I retreated to this charming small apartment (rented through Airbnb) right in the centre of Sevilla , seeking total isolation and the peace and quiet to finish my book (subtitled A WILBY book ; “Will it ever be, will it ever be?” asked my friend, obviously tired of hearing me only talk about it). The ‘total isolation’ bit hasn’t exactly worked as I loved the company of Ini for five nights, who joined me to illustrate the book – we laughed until we cried and feared the neigh

When you are 10 You are past the sand castle stage, but the dunes present a challenge to climb and to ‘sand-board’ . Get a ‘head start’ on windsurfing until you graduate to kite surfing. There are plenty of extramural activities such as flamenco and ballet dancing; football matches (organized by the Dutch who have formed a team composed of all ages to confront a local team); swimming (indoor pool and lessons). Then there is the joy of sleeping at the beach in your camper van.

It is quite possible that the following is of little interest to others than myself. That’s fine by me. On the other hand, I am realizing more and more that most of my peers are tending to think the same way and we have many lively and controversial conversations concerning the topic of ageing. There was a time (long ago!) when I thought sixty was old. Turning sixty myself I moved this figure up by ten years. At 70 I decided to make a five year plan until 80, and after th

Nowhere could be better for this ‘occupation’ than Tarifa with its mix of locals, ages, expats and immigrants. It is a colourful scenario, to say the least, with equal doses of elegance, attempted elegance, over-dressed and under-dressed ! The fashion parade ( a summer event on the Alameda – Tarifa’s town promenade) was refreshingly attractive, lovely local models who were so natural and smiling, in contrast to the pathetically, artificially zombie-like models with grim expr

Seven Gazelles (as we are called in Morocco) ranging in age from 40 to 80, representing four nationalities, and all living in -or with strong links to- Tarifa, Southen Spain, travelled together yet again for ten days in two four-wheel drive Land Cruisers with two Berber drivers in the south of Morocco. Our priorities: We may be tourists but we want to feel like travellers; we want to get far away from ‘the madding crowds’ (as in Marrakech); we are totally happy with simpl

Only some 20 years ago, Tarifa was an unspoilt fishing village. Now renowned as a High Wind area and a kite/wind surfer’s paradise, Tarifa has come into its own as a summer vacation resort for the more’ sports-minded’ . It has long, golden beaches, no high-rise, a walled ‘old town’ with narrow, cobbled white streets, an authentic, working, fishing harbour, lots of ‘tapas’ bars, and – more recently – a good selection of restaurants as well as an ever growing number of small bo

Pro : It can be a lot of fun. You meet a lot of very interesting people who are in a good mood because they are on holiday. Remember, you are selling them their holiday dream. Con : You can’t like all your guests equally, and some can be really grumpy if something totally beyond your control (building noise of neighbours if in the town, barking dogs and cockerels if in the country) upsets their sleeping hours (night time or siestas) and it becomes their holiday nightmare. Pro

Think long and think hard. It is hard work, and it is not a ‘get rich quick’ business. Running a small Bed and Breakfast with a few rooms in and around your own house, doing the work yourselves if you are devils for punishment , with no staff contracts, no social security, and as I understand it, not needing a licence and not paying taxes, may well be more profitable. Moving out of your own house and letting it during the high season is a hassle, but may also bring you in mor

All guest house owners have funny stories to tell about mishaps, double bookings, lovely and not so lovely guests. We give a dinner once a year for other guesthouse owners in the vicinity with whom we have become friends. Over dinner each can tell two stories - one about their best guests and one about their most difficult guests; it is a hilarious evening. Imagine when we discovered that year after year this one couple had been booking at the various establishments and year

When you open it seems like a good idea to invite friends and contacts to stay as NPG’s in the various apartments to try them out. When they want to come again and the NPG formula (non paying guests) is no longer in force, you risk losing friends. You are faced with making your first ‘policy’ for an eventual manual, and for me this was when I realized that I again had a real business, not just another ‘little hobby’ (my former company in the Netherlands which had had a staff