What readers are saying about this books:
"I could not put this book down and despite a mountain of jobs to do I kept convincing myself 'just one more chapter'."
"How brave, or was it foolhardy? Sabina and Robert set off to a country they didn't know and a language that they didn't speak - could this be a recipe for disaster or an amazing adventure? I gasped and laughed and almost cried at various points in their story. Do read it you won't be disappointed and the good news is that there is more, as this is only the first year!!!"
"I was transported to another place that was idyllic and yet took perseverance and determination to survive."
"Sabina describes the local area and people with great passion, bringing everything to life for the reader.
Adapting to a new way of life in rural Andalusia, throwing themselves into learning the ways of the village, embarking on harvesting their olive trees, delighting at the production of their own olive oil. Harvesting and learning how to preserve figs and tomatoes, there is never a dull moment. No matter the hardships encountered, they still manage to see the humorous side of life."
"I loved this book and found the trials and tribulations of Sabina and Robert really interesting. It was so well written and had some really humorous parts. I felt quite sad when I finished the book and I'm looking forward to the next instalment."
"What happens if you take two city dwellers, living in the UAE, and transplant them to a ruin in rural Andalucia? Answer: The Crinkle Crankle Wall. Although I live 1000km north of Sabina in a totally different part of Spain, her descriptions of rural life and the characters which populate their tiny rural town struck a strong chord. Language problems, fitting in with the neighbours and renovation nightmares all struck home and I enjoyed following a similar yet very different story of moving to Spain." from Lisa Rose Wright the author of Plum, Courgette & Green Bean Tart: A year to write home about - Seeking la vida dulce in Galicia
After years of dreaming of living close to nature, free from a daily commute and noisy neighbours, Sabina and Robert decide to travel from Abu Dhabi to Spain in search of their dream home. As soon as they drive across Andalusia, they fall in love with its rugged beauty, whitewashed villages, red geraniums, giant aloes, and endless olive trees. After weeks of visiting ruins and dilapidated sheds advertised as homes, they find a little stone cottage in a mountain valley in the middle of nowhere. Equipped with everything that a romantic soul desires: a patio shaded by grape vines, an ancient bay leaf tree, and a formidable oak in front of a long driveway, they fall in love with this property and decide to reform it into a guest house. With little foresight or planning, they exchange cushy expats lives for a life in the sun.
Quite quickly, however, they find themselves battling cowboy builders, no electricity, a dry well, torrential rain storms, and a freezing cold winter without a roof over their heads. Through all these adventures, they develop relations with their neighbours who had lived in the valley for many generations. Puzzled by the strangers' behaviour, the neighbours teach them about olive picking, and the cultivation of local vegetables. But primarily, they offer their endless generosity and insight into life in rural Andalusia.
As they begin to settle in, financial problems confront our somewhat naive couple. Without steady pay checks and construction bills piling up, their idea of the good life starts to fall apart. Written with a wry sense of honest humour, this story is filled with twists and turns that take the reader on a journey from a life where every day was monotonously repetitive to a place where every day presents a new challenge.
