Catching the Sun and the Cheaper Prices in Spain

Escaping the cold and incredibly wet winter of Galicia in the north-west, my husband I decided to head south for a warmer February, passing through the mountainous villages south of Salamanca in Castilla and Leon, on route to Sevilla and Granada, both a little higher up the country than the tourist resorts of Marbella, Fuengirola and Torremolinos.

We received a very welcome 74 F / 23 C in Sierra de Francia, where we stayed in one of three attached country cottages in the village of San Miguel de Robledo. Some 2,200 metres above sea level, the days were similar to a good June in England, there was no need to wrap up warm and sitting outside with a sangria was a real possibility.

The country cottage in which we stayed offered a small but compact kitchen, equipped with a two ring hob, microwave and fridge-freezer, so sufficient for the comings and goings of an ordinary working kitchen. There was even a teapot and the only thing that was missing was a kettle, though we had had the forethought to bring our own.

The living room boasted a biomass heating system, as well as a television with an English Discovery channel and DVD player for any films we had brought with us. With settee and dining room table, a double bed, sofa bed and two bathrooms, we were in a home away from home.

In the mountains and about sixty kilometres from the city of Salamanca, we were in the land of walkers and those who really wanted to escape life as they knew it. San Miguel de Robledo offers no restaurants or shops and, for supplies, White Van Man arrives on a Tuesday afternoon and a Friday morning, to provide the locals with milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables, jam and cured meats.

Having just spent the last week of May near Malaga, I found the heat to be very pleasant and almost verging on too hot. The hotel accommodation was extremely cheap, which made for a cheap break. It was indeed Whit week in England and so there were several English families holidaying with their children. In Spain, the schools close in about two weeks time and re-open late in September, so prices will be starting to rise in response to demand.

Which leaves me to say that, if prices are cheaper and temperatures are still good in the non-peak months of the year, those holidaying without school age children should think about choosing the off-peak months of the year. You’ll still get a suntan but you won’t be in pain with having overcooked yourself!

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