Bill Anderson – Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug

Don’t worry. I’m not going to mention the ‘C’ word in July and how many week to go. I love living in Spain, and don’t want to live anywhere else, but am I the only person who finds the summer hard going?

Where do I start? OK, the heat. I just never get used to it, and to be honest, I find each year a little bit more demanding. I know that the tourists come here exactly for this and they love it, especially when they are coming from colder and often much wetter countries, and maybe I could put up with it for two weeks in these circumstances, but it seems that in some ways my outdoor living is put on hold for 10-12 weeks as I simply don’t find it enjoyable. I constantly feel sweaty, don’t sleep all that well at night and there are the nasty little mosquitoes. You kind of get used to getting bitten, scratching, and their unpleasant high pitch buzz, which you usually know is already too late once you hear it. They have already got you. And then there is the Terral wind. The last thing you need when the temperature is 38 in the shade, is someone turning the hairdryer on you.

The Tourists: I know that some will already be saying that I shouldn’t have come to live in a tourist area of I don’t like the tourists. It’s not that I don’t like them. In fact, I think it’s lovely to see people happy and enjoying themselves, and having lots of friends who depend on them for a living, I can’t really complain. It’s just the added volume of people which sometimes gets to me. The dreaded A7 with long tailbacks in one direction or the other, the longer queues in the supermarkets not to mention the odd whiff of sweaty bodies while standing in the queue for the checkout. It’s also harder to get a table for a coffee in my favourite cafe. Of course, living here, the tourists are not all foreigners as many Spaniards from Madrid and the inland cities take their own break away from the searing temperatures to cool down by the sea. Spending more time at home, indoors is my least favourite time of the year.

The wildfires:  Having been evacuated from my home on 4 occasions over the years I have been here, one doesn’t get used to living with the constant threat of wildfires. The sound of helicopters overhead can strike fear into the most laid back person.  In some ways, it’s worse being evacuated  than staying at home. Sure, these fires have the ability to change direction with the breeze, and I understand why it is necessary, but when you are not at home, the fear is whether there will be a home to return to. Round about June, my wife sorts out her evacuation suitcase which we can grab if the moment comes. No, it’s not full of money, but documents which cannot be easily replaced should the worse come to the worse.

Alright, I relent. I don’t want to totally sound like Ebenezer Scrooge. I like the early morning sunrise, and the longer days, and being justified in downing a couple of extra cold beers.