自我介绍

One rainy day in January 2002, David and I left York, North Yorkshire for the Canary Islands in search of 'somewhere special.' With a one-way flight from Manchester to Tenerife, we had sold our home, put our furniture into storage and set off clutching our suitcases and aspirations. Little did we know that it would take five months of searching! Needless to say, it was a somewhat longer adventure than we had planned ... ... as a result of which we traveled to each and every one of the Canary Islands in our quest. But we met many lovely people along the way and learnt a lot about the Canaries and renting houses and apartments. On La Palma we stayed in both the east and the west for six weeks at a time, Mazo, El Paso, Tazacorte and more, but still couldn't find exactly what we were looking for. In our spare time we took the opportunity to walk many routes on the island and we also joined a local walking group who took us on great adventures such as the natural springs of los Tilos, the GR130 Camino Real and the GR131 El Baston. However, although it was an interesting learning curve, we did start to wonder just when we could unpack our suitcases for the last time. And then someone mentioned a house in the north for sale. 'Not the north!' we cried. Whilst the north had long held a place in our hearts as being the most beautiful part of the island with incredibly dramatic scenery at every turn, it wasn't a place we had considered to live. We would see neither a sunrise nor sunset, there would be nothing to do and with more goats than people, we held out little hope for scintillating conversations with neighbours. Hardly a dream come true. But the owners of the finca were very sensible people. They didn't extol the virtues of the sweet little Canarian house already beautifully restored, or the large farmhouse ready and waiting for us to put our imprint on it with our own restoration, or the stone-built bodega perfect for candlelit evenings, or the lovely old stable buildings or two acres of land. No, they just showed us the view. Footnote: It wasn't too long before we discovered the great benefits of living in the north. Here, we can really enjoy being surrounded by nature and listening to the birds sing without the background of car engine noise. We feel privileged to live among our Palmeran neighbours who treat us as family (and ensure we don't expire from a shortage of potatoes!) A lack of something to do has not of course been a problem and luckily we brought some skills with us. David was a mechanical engineer and had already restored a country cottage in the UK and a farmhouse in France. I was brought up on a farm so was used to being free range, my motto being 'don't fence me in!' As a job, I worked in hotel management .... mmm, that might come in handy somewhere ... and then as a SCUBA/Commercial diving instructor. But now we had our own little place, nearly two acres of it along with two houses and a couple of stables. So we added a few extra touches to the already restored casita (little house) such as hot water and two patios, restored the main farmhouse, cultivated the land ... went walking ... and got chickens. And then ducks (although the ducks have now gone to play with the big ducks at a nearby lake.) Plus our lovely neighbour Pedro showed us a trick or two about country life. In 2010, we walked the whole of the GR130 El Camino Real route around La Palma. And as Ann is fond of saying, the Camino Real is a bit like life - full of ups and downs! And, the icing on the cake is that from 08 May to 01 August, we have both the view of the sun rising from the sea in the morning and the sun setting down into the sea at the end of the day. I have to say - it was well worth the wait!