Sometimes it helps to put faces to names, especially when deciding whether to commit on a holiday.  So this is who we are:

I’m Jerry.  I’m an American by birth, but I’ve lived in Scotland since 1980, so that’s really my home.  In my professional life I’m known as Gerard DeGroot.  I’m a journalist, historian and emeritus professor at the University of St Andrews, where I worked for thirty-five years.  When I’m not engaged in things historical, I’m a cook, carpenter, gardener and Mr Fix-it.  Casa Buenavista had been my project since 2004.  I’ve transformed the place over lots of long, lonely stays by myself.  It’s my pride and joy.

This is Sharon.  We met in 1973 when we were 18 year old students at Whitman College in Washington State.  After graduation, we were apart for 13 years until we met again in Edinburgh in 1990 and then were married the following year.  Sharon runs her own media relations company, called Spinnaker Communications, managing news stories for oil services, golf, tourism and high tech companies.  This photo of Sharon perfectly expresses the joy she feels when in Spain.

This is Natalie, on the left.  She graduated with a degree in biology from the University of St Andrews and then did a Masters in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot Watt University.  She now lives and works in Edinburgh.  When we bought the house, Natalie was a precocious little girl of 10, now she’s a beautiful young woman of 29.  She adores Begur, especially its wonderful restaurants and classy bars.  The handsome dude on the right is Josh, wearing a kilt for the first time in his life.  He studied drama and now works in St Andrews.  He calls Begur his happy place.

And, finally, our extraordinary dogs Humphrey and Joe — two gorgeous Keeshonds.  They are possibly the most famous dogs in St Andrews.  Natalie insisted that I post a photo of them.  So here they are.