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www.spanishpropertychoice.com
Olivas Querencia, Huercal Overa, Almeria, Spain. Do you ever ask yourself, why am I here and what am I doing? We have, several times, since finding our Querencia aka ‘safe haven’, in Spain almost seven years ago. The tinted glasses we were wearing that day, were very rosy! However, there is a happy ending. After viewing the property, (discovered via Spanish Property Choice), we conveniently ignored comments like, ‘in need of TLC, so much potential, comes with 2,229 olive trees’. Yes, 2,229 Arbequina olive trees, with a few dozen Picual/Pais trees for good measure. So why would a HVAC Consultant Engineer and a former teacher decide to up sticks and tackle olive farming in Andalusia? No idea! Call it a hunch but we were convinced we could make it work. Armed with oodles of puppy-like enthusiasm, boundless energy, coupled with no knowledge of Spanish or farming, what could go wrong? A drought, earthquake, wild fire and flash flood ensued and I was heard to say, ‘there’s only pestilence left’, when I was promptly stung by a
scorpion ... but those stories are for another time. In spite, or because of, these ‘challenges’, ‘No hay problema y tranquilo no pasa nada’, have become the rule of thumb.