregnant when she came and is now the mum to a lovely little boy, so those days of the 14 year olds seem a long way away! We became tourists and visited the Alhambra and the coast just as the first heat arrived in Andalucia. In normal summers, we get used to having a few heat waves where a week might be uncomfortably hot before the temperatures abate slightly. This year, the heat came and never actually seemed to go away.

The heat continued during our first Cultural and Creative course of the year, ‘Children’s Book Creation’. The ongoing pain in my knees also came for that week and I could barely walk. That was a tough week, as Andrew was one of the tutors for the course so I was alone in the kitchen preparing food for much of the time. Given that standing in the kitchen played havoc with my knees, it all got a little stressful. Fortunately, our new chef for our cookery course came to the rescue and helped out. That week of book creation was very successful, and it represented so much of what we hoped to achieve here - drawing from the history and landscapes to create new and exciting ways to view what lies around us. We had a concert to mark the end of the week, with songs performed by Ana María Pérez Jiménez and with our tutor, James Mayhew, illustrating the stories behind the music. It was truly emotional, magical and very lovely, sitting outside the church under a warm evening sky.

After the course, Andrew and I shot off down to our favourite spot on the coast, Marina del Este, for a couple of nights to recharge, and it could not have been more welcome.

June 2022

The heat had set in, and summer looked set to be long and dry. We had two courses: a weekend of Botanical Watercolour Painting and our Flamenco course, still a firm favourite for so many reasons. This year, our neighbours were asking when the performance would be, so embedded it has already become in the village calendar. The village sees this as their event; something that is now unique to Moclín. We had a fabulous and fun-filled week, with great guests who threw themselves into the art and passion of flamenco with courage and conviction. We had many a laugh that week, about the silly things in life, and often accompanied by a beer at Bodega Doral. Before the performance at the end of the week, our friends and neighbours, who see an opportunity for a party at every turn, brought a huge dustbin of Sangria up to the church square in the boot of their car and set up a pop-up bar. The Flamenco performance was magical; Andrew had to step in to take the place of one guest who sadly had to return home early, and manfully learned the choreography in a day. I wailed the lyrics in the background. The guests (we hope) had a blast and enjoyed the post-performance sangria and festivities. I dare not mention how we managed to get down to the main square afterwards…