Last Wednesday we were pleased to welcome some unexpected guests – again from Canada – who were touring around Spain with a possible long-term view to settling here. They called on us to see if they could stay here as they wanted to stay in bed and breakfast accommodation as opposed to conventional hotels wherever possible. They had in mind also that the bed and breakfast industry might suit them if they were to settle here, and were eager to hear our experiences.
Brian and Lonnie come from Alberta and were travelling around Spain in the opposite direction from our last Canadian guests – they had started in Seville and were ultimately destined for Barcelona – whereas Neil and Debra had started in Barcelona and were heading south and round to Portugal. Both couples wanted to stay away from big cities for most of their time in Spain, and therefore felt that bed and breakfast accommodation would suit them better, as well as allowing them to get a better feel for what everyday life is like for people living here already.
Brian and Lonnie spent three nights with us and during the day would explore the area and seek out towns, villages and even some properties that they had already seen on various websites. Their plan is one that is very much for the future, however, so this trip was purely exploratory to see which areas of the country might suit them when the time comes to think about making the big move.
They were very impressed with the La Safor region, however, and had already determined that it is a very healthy as well as a very pleasant part of the country in which to live due to the microclimate to be found here. They took trips up into the mountains to check out some of the smaller villages there, as well as spending time one day in Xátiva – a town that appealed to them very much. Being near the coast is not of great importance to them, so the inland area around Xátiva was of considerable interest, as well as being a potential base for a bed and breakfast business in the future. Further down the coast they discovered Oliva and its Friday market and from there they fell a little bit in love with the beautiful village of Forna that lies inland through the orange groves behind Oliva.
After each day’s exploring they would return to us and take advantage of our evening meal service and tell us of their discoveries and impressions that day. It certainly seemed that our part of the Costa Blanca was going to be fairly far up their list of possible locations to consider in the future, as they preferred an area which was not too over-populated with non-Spanish residents and was a little different from the mainstream tourist destinations.
However, after a three night stay with us they felt that they had acquainted themselves with the area sufficiently and it was time to move on. They had managed to reserve accommodation in another bed and breakfast establishment to the north of Valencia where they planned to spend a couple of nights before heading up to their final destination of Barcelona where they were to catch their flight back to Canada.
Hopefully we will see them back with us in the future when they feel the time is right to look at a move to Spain and they will consider our area as a place to start their search in earnest.
