An Ex-pat Monthly Experience of Moving to Gandia, Spain, Post Brexit! - Part 7

12th August 2022
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Part 7: Weathering La Safor

Part 7: Weathering La Safor .........
Question: So, what’s it like to live full time in the La Safor Spanish weather with climate change crawling all over us?

Well let’s see now? Hmmmm! Actually, a very good question. Let’s have a go at making a sensible answer!

So, as we have only been here for just over one year, we don’t have personal experience to refer back to, but according to all those who have lived here for, in some cases, for many years, this year has been quite exceptional.

First, I must admit, the winter did take me by surprise. Although new here, I spent some time living on Mallorca a few years back, so I felt relatively prepared for the seasonal differences. Wrong! We got through a lot of logs in the winter period this past winter. Although it really didn’t last that long in reality, it certainly felt as though it was like being in the UK. The rain hammered down for weeks. The temperature felt as though it had fallen out of the thermometer frame. I know that I exaggerate, but honestly, that’s how it felt. The wind whistling round and through our villa blew with a vengeance at times. Several boats down in the marina succumbed with ripped canvasses and some lines breaking free and whipping around. The general opinion was that this was all very unusual, had to be connected to global warming and was a sign of what is to come.

Our local builder informed us that actually it was very similar weather around six years ago and when it stopped the rest of the summer was like being in an oven.  Guess what? He was right, because here we are in August and thirty plus degree temperatures have been with us for weeks and likely to continue. But hey, we did come here to live in the sun, didn’t we?

So, in reality to date, Yes the winter months can be a little challenging, but actually, it is really nice to settle down in front of a live fire and watch some silly telly whilst laid back on the sofa. The difference being here is that we found ourselves sat on a sand dune, eating Christmas fare stuffed bagels and drinking a nice drop of fizzy, wearing jeans and T Shirts, watching the surf play onto an otherwise almost deserted beach …… on Boxing Day! I kid you not!

Right now, it must be admitted that although a personal pool was not on our essential list when looking at properties, we are so pleased that we ended up buying a property that had a very nice roman style pool already installed. It has been a central focus for several months now. No there is no heating during the winter period and as far as I was concerned it was easily feasible to walk on the water without even getting your toes wet until the end of May, but now? Well now, just pass the soap! Yes, they take a bit of looking after and you really do need to keep an eye on your Ph levels and Chlorine concentrations and keep useful additives like Shock treatment and Flocculant to hand and with the amount of dust in the air at times, you will soon learn the basics of brushing, backwashing and more. But there is no getting away from that moment every time you slip into the cooling waters of your very own private floaty chill out zone. Sheer bliss! If you are lucky enough not to be overlooked, or just don’t worry about flaunting it, it is very liberating to just disrobe and jump in as nature intended. Yes, Skinny Dipping is the order of the day here …… but not when entertaining guests of course!

Here on the Valencian coastline, we guess due to it being a predominantly traditional Spanish area, the Siesta is very much with us. Shops and most office-based occupations close down in the afternoon, re-opening around five pm until nine-ish! Big outlets such as Leroy Merlin and Carrefour are the exceptions. We often go for a snooze in the afternoon with air-conditioning ticking over in the bedroom. Most of the time our beloved Wolfie is first into the cooling room. He’s not daft. Air-conditioning cools the ceramic floor tiles, which of course, makes it cooler for him to lie on.

So, what do these, and many other localising things, add up to? The simple answer is to “go Spanish.” Live with the weather patterns and seasonal patterns because you certainly ain’t going to beat them! Dip into the local ways and allow the ambience to flow over you. Do one job a day, then let it go until tomorrow. Embrace even the uncomfortable. This is home. Our home, and hopefully soon to be, your home too. Enjoy!

SALLY'S COMMENTS:  As electric prices are on the increase, many of our clients are requesting info on solar energy (free electric) havested from solar panels to satisfy all electrical equipment /air con units in the summer / heating in the winter, and even hot water, we have a good company that we recommend that is Spanish and usually sells to the solar companies, so by cutting out the middle man you can save money on a solar system by using our contact,  and we can accompany you and translate for you to get a quote on a new solar system to keep energy bills very low, you can also sell your electric back to the grid once you have satisfied your demand!  This is one of the examples of our high quality after sales service!

Also we are very pleased that even with the high temperatures this summer and lack of rain, this area has very good water reserves, we see no water shortages in this area and it remains green and lush all year round, even with these unusual weather conditions and unusally high temperatures,  so we are really blessed that mother nature (in this region) is taking care of us!  Further south they have are having water shortages this year, and a real drought,  so this is another reason to come to this La Safor Region near Gandia and relocate.


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