Many Years Ago I Adopted a Town In Spain
Now, I’m Ready to Adopt a Second Town
Many years ago, I adopted a town in Spain, a small fishing village on the coast called Torre Del Mar. I’ve been renting the same apartment for 10 years, always in March and April. Because I’ve been going there for so long, I don’t feel like a tourist.
Torre is my home away from home, close to my heart.
I have friends there who I meet for coffee. People recognize me when I walk down the street. Each year when I return, there are shop owners who greet me with a big welcome back. When it’s time to leave they are sad to see me go.
I’m the reminder that another year has flown by.
I didn’t start out living in Torre Del Mar. My adventures abroad took me first to a small white village in the mountains called Competa. It was there that I fell in love with Spain. The vistas from the village are breathtaking. You can see the Mediterranean and the seaside town of Torre while sipping wine at the Balcon de Competa, a restaurant and hotel. Three buses a day take villagers to Torre. I was very well acquainted with Torre before we decided to rent an apartment there.
How did all of this transpire?
I retired at age 54 and convinced my husband to quit his job, sell our belongings, and travel the world with me. We were vagabonds for four years. Later we returned to the United States right before our first and only grandchild was born. From that point on, we helped out until she was in school, but we continued to return to Spain every year.
We moved down to the coast from Competa ten years ago.
Torre is a perfect home for us. We can see Competa in the mountains whenever we’re out and about. Torre is a unique little town. You can enjoy snow-capped mountains while walking the seaside promenade lined with palm trees. Green Moroccan parrots, blue skies, and sparkling snow are a beautiful contrast.
Here’s an old article I wrote about traveling the world. This is how it all got started.
We never rent a car while in Spain. We can easily walk to anything that we need in the village. If we want to go to a neighboring town, we take the bus. If we want to go farther away, there are high-speed trains. Public transportation makes life without a car very doable.
Adopting a town has been a good decision.
I get the best of both worlds, life back in the States near my granddaughter and a life in sunny Spain. But recently, I’ve thought I might want to adopt a second home away from home. I don’t plan to give up my apartment in Spain, but I would like to develop the same relationship with another place.
I started thinking about doing this a couple of years ago.
My granddaughter is now in High school. She’s a busy girl living her best life. I have a lot more free time on my hands and although I’m probably not going to sell everything and live everywhere but nowhere again, the idea of adopting another town appeals to me.
In 2020 just as COVID was rearing its ugly head for the first time, I drove north, about a six-hour drive, to the Upper Peninsula.
I wanted to purchase land. That’s a whole story in and of itself, but suffice it to say, I found a beautiful plot of land I happily purchased. I also fell in love with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Great Lakes are breathtaking. Get a load of this! Twenty percent of the entire world’s freshwater is in those beautiful lakes.
Twenty percent! What a treasure.
Since then, I have returned to the Upper Peninsula every year, usually in the fall. I spend time clearing the gravel driveway on my land and enjoying scenic drives along lakeshores. It’s a deep dive into nature with very few people to disrupt my peace and tranquility. About thirty minutes from my land is the small town of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It sits on the St. Marys River where you’ll also find a bridge connecting Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.
I’m going to adopt Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.
Yep. I plan to explore this little town of roughly 75,000 people next year. I’ll go in June and return in September. If it’s everything I imagine it to be, I’ll most likely make this my second home away from home.
My attachment to the Upper Peninsula gives me reason to believe that I will feel very much at home in Sault Ste Marie.
For most of my life, I’ve lived within driving distance of a Canadian border crossing. I’ve always felt more secure knowing this. Frankly, Canada is a good neighbor to get to know. They’re one of only a few countries that allows an American to spend 6 months there without a visa.
In other words, your passport would suffice.
Many countries only allow 90 days in a 180-day time span. I’ve spent 90 days in Malta, Ireland, Spain, and the Isle of Saba. Trust me, it goes by fast.
Lake Superior is calling me.
I have much to explore along the banks of this amazing natural resource we share with Canada. I see myself taking many day trips into the wilderness. Hopefully, I’ll find a nice little apartment that I can return to each year as well. Most likely, I’ll eventually shift my annual visit to the two months from September through October. I love the changing seasons, but Fall is by far my favorite.
How does a person spend their time in a town they’ve adopted?
Well, we do pretty much whatever the locals do. We cook our meals and watch our favorite programs. Sometimes we take long walks or go on day trips. We clean our apartments and have meals at our favorite restaurants. We get to know the people who live there. We become patrons of different businesses. People know our names and we exchange greetings on the street. It’s everything that tourism is not.
I’ve traveled the world, but I call myself an untourist.
Sure I’ve popped in and out of a country with nothing more than a tourists’ version of a city, but that’s not my preferred mode of travel, not by a longshot. I prefer to get off the beaten track. Eat where the locals eat. Shop where the locals shop. Avoid the big tourist traps. Get a taste of the culture of another country and its people.
That has always been my favorite way to see the world.
So, it’s beginning to look like 2025 will be another travel adventure year for me. I welcome it with open arms. I turn 74 in January. That’s right. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to be an adventurer, but so far, nothing is stopping me.
I’m ready to adopt another town.
Teresa is an author and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
