Rosa had insisted. “You work too much, Robert. You need someone to share your time with, not just your hikes and your food experiments.” Reluctantly, I had agreed, and now here I was, sitting at a small café in Orgiva, waiting for a blind date set up by my well-meaning cooking mentor. I adjusted my …
One of the joys of moving to La Alpujarra has been discovering its cuisine—simple, hearty dishes that reflect the character of the region. But more than tasting it, learning to cook it has been an adventure in itself. Rosa, the woman I first met at the market, became my unofficial cooking mentor, inviting me into …
If there’s one thing I’ve learned since moving to La Alpujarra, it’s that this region knows how to celebrate. Life here is punctuated by vibrant fiestas, each one a heartfelt expression of tradition and community. My first experience of one such event was the annual chestnut festival, or “Fiesta de la Castaña,” held in Pampaneira. …
One of the first things I learned about life in La Alpujarra is that the weekly market isn’t just a place to shop; it’s the heartbeat of the community. The market in Orgiva, the region’s largest town, is a vibrant blend of colours, smells, and sounds that feels worlds away from the sterile supermarkets of …
For a hiker like me, La Alpujarra offers an escape that contrasts sharply with the rigid structure of city life that I’ve been used to practically all my adult life. In London, every moment felt controlled by schedules and the hum of constant activity and hordes of people. Here, the trails are free, open, and …
Renovating an old townhouse in Pampaneira has been a journey (and still is) filled with lessons, frustrations, and small triumphs. When I first walked through the property, its age showed in the uneven stone floors and faded wooden beams, but so did its charm. I saw potential in every creaky door and crack in the …
Pampaneira feels like a village that time forgot, but in the best possible way. The moment I arrived, I felt its pull—not just its beauty, but the sense of life happening here, quietly and meaningfully. The streets are narrow and winding, paved with stones smoothed by centuries of footsteps. Bright flowers spill from windowsills, their colours …
When I left London, I wasn’t just moving—I was stepping into a new life, far removed from the one I’d known. After the end of my marriage, everything about the city—the noise, the pace, the endless commutes—felt suffocating. I wanted simplicity. I needed space to breathe, to think, and to figure out who I was …