I often wonder if there are many people like me who have reached that stage in life where the question “What is this all about?” rings loudly in the ears. I wasn’t sure if it was only me but last week my suspicions that there may be others were confirmed.
I was having a conversation with my niece using a video conference link and she announced that she and her family are ready to make the big change. They are going to completely revamp their lives so they can find a simpler, more satisfying existence. I got the impression one of the factors prompting this upheaval is linked with the pressures and change she and her husband, both of whom are in high paid, stressful jobs, are constantly undergoing within the large company where they work.
There are those I’m sure, who would counter that such dreams of “The Good Life” have all been tried before and are totally unworkable. Well I for one don’t believe this and since my wife and I bought a cave house five years ago we have been striving to make our simpler life a reality. The beauty of a cave house of course is that the temperature remains the same (more or less) throughout the year. So in winter we are only heating the cave from between 20 to 22 degrees C up to whatever is comfortable (I prefer 25 degrees. Anything below and if I am just sitting, watching TV say, I get cold). In summer when it can be 42 degrees outside coming indoors to 22 degrees is like walking into air conditioning. The best part of course is that the energy bills for this luxury are minimal and I can’t help feeling that I’m doing my bit for the planet, just by living here.
Everyone I talk to gives me the impression that the UK is now lacking space. At least the feeling of space. I have always been amazed at how much space England seems to have looking from the air. I guess that’s the rub. If we could all fly the UK would appear to have lots of space. Perhaps it’s our fault for not allowing evolution to provide us all with wings. While I worked in the UK I often got the impression from the ground as I drove the length and breadth of the UK, that there was a diminishing amount of easily accessible wilderness, you know, the kind that fills the soul. I even used to find that places that were once almost devoid of tourists, the Yorkshire Dales, The Lake District, when I was a teenager, are now teeming with people at any time of year. This is whether the climate is being kind or not.
Here again I believe my wife and I have succeeded. The mountains (or sierras) that surround our cave house are stunning in their sheer beauty and magnificence, but also awe-inspiring due to the fact that for the most part there are very few people there…ever! If you are looking for wilderness and the need to be able to breathe a little then I would wholeheartedly suggest you visit this area of Spain.
Someone out there will be able to correct my figures I’m sure, but the last time I looked the larger urban zone centred around London had a population close to 12 millions. The whole of Andalucia has only something between 8 and 9 millions. The ease with which wilderness can be found here is incredible.
Details of our apartment can be found at www.cuevaaked.info. Take a look and consider filling your soul with a touch of wilderness.
See a short video of some of this area. Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkW-ErL41gI
