Damian Corrigan

Damian was working in Madrid during the terrorist attacks of March 11 and Prince Felipe's marriage to Letizia Ortiz, two of the most monumental moments in recent Spanish history. He has also wrestled with the bureaucracy of opening bank accounts, getting registered as a Spanish resident and filing a police report and he knows the Spanish health care system well after spending a month in a Marbella hospital with a burst appendix!

Damian's other passion in life is Formula 1 auto racing and he has an F1 News site where he published the latest F1 news, views and rumors.

It all started when Damian had a little extra cash floating around and decided to invest it in learning a language - it was too expensive to spend a long period of time in France, German was of no interest, Serbo-Croat of little relevance - so he picked Spanish.

Damian now speaks the language fluently and has lived in Spain for more than three years, spending extended periods in Madrid, Seville and Marbella. He has passed the time in Cadiz, Puerto de Santa Maria, Valencia, Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba, Tarragona and Malaga, as well as experiencing the Spanish wilderness during a painfully slow charity hitchhike from London to Morocco.

He moved to Madrid with nothing - no job, no friends, no accommodation and no money. A month later he had a flat, acquaintances and steady work - teaching English like every other expat in Madrid. Within 18 months he had moved on and was now editor of an English language expat magazine. He then lived in Marbella, where he spent six months.

Damian has a degree in Politics, specialising in the European Union. He also has a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second or Other Language - two things which gave him the interest in Spain and the tools to move there and get an appreciation of the culture.

When I arrived in Spain I was amazed by the variety of the country, the beauty of its architecture and landscape and the passion of its inhabitants. I hope that by reading these pages you too will get a sense of what Spain is like. Hopefully it will inspire you to make the journey yourself.

This is not a guide written from a cosy office in London or New York - it is produced on the road in the cities that I am writing about. My knowledge of flamenco, history and Spanish cuisine comes not from books but from real people who have spent their lives in Spain.

I recently moved to Salamanca so that I could be in the center of Spain and able to explore some of the lesser known regions of the country.