I have a strong interest in food. I am also a very adventurous eater; snails and frogs’ legs are tame compared to the Thai delights of silk worm, bamboo worm, cricket and congealed chicken blood that I’ve sampled. I read…

For a few years now, our friends with el perrito in Jalón have been threatening to shoow us round Valencia, particularly the covered market about which they eulogize. Being a foodie, I couldn’t help but be impresssed, they claimed. Finally,…

Having got beyond April Fool’s Day without a glitch, we used another good weather day to investigate the nearby Marjal de Pego-Oliva. Jalon’s valley floor is about 700 feet above sea level and, though we’d thus far drawn an Odonata…

When we went around searching for furniture for Casa Libélule, we were conscious of the fact that space was limited inside and that we did not want an overcrowded living space. So, we deliberately chose furniture of modest dimensions. Even…

The constant round of either waiting in for deliveries, waiting for (so-called) tradesmen and assembling things is drawing to a close. Fortunately, the bad weather that accompanied our work schedule also seems to have drawn to a close. At last…

Yes, I know, we’re about 8 hours drive away from Cantabria on the northern Spanish coast but I simply couldn’t let that sort of pun pass me by. At least we’re in Spain. Prologue When we leapt into this little…

From our little hacienda just up the valley from Jalón, there are three possible ways into the village (or it may be a small town) itself. The primary route is via a road bridge over the Riu Xaló [Jalón river].…

In my admittedly rather limited trips to Spain, I’ve never experienced anything like this. We’ve been coming here for two or three weeks at a time for the last seven years but I’d have to describe the weather that we’ve…