Costa Women Blogs

From the blog, our 2014 interview with Nancy and Regina aka The Spain Scoop.  What has life been like for two Americans now living in Barcelona?  Why Spain? NANCY: Having lived in the same country all my life, I wanted to experience the world anew. Newness meant new food, traditions, architecture, art. I owned a company and designed products for the gift industry; very creative and hard work. All my businesses have involved my creative side.  Allowing my creativity to flow, being with beauty and being with creative people are passions.  REGINA: I’m from Portland, Oregon, USA. I left the rain about 11 years ago searching for adventure and sunny weather. That desire took me first to Costa Rica and then for a few years to Guatemala. From Guatemala I moved to Spain, having never been before. Barcelona was my pick because it’s on the sea, near France, and close to great wine! Also the art and architecture appeals to me. Long story short, I had dreamed of living in Spain and made that dream a reality. When I moved in 2005 I didn’t realize that I was moving to Catalonia, which, depending on who you ask, is not Spain. How did you decide to live in Barcelona? NANCY: I had never been to Barcelona but had been to other cities in Spain.  Barcelona had it all.  Mountains. Sea. Seventy museums. I moved as a single woman, knew no one in Spain, and knew I could do very well in a city with many options.  REGINA: Barcelona has the Mediterranean Sea, art, wild architecture and a sunny climate. It’s also more laid-bak and smaller than Madrid. Don’t get me wrong, Madrid is a cool city, but Barcelona is a better fit for me. Describe Spain in 5 words? NANCY: Aqua/blue    vibrant    food    wine     Art Nouveau architecture     REGINA: Castilian, Basque, Catalan, Galician, Occitan Are you a serial expat or is Barcelona now home? NANCY: I live in Barcelona and also spend time in France.  REGINA: I’ve never heard ‘serial expat’ before. I like it! I am not always on the move. Barcelona is my base. Will it always be so? I doubt it. I travel often and when I do I compare the cities I visit to Barcelona and ask myself, Could I live here? So far, Lisbon and Copenhagen have come close, but no place quite compares to Barcelona. I’m open to new places, if they call to me. I’ve been here for eight years and have a dog (The Blog Dog), a Catalan husband, and a flat. The Spain Scoop – how did that start? NANCY: With almost 700 posts and counting on The Spain Scoop, I would not have guessed this history was going to unfold. Regina and I met in a writer’s group.  We liked each others writing style and felt our styles complimented one another.  Regina suggesed we start a fun, expert travel guide to Spain  REGINA: I had heard about blogging back in 2007 and wanted to start one on Barcelona. Later, I met Nancy at a writer’s group in the city (a good place to meet interesting people) and asked her if she wanted to collaborate. She did! We had NO idea what we were doing, but we had a lot of passion. In the end, we decided to feature all of Spain, not just Barcelona. Our site differs in this way from other travel sites, in that we are not global – it’s just Spain, all the time! Where do you see The Spain Scoop in 5 years? NANCY: Regina and I attend travel conferences and want to stay on top of the technology in the blogosphere.  We will continue to hire consultants to assist us.  We want to increase our advertising revenues.  We will continue to combine travel info with personal experience.   We are not a ‘turn right here,’ ‘directions to the aiport’ kind of travel site.  REGINA: Hmmm, we have so many ideas, and not enough hours in the day. I think it will be interesting to see where blogs and online guides are in 5 years in general. One thing I’d like to see us doing is a eBook guide to several Spanish cities and also tours. “The problem has always been, that adventure trumps authority, curiosity forgets responsibility, and that the world is too unimaginably large to allow permanence.” – Regina, tell me more REGINA: Well, just that I think people get too caught up in what they ‘must’ do to think about what they ‘want’ to do. Some might say that it was irresponsible for me to move to Spain without a job, house, or friend to greet me, but I don’t think so. And it wasn’t an easy undertaking to come here alone, but eight years later I know it was the right choice. Generally, I’m restless and feel the need to ‘see it all’, which means being open to moving and changing…evolving. I’m the sort of person who never walks home the same way, always choosing a different route in order to feed the ‘curiosity beast’ or have a mini-adventure within the daily routine. Favourite childhood book? NANCY: Babar The Elephant REGINA: Anything by Roald Dahl. I especially liked ‘The Witches’. “Balls Under The Christmas Tree” – Nancy, tell us more! NANCY: My first writing endeavor was a play which I wrote, produced and directed in fourth grade.  It was performed in the family dining room.  Daisy the cat gave it two yawns.  I have no idea what the play was about but imagine it was horribly boring.  I loved the creative process. Regina, what has been your greatest challenge, whether personal or business? REGINA: As far as our business, The Spain Scoop, the challenge has been technology. Nancy and I had to learn a lot about how to run a professional WordPress site and also hire to our needs. We’re still learning. It’s a challenge to be a computer programmer, social media guru, writer, photographer, manager, editor, accountant, and marketing crack all at once. We do it all, because it’s our passion, but it’s not always easy. Regina, walking the Camino – we have a few members just about to start.  What advice would you give them? REGINA: I just did the last 110kms, which is the minimum to make it ‘count’ officially. My motivation for doing El Camino was a story I was writing about it. I went with my friend Terje, who I met in Guatemala way back when. We worked at a tequila bar together. It was a lot of fun (El Camino and the tequila bar). Advice: get the right shoes and break them in before you go; pack VERY light like two outfits – one on you and the other in the pack – and a coat and poncho; get into it and meet people! There is such an open and friendly vibe on El Camino that you are sure to make many friends along the way. I’m still in touch with several people I met during my walk. Nancy, women moving to Spain alone, what advice would you give them? NANCY: Follow your dreams. Do it.  Don’t stress over the details.  I moved with no place to live, didn’t know the language, and schelped two suitcases.  Join expat groups.  Friends you meet through these will become your family.  Frustrations are part of the move.  Live with it. Know it will get better and enjoy the wonderment of the new. Your table of 8; who would you invite to dinner and what would you eat NANCY: Michelle and Barak Obama.  Oprah, one of the greatest spiritual leaders and change agents the U.S. has experienced.  My two daughters.  Georgia O’Keefe.  Margaret Sanger.  Frank Sinatra. REGINA: Living in Spain my family is far away on the West Coast of the United States. I miss them. We talk on Skype and whatnot, but I’d choose them everyday over dinner with Joan of Arc or Cleopatra. We’d eat large pans of Fideuà , white wine, and tiramisu for dessert. Yum! What is on your wish list that you WILL achieve this year? NANCY: I love my life as it is.  The only thing differently I would do is to go back to the States four times a year and visit my family. REGINA: I have a new goal: one country for every year lived. I’m 31 and I’ve been to 29 countries. I need 2 more ASAP in 2013! So far, Croatia is planned, but I’m not sure what number 31 will be yet. Montenegro?… Something you would tell your teenage self. NANCY: Love yourself and value your individually.  Don’t try to conform to fit it.  Honor your strengths even if they aren’t popular.  REGINA: Pay attention in Spanish class. Regina, your life would be much simplier if… REGINA: Fideuà , white wine, and tiramisu were ‘diet-friendly’ foods…. How do we find out more about you REGINA: I’ve got my own website which is: http://regwb.com/ NANCY: Mine is http:www.nancy-todd.com AND The Spain Scoop The Spain Scoop: http://www.thespainscoop.com/ and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Spain-Scoop/137235449670775 Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/103637380342673909380/posts Twitter https://twitter.com/TheSpainScoop  Thank you Scoopettes! 

I’ve spoken about nerve pain before and how it can make getting a useful answer and route forward really hard. The problems with nerve pain: Identifying it – it often moves around from place to place and changes Finding the root cause – where you feel pain may not be the problem area Treating it – medication often makes little difference and standard physical treatments offer only temporary relief. And this is why you can be having the best tennis/golfers elbow treatment, the best carpal tunnel treatment, the best knee and leg pain treatment with no effect. Because it’s actually a problem with the nerve supplying that area not that area itself. The pain comes from somewhere else. So you aren’t treating the root cause. So how do we find that critical “somewhere else”? Finding the root cause of pain If the pain isn’t coming from where you feel it how do we find it? A thorough clinical and physical assessment – checking not just the painful area but also the areas that can refer pain and are connected to the painful area. This can take a while (which is why it often isn’t done thoroughly)! Talking to you! I’ve previously listed various symptoms which give critical clues that the pain is related to nerves not the location – it jumps/moves, tingling, pins and needles, sharp or searing (for more information see my previous articles on my blog – TheBodyworksClinic.com/blog) if any of these come up when you describe how you feel we’re going to include the nervous system in our check. Now a key tool in all of this investigation is a system called Dermatomes. So what’s a Dermatome? A dermatome is an area of skin that is predominantly supplied by a specific spinal nerve. There are 30 areas in total, covering the entire body. One for each squishy disc between the bony discs of the spine where a nerve exits the main channel. And dermatomes follow a general pattern. So, if your pain keeps jumping about within a specific area, or you get tingling or pins and needles across a certain body part, breathing difficulties, loss of sensation or a feeling of cold in a particular part of your body, even a rash, we check to see if these correspond to a dermatome. Then we can use this information to identify the nerve affected and check the spine and . So Dermatomes are an amazingly useful diagnostic tool that we can use to identify the root cause of those difficult to treat nerve pain issues. Because if we treat the root cause the symptoms go away. Seminar If you think this describes you and want to know more we are offering a free 1 hour seminar on nerve pain at 11.30 on Wednesday 8 May at The Bodyworks Clinic. Booking is vital as places are limited so that we can answer your questions. For more information on nerve pain please check out our website www.TheBodyworksClinic.com , our Facebook page Bodyworks Health Clinic or call us on 952 883 151. Email or call us to book your place at our free seminar on Nerve Pain – management and diagnosis.

    10 Smart Ways To Make Your Kitchen Look Brand NEW   The average kitchen remodel/upgrade can run into costing you 1.000’s & high end ones can be as much as a house!   But you don’t NEED to spend a whole lot of money to update a tired kitchen. Whether you’ve lived in your house for yonks, you’ve just moved in, preparing to sell or you’re renting & want to make it ‘home’, here are 10 smart ways to give it a refresh & make it look brand NEW without breaking the bank : 1. Update The Backsplash – In an outdated kitchen a dingy backsplash (the wall behind your sink/oven) can be depressing – to modernize a tiled backsplash without replacing it consider re-grouting to spruce it up – dig out the old grout & replace with new.    Or once properly prepared (thoroughly cleaned & sanded)  several coats of  tile paint works wonders if you don’t like the colour or are trying to cover dated borders or patterns. ASK at your paint shop & get your tile specific paint tinted to complement your kitchen cupboards.   DIY Tile stickers are another option & are readily available online, literally zillions of designs to choose from!  Toughened Glass backsplash’s are beautiful to look at, easy to clean & maintain plus minimal fuss to install – this can be done over your existing tiles or substrate so is relatively quick!   Antique Mirrored Backsplash installed over old tiles   2. Replace Handles & Knobs – these are the ‘jewels’ of your kitchen & can be the subtle refresh without spending big money! Whether you buy online or from your DIY store be sure to measure the distance between your handle holes to make sure they’ll fit!   Sometimes a run through your dishwasher will make your existing handles look sparkly new.   Replace the handles & instantly upgrade your kitchen   3.  Clean, clean, clean! –  As a professional #kitchentransformer it constantly amazes me the difference deep cleaning can make! Even the oldest, most worn-out cupboards can look brighter with a really good swab down & de-gunge!   A dampened microfibre cloth with a dash of dish detergent is the kindest way to clean your painted kitchen.   A vinegar scrub or a bicarbonate of soda paste will brighten up tiled floor grouting or here in Spain having your marble floors re-polished makes a massive difference. Wooden floors can be refinished & there are laminate flooring options to suit all budgets.   Clean & your kitchen looks brand new     4. Replace The Kitchen Tap – your kitchen tap may leak or you simply want to replace it as an update. The good news is that you DON’T need to be an expert to replace it!   DO check that the new tap will fit the ‘mounting’ (existing) holes on your sink unit. I find this is a two-handed job for the amateurs amongst us! One to be underneath the sink base & one above holding the new tap in place! But then that might just be me :0)   It does look uber smart if your new tap matches your new handles!   Renewing your kitchen tap   5.  De-clutter! – as the heart of your home it’s no surprise that the kitchen is the collection spot for anything & everything!! At any one time there can be a paint gun, hammer, bike pump, bike (!) or random piece of discarded furniture languishing in our kitchen!    Tidying up your work surfaces INSTANTLY makes your kitchen space look bigger & more modern! Keep your personal touches to a minimum on work tops, put things away if you can. A clean & uncluttered kitchen makes cooking a dream & looks like new, promise!   Nothing says ‘NEW’ or Designer like clear work tops! De-Clutter!     6. Add Textiles – incorporating fabrics into your kitchen CHANGES the look in minutes!   Textiles soften hard surfaces & add depth. Laying a ‘runner’ extends the space & helps prevent slippery floors.   Accent BOLDS/stripes/patterns in cloths & tea towels are easy to swap about & add a pop of colour.  Blinds diffuse light & provide privacy. Get CREATIVE!   Add a runner to extend the space   7.  Fresh Paint – lighter, brighter colours help to make your kitchen space look bigger. Neutrals look elegant & expensive, darker colours look lavish & extravagant.   If your kitchen cabinets are wooden, MDF, vinyl wrapped or laminate & in good working order a professional paint job WILL make your kitchen look brand new! A beautifully painted kitchen will make it look straight out of the showroom. Get #thebespokeapproach & hire a Kitchen painting specialist to do the job www.thepaintedkitchen.es http://www.hpkuk.uk     8. Lighting – NOTHING says NEW like bright kitchen lighting!   Up-date existing lights with more modern, lower energy units, add LED under-cabinet lights to put the spotlight on your food prep or add Pendant lighting over eating areas, Breakfast bars & Island units.   Bring in an electrician if your changing places, don’t mess with wiring if you’re unsure!   New lighting brightens, adds atmosphere & is welcoming   9. Upgrade Appliances – mis-matched appliances can date a kitchen & traditional white appliances can fade & discolour over time –  modern stainless steel has a timeless appeal & retro pieces make awesome  statements.   Before buying, make sure your new appliances fit your available space. Consider replacing one item at a time, spread the cost of your upgrade.   10. Replace The Work – Tops – next to changing the colour of your kitchen cabinets, replacing the work tops probably makes the BIGGEST impact in your quest for new.   Bear in mind that some surfaces are more durable than others – wooden tops require some maintenance to stay in tip-top condition, marble surfaces are porous & care needs to be taken with kitchen spills & cleaning agents.  In short, seek professional advice or do your homework to make sure you get the right work surface for YOU.   Preparation is key to successful work top installation. You might want to consider having a new sink fitted at the same time to save on installation costs   You’re in your kitchen EVERYDAY! Even if you don’t cook chances are that it’s the most VISITED room in your house. It’s almost certainly the most EXPENSIVE room in your home so well worth looking after! Switch up a few small details & TRANSFORM your kitchen into something you’re happy & proud of WITHOUT leaving you penniless. Be SMART.

Xandra, Cat, Hayley and Tamasine share their Camino stories, including walking with Rhodesian Ridgebacks and creating a new business with a fellow traveller as they walked the Way of St. James!   Firstly, some background on the walkers: Xandra Rowat: I originally moved to Spain in April 1980 and chose Calahonda as there were virtually no apartments!  We arrived in Spain as it rained the day we were passing through St. Tropez!  I had been travelled to South Africa for 6 months with a view to may be living there but my then partner decided to move from UK to Spain and asked me to join him.   Catherine Gaa: My mother studied abroad in Italy on a whim and demanded I spend at least a summer abroad while in university. Since I excelled at Spanish, I decided on perfecting my language skills in Valladolid. As university was drawing to a close, I applied to several teaching programs before deciding to participate in the Auxiliares Norteamercanos initiative.  I came to Spain on a student visa to teach English on a teaching program, landing outside of Seville in a public high school when I really wanted to be in Granada. I’ve come to really love Seville, though, and dread the day my boyfriend gets transferred away!  I finished a degree in Journalism and International Studies at the University of Iowa (USA) just a few months before coming to Spain. In the end, it came down to accepting the graveyard shift at a news station in my hometown of Chicago, or coming to Spain for a year to teach.   Hayley Anne Salvo: I first came to Spain as an Auxiliar de Conversación in the fall of 2007. I was first sent to El Puerto de Santa María in Cádiz by the Ministry of Education. After two years there I moved to Olvera for a year, a “pueblo blanco” in the Sierra de Cádiz with my partner.  I then followed my partner to Antequera, and have been living there for the last three years. I’ve never really been able to choose where I live in Spain as it’s always hinged on someone else, but this fall I’m finally making a move based on my own preference, to Sevilla! Before moving to Spain I was working at National Public Radio in the United States as a general assignment reporter and producer of a daily variety talk show.   Tamasine Smith : The move to Spain came primarily because we wanted to be closer to our aging families but things had also drawn to a logical conclusion in RSA (Republic of South Africa) where we were living.  The time was right for a return to Europe and as we have always had a love of Spain (and I have always wanted to learn the language) it seemed a logical choice.   This, and the fact that the weather we were used to in the Cape is similar to that of the Mediterranean, the south of the Spain seemed the obvious choice for relocation. Initially we house-sat in the village of Chella, Valencia because we could have up to two years rent free living while we decided which area suited us best.  I think Alhama really chose us as my husband, who works with solar hot water, made a connection with someone who worked with the same systems he had sold in RSA.  When my husband came to explore houses near the coast but with more rolling hills, few pines and a higher altitude (all conducive to the dog work I do) I lined up 9 different houses for him to look at.  None of them were really quite what we wanted, but two days before he was due to return to Chella, he heard of the farm where we now live.  It was perfect and ticked pretty much every box on our list!  We moved within 4 weeks of finding it.   How did you first hear about The Way of St James? Xandra: Really from my Spanish friend whom I met earlier this year out at Cap Cana, but who lived just down the road at Cadiz  Cat: while doing a summer Spanish course at the University of Valladolid. Our Profesora just drew a long line across the top of Spain, and we spent the morning talking about the experiences she had doing it years earlier. Since then, it’s been at the back of my head to do, and this summer was the time. Hayley: I really can’t remember the first time I heard about the Camino. It feels like something that’s such an important part of Spanish culture that after a few years of living in Spain it’s simply just impossible not to know about it. Tamasine: I don’t know exactly how I became aware of the Camino.  It had always been somewhere in my awareness but just as Alhama seemed to choose us, the Camino seemed to choose me too.  We were already due to come to Spain and often went to our little local art cinema in Franschhoek.  We wanted attend the movies here one last time before leaving RSA and I had read the local leaflet mentioning a movie about a father walking in the footsteps of his son who had died in the Pyrenees.  Maybe my subconscious had put two and two together but as we sat in the moments before the movie started to play I said that now we were going to live in Spain, maybe I could walk El Camino de Santiago.  I can’t say I even know where that thought came from, but as the film started and the plot was revealed, it seemed that something within had already decided that this is what I was to do.  The movie of course was “The Way” with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez.  Although a work of fiction, it depicts well some of the many reasons that pilgrims choose to undertake walking El Camino.  At a farewell surprise dinner some friends had organised for me a few days later two of the members of the group started talking about the Camino and how they planned one day to walk it… the “intent” had been set.        The routes they walked were: Xandra walked Sarria to Santiago in 5 days   Cat and Hayley: Walked 326km (200 miles) together on the Ruta del Norte, which was once traversed by nobility and clerics when the Moors controlled most of the rest of the peninsula. They did 14 days total, starting in Avilés (Asturias) and averaging about 20-25km per day.   Tamasine: is still walking her Camino as she chose the Levante route and always takes one of her Rhodesian Ridgebacks, alternating them each walk.  This is 1205km (the most famous route the Frances is approximately 791 km or 490 miles). Her current distance is 488 km and she is just north of Toldeo.  She hopes to add another 280 or so km to the journey in October and plans to do the final part over 4 weeks next year.    What were the challenges I asked? Xandra: Honestly after training a bit before hand by walking around 10 kms a day I found it relatively easy.  The hardest day was the hottest day when I walked up hill and really did not have enough water on me to drink, I did get a bit dehydrated.  Cat: There were big and little challenges every single day – from dealing with blisters and sore joints that made walking a slow, arduous process, to trying to hold it while looking for the next bar to stop and use the facilities! My partner and I got into a good rhythm, so we knew how far and how fast we could go, and when we’d need to stop, too. Another funny challenge was dealing with people you didn’t want to walk with, finding a way to get your clothes as clean as possible, coping with inns that had no room in them.  As a matter of fact, it was a nice change to just wake up and worry about walking to the next destination and nothing else. Now that I’m back home, I’m trying to catch up on sleep, nurse my feet and eat more vegetables! Hayley: I think the biggest challenge was getting ready for the trip. I probably stressed way too much over things like breathable shirts and comfortable pants, or how many changes of socks or underwear to pack. I was definitely prepared when we set out but I could just have easily stressed less and figured out things along the way.  Tamasine: The research said that Levante at worst was “not possible” and at best “not wise” to walk with dogs. I am not one for “not possible” and I wanted to prove that someone, with the right training, preparation and right dogs, could walk the Camino with them.  The Levante would require some logistical planning and as I wanted to share the walk with the dogs and see what this experience brought to me and wanted to keep their welfare in mind, I had to organise my walk carefully and include a back up vehicle for the dogs.  If you were with a fellow human, you might have a grumble or a laugh and you could choose to cut a day short and camp out or find a different hostel, or you put up with the extra kilometres, but when you are with a dog, they rely on you and you are responsible for their water, their welfare and any extra distance they have to walk.  Rhodesian Ridgebacks do not like rain!  So far, on only one occasion have I needed to get the dogs picked up at an unscheduled stop and that was on a particularly wet and windy day leaving La Font de la Figuera.  I continued alone and bedraggled and it was on this occasion I realised how much company the dogs gave me and how they actually stay joyful and in the moment no matter what.  They bring joy in the darkest moments and I keep going because of them – more so I believe than if I was with a fellow human.    What experiences could they share which particularly stuck out?  Xandra: There were so many experiences from the walk.  The most profound was the night we stayed in a beautiful Casa Rural and spent a couple of hours before dinner talking with 2 old simple living farmers, Hilda and Manolo, she told hilarious stories of how she killed pigs and made her own sausages and shared with us her most wonderful home made liquor whilst she regaled stories of her family and past. No topic was taboo with her, what a character!  Cat: There were heaps of moments on the Camino that stick out, but actually arriving to the finish line and running into the people we’d met along the Way was really special. After sharing moments of frustration and desperation, being able to laugh it all off and have a beer was fun!  Hayley: On our shortest day, just 15km, we had to rush from Baamonde to Miraz to get one of the 26 coveted beds at the popular Cofraternity of St. James’ Albergue. We left around 5:30am and walked in the dark and rain, arriving around 9am. Because we had to wait until 4 in the afternoon for the albergue to open we spent the rest of the day in the local bar drinking beers and chatting with other pilgrims. It was not at all what I expected from the Camino, but it was a nice way to spend a rainy day.  Tamasine: The Levante route is a much more solitary route than some of the other caminos and certainly more so than the Frances.  So far in 488km there has been one other pilgrim and he was seen ahead of me by my husband. There are many experiences that I could talk of and many of course include the wonders of a sunrise, searching for arrows or shell markers by torchlight, freezing in the dark and early morning at -7C on the plains of La Mancha or lying with my aching feet up in the air, performing physio stretches right in the middle of the pathway praying for the day to end but with a dog nose cheerfully stuck into my eye so that I could not feel down for long.    And advice to new walkers? Xandra: Make sure you take a camel water bag, prepare a bit beforehand but most of all stay in nice places and take your time to enjoy the walk. Cat: I would advise everyone to go without expectations, and to take the challenges as they come. We were sponsored by Caser Expat, and I also walked for charity, so I had some of the more hard-core pilgrims wrinkle their noses when we told them about the sponsorship. I learned to keep walking in my own way, and to respect the way that people chose to walk theirs (or, in several cases, take public transportation in theirs). No two experiences on the Way could ever be the same, so just walking at your own pace and with your own conditions is the only way to do it. Hayley: My only advice is if you’re thinking of doing it, do it!  Tamasine: Do your research and choose the route for you.  Each offers it’s own unique experience.  If you are someone who likes to be alone or who wants a more solitary experience, choose a lesser known route, if you would like to meet other pilgrims, choose one of the northern routes.  If you want to walk with someone – make sure that you are able to go at a similar pace or that if you need to separate, that one or other of you won’t get offended!  The Camino brings up all sorts of emotions and thoughts and it can put a strain on friendships and relationships.  Of course, it can bring people closer together.  If you are someone who likes to talk a lot, don’t walk with someone who wants to walk in silence!  Wear the right shoes and make sure they are already comfortable to your feet.    The Camino is known as a life changing experience – I asked has the experience changed yours and if so in what way? Xandra: Not really, even though I am very enthusiastic about my experience. Cat: I didn’t expect a moment of clarity or a profound experience, and I didn’t get one in the end. If anything, it helped me to understand my partner better. We made one another our first priority, and had hours to talk about anything and everything. What’s more, I’ve come to realize that I’m the sort of person who won’t take the easy route – completing the walk was our goal, and we were proud to do it walking the whole way with our packs on the whole time. I’ve always considered myself strong physically, and now I realize I’ve got a lot of mental grit, too. Hayley: I did not experience any grand epiphany as a result of my pilgrimage, but I definitely learned that I am stronger than I thought, and capable of achieving great. It may not have changed my life, but it certainly affirmed it Tamasine: I think I am still discovering this.  For me the change and my journey along the Camino actually started in South Africa when I gave up everything that I knew as a way of life with horses.  I had to rehome all my loved horses and walking the Camino has been a way of coming to terms with this “loss”.  As they say, every journey starts with one step and the Camino was the end of one part of the journey through my life and the start of another.  As one walks it, it really does become a metaphor for one’s own life.    Would you walk the Camino again? Xandra: I am hoping to walk some other parts, my friends are suggesting we walk from the Portuguese side next summer, I hear its very beautiful. Gradually over years I would like to do the whole walk. Cat: Most definitely – there is talk in our group of walkers of a 2014 reunion on the Camino Francés! Hayley: Absolutely. I think once you walk one Camino you’re hooked for life. Cat and I loved our experience on the Northern Route and are already talking about trying the more popular French Route in the future. Tamasine: Yes, undoubtedly.  I already plan to do another route, maybe the Via de la Plata in a different way but still with dogs in order to raise funds for a local dog rescue charity and in order to raise awareness over dog health and nutrition.  I hope to encourage others to join me on sections and to raise sponsorship for their section and to join in whatever way they can.  It is addictive and I can see myself always aiming for the next Camino!        Something about the walk which changed your conceptions of what to expect. Xandra: I was surprised by the comradrie, the totally international mixture of people, and just how much fun it was.  On the Camino I think the laughter we shared the night we stayed at the hostel, went out for dinner and found upon our return a room full of Snorers, only 11.00 pm and my bed taken by a young man.  We got a fit of giggles and couldn’t try to re-enter the room until well after midnight! Cat: Since we chose to the coastal route, I’d say that our experience was a bit different than doing the popular French route. We ran into the same, small group of people every day along the trail and at the albergues, rather than the huge masse of people who we saw when the Norte ran into the Francés. We found that the Coastal route had more highway walking and far less amenities, but perhaps the changed expectations helped us to keep our morale high, even through rain and racing for beds. I knew the Camino would be tough physically, but I was also surprised about how my body adapted after a few days. I felt stronger and able to walk further after a week, and given the time, I would have liked to walk to Finisterre and back. Hayley: The downside of our pilgrimage was competing with other pilgrims to stay at the Municipal Albergues. Rather than fostering friendships along the road it turned some day’s walk into a competition. Tamasine: there came a realisation about how much “stuff” we drag around with us – mental, emotional and physical baggage.  For me, it has made me want to be rid of some of the material things that I cart around and I keep looking at how it might be possible to have a more simple life yet still fulfil my responsibilities.   Your table of 8, who would you choose to have a meal with during the Camino with you and why? Xandra: The historical figures. I recall one pilgrim from Japan I met along the way who reminded me how different the ancient times would have been.  Particularly the backpacks, some really carry a lot but in the old days people would have had very little in their worldly goods Cat: I would love to have another meal with my peregrino friends – Hayley, Iván, Manuela and Guido, Sandrine and Claude, and Valerie and Guy. We ran into them often, and even with the language issues, our meals are wonderful memories. Hayley: Well, St. James should probably be there as he’s the star of the show. I’ll take Cat too as she’s my camino compatriot. I’d love to have some of my favourite friends at the table as well that we met along the way: Peter from Germany and Isa from France. The Italian couple, Guido and Manuela. And as there’s still room I’d invite my parents and brother. Tamasine: Although he has been in the news a lot recently, I have been following the history of Richard 111 for years and was for a long time a member of the Richard 111 society, studying the history of that period.  He would have to be an honoured guest at my table!   Buck Brannaman, probably the best horsemanship trainer alive today, with his dry humour and gentle nature has been one of the greatest inspirations of my journey into animal behaviour and initially my work with horses.  Andy Hamilton from Radio 4’s News Quiz would be a must as he never fails to make me laugh and his witty comments on current events fit with my own views of them.  The singer Pink would have to be at the table – strong, powerful, dynamic, highly individual and with something relevant to say.  Cesar Millan better known as “The Dog Whisperer” as he has a passion for the plight of dogs including those in Spain, has a great following here and promotes his philosophies of “rescue, rehabilitate and rehome” and the power of walking with dogs – both with which I heartily agree. JK Rowling would be there as friends said that one great way to learn a foreign language is to read a translation of the Harry Potter books.  I have JK Rowling to thank for my improving Spanish! Rick Stein has such passion for good local ingredients and this combined with his own love of travel fits with some of my own great interests.  Last but not least – if all these people were coming, my husband Michael would have to be there because without him this Camino would not have been possible.       Next thing on your bucket list!  Xandra: Live on board a yacht, travelling and learning more about this life Cat: After the Tomatina later this month, my Camino partner and I are launching a business! We took the time to hash out more details on the daily walks and dream up our business plan. Hayley: I’m working on traveling to 30 countries before I turn 30 and I’ve got a year and a half and three countries to go. Greece? Thailand? The Czech Republic? Who knows?! Tamasine: The next Camino!!   To find out more about Cat’s walk and more information I have a number of Camino-related resources on my personal blog, Sunshine and Siestas: http://sunshineandsiestas.com/category/caminoftk/ I’m also on twitter and instagram at @sunshinesiestas, and on Facebook at https://facebook.com/SunshineandSiestas   And to find out more about Tamasine’s ongoing walk www.leadchangesspain.blogspot.com or via the website and check out the blog page link – www.leadchanges.net and https://www.facebook.com/leadchanges 

Hello Simona, lets jump in and ask… why did you decide to move to Spain? Three years ago my partner and I were invited to Zahara de los Atunes, on the Atlantic coast. We flew to Malaga, rented a car and drove straight out there. That was an incredible experience as we both absolutely love the Atlantic and know that’s our “real home” somehow. But Cadiz or one of the villages felt like a rather impractical dream… After two weeks we came back to the airport and they told us our flight was cancelled due to a strike in the French skies and we could only fly back the day after, late at night – huge panic for me, I didn’t know whether I woud make it to Basel in time for a concert I had!  So we went into town, strolled thorough the centre, couldn’t believe our eyes. And as we came down to the pier and the lighthouse we looked at each other and just said: it’s here, isn’t it? By the way, I just just just made it to the concert! Before Spain you were…  We had been living in Switzerland for many years but couldn’t cope with the climate anymore. We had been thinking hard but unsuccessfully about all possible places we could move to… Spain had never crossed our mind. Until our guardian angels dropped us here! And why did you choose Malaga? Malaga is a truly wonderful town! And it’s not too far from the Atlantic… The international airport is what made the dream come true for us. We are both travelling musicians…  You have a desire to “Bring classical music to people, no matter who and where they are, because it can touch you, make you happy, give you strong emotions” – tell us more Yes, this is more or less what my job here on Earth is all about :-). In recent decades classical music and opera have mostly been perceived as a stiff, difficult and rather boring kind of think for rigid, grey-haired snobs. Nothing could be further away from the truth! Many people never heared it properly, so they’re not aware of it and don’t know they’re missing out. I believe the discovery of it can be of great value and bring great joy to everyone. Classical music is incredibly varied… you don’t have to like it all! There will be things you love and others you don’t like at all and that’s ok! What I am doing is, I’m spreading out a buffet for you with all my favourite treats. Come and pick what you like from it. I promise you’ll find something beautiful or funny or uplifting or enchanting or sexy or inspiring… And what is Neapolitan music? Neapolitan music comes from the city of Naples, in southern Italy. There’s a huge musical tradition there that produced a wealth of songs about love, about the city itself – often likened to Paradise or to a wonderful painting and called “the most beautiful place on Earth” – and about many funny things. Some are big soaring melodies (for example ‘“O sole mio” and “Torna a Surriento” , you will surely know them as “It’s Now or Never” and “Surrender” from Elvis) some are very rhythmical and lively pieces, and the lyrics are always in Neapolitan, the local dialect, which sounds quite different from Italian. I love these songs, Naples is my hometown and of course, I sing them in the original language. My partner – the British guitarist Bruce Reynolds – and I have a Neapolitan duo and quartet we are very proud of. Neapolitan song is a category of music I love to mix with classical pieces for my “discovery concerts”. The combination of the two is wonderful, sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. What do you see as the biggest challenge to your goal? The biggest challenge when you’re trying to sell concerts to venues and promoters is overcoming their apathy, their lack of money and/or interest, their fear of staging something people won’t like. And that’s one of the reasons why I decided to organise concerts, be it for myself or for others. Now the biggest challenge is getting the audience interested and willing to pay for something they’re not used to paying for, especially around here… How did you start singing? Well, I gave my first public performance at the age of two, singing “All My Little Ducklings” for a big crowd of visitors and ducks at the city zoo 🙂 No, really, I had known all of my childhood and youth that I was a singer, but I allowed “more important things” my parents wanted – and I hated – to distract me from it and actually took my first singing lesson when I was 25. That took some making up for lost time… If you could only sing one song ever again it would be … “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix”, Delilah’s aria from Saint-Saëns’ opera “Sanson et Dalila”…. the most beautiful piece ever written for my kind of voice. What are you currently listening to on your iPod, Spotify etc. I rarely had the time to just listen to music lately. I hear and make lots of music all day everyday, and when I finally get to cook something or go for a stroll, I prefer talking to someone or just being in silence. I certainly am looking forward to a time where I’ll be able to listen to more music apart from the one I’m working on! Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given Be yourself! There’s a lot of this around at the moment, but often it is very difficult to catch the essence of these two simple words. As an artist, you’re always tempted to imitate the great or successful ones to fulfill the connoisseurs’ and the public’s expectations, to be accepted and recognised as a “serious” interpreter. But once your technique is secure and you can guarantee a professional standard at all times, it’s all down to your heart, your soul. There are thousands of great voices out there and everyone else’s technique is at least as good as yours, so what makes you different? Making it to the point where you allow yourself to bring your soul into the performance, in other words, where you find the guts to show yourself as you are, is the greatest achievement. Something you will achieve this summer… You mean apart from the bikini body? I’m getting professional business coaching, Nami Haghighi took me under his wing, so by the end of this summer I’m determined to get rid of all my old mistakes and get into a more productive mindset. I can’t play the cartoon opera singer sitting in the parlour with a poodle in her lap waiting for an oldfashioned telephone to ring. I’m jumping into troubled waters – and loving the challenge. You are organising a dinner with 8 other singers, writers, or music directors (from history, or alive today) who would you invite and what would you eat? I would invite Billy Joel for sure!!! And seat him next to Beethoven. Then Billie Holiday, Oscar Wilde, Maria Callas – I never liked her voice, but she’s one of the greatest artists and personalities of the last century. Then Rossini, who was a very funny guy and a real foodie, and John Lennon and Sir Simon Rattle. Then I would definitely ask Robuchon to cook for this exquisite bunch. Your voice brings joy to others, what brings joy to you? Many things bring me joy. Actually, any and every thing beautiful brings me joy! And I’m good at detecting beautiful things everywhere, so I get plenty of joy all the time. Where do you see yourself living in the next 10 years Somewhere close to the sea, in Andalusia… I promised myself I would never again live away from the sea. How can we find out more about “Allegro con Fuoco”? That’s the Allegro con Fuoco website www.allegroconfuoco.es and here you have the facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/allegroconfuoco.es/ Allegro is rather new (but growing fast!), so for more information about my activity please check out my personal website http://www.simonamango.com/index.html I also have a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/simonamango/videos Thank you so much Simona – we look forward to hearing you sing live! Thank you ever so much, Ali! What a lovely interview and what a lovely way of introducing me to this exciting community!

When living in Spain, it’s good to know the ways of the locals to be able to feel like you fit in with the crowd. Here’s a couple of Spain’s most common customs to get you started:   Two kisses – Even for expats who have lived here for years, this one can still be confusing. What most people fail to remember, is that the general rule when greeting or leaving someone in Spain is to give one kiss to each cheek – first their left and then their right. Unlike the British formal greeting, the Spanish take a more personal approach, so don’t feel uncomfortable when someone hits your handshake with a hug and two ‘besos’!   Here’s hoping you’re not an early sleeper, as most Spanish families will tuck into dinner at around 10-11pm at night! With a late lunch and a snack in the afternoon, in Spain it’s completely normal to eat dinner way after the sun sets. With late meals like this, don’t be surprised to see children awake and running around until the early hours when you’re out for dinner in town! Especially in the heat of Summer, most families, even those with young children, won’t settle down until about 1-2am while the parents chatter at the dinner table with a jug of sangria!   The siesta is a Spanish tradition that we are all familiar with. What is usually overlooked, however, is the fact that the siesta isn’t actually used for sleeping. Between 2pm and 5pm, most shops will shut for a rest so that the workers can go home, have lunch and use the time how they please. Despite common assumptions, this time isn’t usually used for the Spaniards to go home and have a mid-day nap! Although, with the strong summer sun, it’s definitely tempting to take a break from the heat and have a snooze on a near by bench, which is something that the older generations enjoy to do for a few hours in the afternoon!   Moving on to the night scene, you probably won’t find a club that shuts before 6am so maybe you should take that siesta for a nap after all! The Spanish love to party, so it’s no surprise to find that while the bars are open until 1am, the clubs only open at around 1am, with the flashing lights and ‘reggaeton’ music playing until dawn! And, the drinks in Spain are significantly cheaper than most other countries, with a substantial bottle of wine being sold for as cheap as €3 and spirit mixers for as cheap as €4.   Forget Friday 13th, in Spain – it’s Tuesday the 13th, so save your broken mirror and black cat worries for another day! The Spanish believe that this day is full of bad luck and there is even a common phrase for cancelling any important events on this date to avoid any damage, “ni te cases,ni te embarques” which means “don’t get married, don’t embark!”(on a trip or a journey).   Now you’re up to speed, you’re ready to hit the towns with a good grasp of typical Spanish behavior. Don’t forget, when you’re greeting your Spanish friends, the two kisses to the cheek are always left and then right!