Summertime and the Living is Hot

Well, here we are August 1st 2026. The heat has arrived and July just gone in a flash - life is busy.

Just when I think we´ve come to the quieter times at work, being an estate agent in inland Andalucia can be hot and can be seasonal, but this year I´m still waiting for the lull in clients booking viewings and surely the heatwaves haven´t finished yet.

Today the forecast is 40ªc, it doesn´t usually reach that - it´s exhausting when it does. But water, air con, fans and the knowledge that it will cool down later keeps us going. It´s a love/hate relationship I have with it. My husband´s is just plain dislike. 

I´m looking out at the olive tree covered hills with golden brown grasses waving in the breeze, it´s an usually misty day today. It´s hard to imagine the heat out there when a fan is doing it´s job in here. Today is Saturday and between a couple of weekends away and viewings with clients it´s the first one I´ve been at home to potter for a while.

We don´t often go away in July but this year my youngest who works from home suggested we might like an escape so he could have friends round for  a barbecue on the weekend of the fiesta at the little chapel next door. Not a bad idea we thought, asked him when and booked a couple of night in the Alpujarras, the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. 

Safari Tent, Camping Alpujarras

He´d got it wrong. The fiesta was the following weekend. After 30 years here, and the noise being right next door we decided we go away that weekend too and headed to Güejar-Sierra on the north side of the Sierra Nevada. 

Cortijo La Solana Pool

Both escapes more rustic and self-catering rather than the  usual boutique stays I choose for my Only Spain Boutique Hotels site, but both an enjoyable and peaceful downtime.

Yesterday I had to go to Jaén city to sort out some paperwork for a property we are selling. I don´t know why I don´t go more often - but in the cooler months - it really is a joy up in the old part of the city around the cathedral. A note to self to go and enjoy in autumnn when the living is easier.