1. How long have you lived on the Costa del Sol?
22 years. 6 years in and around Marbella, I started meandering into the villages and mountains.
2. What made you choose the Costa del Sol as a living place?
It's the whole world within a circle of just a few hours. Here, you can go in any direction and feel like you're again in another country, continent, or ambience.
3. What's the best thing about living on the Costa del Sol, in your opinion?
The whole feel of light, colours, views, and space.
4. Give us a brief description of what you get up to on your usual working day.
I'm a mentor for people who need to speak Spanish quickly, so that means organising language immersion retreats and sessions in rhetoric, culture, and history.
5. How do you enjoy spending your weekends and free time?
Latin dancing. And then there's my shepherd dog, who ensures I walk, wade, hike, and climb.
6. If you could change jobs with anyone for the day, who would it be and why?
A goat shepherd! On the move, fun dogs are around cattle with many characteristics and needs, reducing fire risk everywhere. Having a direct line with forest firefighters, knowing the paths, and checking the health of river water. Either that or dolphin biologist.
7. What's your favourite food?
Everything comes fresh from the local countryside. That whole Garden of Eden in one bag.
8. Describe your perfect home on the Costa del Sol and where it would be.
It is a solid, very Spartan house that is a rock of tranquillity. The location does not matter much, for I don't care about distances; the roads are lovely and stress-free or bumpy and romantic, and there's always something to see, a language to practice, listen to, or sing. After 20 years here, I've become that person who says, "It's just around the corner", and means around the corner of that mountain there or just around the corner of the Strait of Gibraltar. I keep sending people 20 Km further to get the best morning bread.
9. What theme would you choose if you were to appear on "Come Dine with Me"?
A bodega. Jamón serrano at the wall, wine, grapes, figs, barstools all over the place, a guitar, and everyone singing "Bésame Mucho".
10. Who would be your perfect dinner guest?
Juliette Binoche.
11. What would you like to ask the next "10 Minutes with…" guest?
What is your preferred activity on the Costa del Sol when you require a moment of tranquillity?
12. What is your favourite town on the Costa del Sol?
Monda is situated at the Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park entrance. It's a sleepy town with a few bars and a castle at the top of a hill - It's beautiful!
