I’ve had a couple of pretty depressed calls from friends and family in the UK this week, one of whom mentioned a disease that I’d completely forgotten existed: S.A.D. – Seasonal Affective Disorder, defined by wikipedia as “winter depression”, brought on by grey skies, lack or light, and bad weather.
S.A.D. is one of the main things that drove me out of the UK and into Spain 9 years ago – the thought of another winter in London was too much to cope with – but until this week I had completely forgotten this affliction even existed! The simple fact is that in Spain S.A.D. doesn’t exist at all! There is too much sunlight!
So if you are feeling down, come to Spain for a while… Still not convinced? The photos above and below are of the pure, sunny blue sky that I have been looking at over Madrid, uninterrupted, for as many weeks as I can remember. Come soon and see it for yourself…
Parubin
16 Nov 07 at 12:41 pm
(Without realizing, I just changed my nick : Pablo = Parubin)
Ben,
I just get two identical plain, spotless blue rectangles.
Is that the true colour of the Madrid sky or the page is downloading incorrectly?
B.T.W., me living in the Canaries, by the coast (not up in the mountains) we just don’t have seasons at all. The biggest difference in temperature we normally have between a normal mid-august day at 3.00pm and a mid-january night at 3.00 am would be no more than 15ºC.
Some say that constancy is a real bore. I just find it ok, though, and it sure fells great to be having a beer in just a T-shirt in a lively terraza at christmas.
Edith
16 Nov 07 at 1:12 pm
@ Ben and Parubin,
To me, constancy is no bore, either. Last year, I spent the entire month of November on Tenerife and I loved it! I have also spent some time in Israel and in Arizona and the sunny weather never ever bored me. IMO, Parubin, you are so lucky to live on the Canary Islands.
I have always hated winter, even as a child, but it wasn’t until a decade ago that I learned about Seasonal Affective Disorder or winter depression.
Some people laugh it off and think I’m exaggerating but the truth is, I really can’t stand gloomy weather at all. I call it our ‘Polar Night’ although I’m fully aware of the fact that the situation is very different north of the Polar Circle.
I definitely feel better on sunny winter days, even when it’s cold. Some of my home remedies include spending much time outdoors, occasional visits to the tanning booth, physical exercise, hobbies and other activities which keep me occupied during the winter months. The winter blues usually diminish during the second half of February. The days become longer and often there are many other small signs as well which tell me that spring is approaching.
Ben
16 Nov 07 at 2:48 pm
Yup, that is the true Madrid sky above our heads as I type this! I photographed it by pointing the camera straight upwards from our terrace this morning.
Frank
16 Nov 07 at 2:56 pm
I have to confess to absolutely loving the different season here, I would never swap it. Despite people claiming that Spain’s weather is perfect, whilst it certainly has more sun and higher temperatures, you’ll never convince me it is perfect. Madrid, for example, has great extremes of temperature, far colder than we ever experience in the winter, and gagging in the summer! We spent all of April in Spain, awful weather, July was very good, and Sept/Oct was a mixture, some good, some horrendous. I’ve spent a few years in the Middle east, and every morning the sun comes up, travels across the sky, goes down the other side. Next day, sun comes up in the morning, travels across… you get the picture, absolutely boring.
As for blue skies, this was yesterday here,
http://www.pbase.com/imagelibrary/image/89018761
This was a couple of days ago,
http://www.pbase.com/imagelibrary/image/88856443
I’ll happily stay here, and continue to holiday in Spain!
Jon Hundt
16 Nov 07 at 4:58 pm
the composition is astounding – the colors, they speak to me! Those pictures are pure art, Ben – now you got old Ansel on the run!
Ben
16 Nov 07 at 7:47 pm
Ha ha, yes, that photo belongs in Momo, NYC!
Andrew
16 Nov 07 at 8:55 pm
As much as I love Spain I have to say that Frank’s photos were marvellous.
Edith
16 Nov 07 at 10:15 pm
Wow, I forget to read the last paragraph of the article, and I thought those blue squares were a mistake. This is really astonishing! Autumn can’t be so bad if the skies are like that most of the time!
luke
16 Nov 07 at 11:17 pm
Thanks for the photos, Ben, I’ve been staring at them and I think my S.A.D has disappeared. They are so useful I thought I’d download the blue pages of the Dulux catalogue and stare at that for a bit!
(But seriously, I think your black and white photos are great.)
Colin
17 Nov 07 at 9:06 am
Hey, Ben, your skies in Madrid are nothing compared with this year’s in southern Galicia!
Graeme
17 Nov 07 at 12:45 pm
When the Galicians start complaining about the lack or rain then there is a problem, blue skies or not. It’s great not to suffer from S.A.D. and I love the fact that winter seems so short here in Madrid. But at the moment I would be really happy if it rained solidly for a couple of days! Otherwise, we are going to get the mother of all droughts next year.
Palmer
18 Nov 07 at 2:06 am
That is one thing I noticed on my trip to Madrid last month. Before flying there, I had seen pictures of those blue skies overhead and thought that the pictures had been “doctored” for tourism purposes. I found out to my delight that they are indeed just that blue.
gary
18 Nov 07 at 9:58 pm
Had a sky like that over Barnsley on Wednesday – then it struck me – its the same sky, the difference is in the clouds – which were back by teatime
Brendan
19 Nov 07 at 10:08 am
Hi, to all those you have sung from the rafters regarding the perpetual ‘blue’. I can’t thank you enough, here in Vigo, which has had the lowest rainful in Spain, it’s now bucketing down cats and dogs! Just goes to show the ‘commentators curse’ really does work!
Ben
19 Nov 07 at 3:35 pm
Guess what Brendan, it’s now pouring here too!!
Rachel
21 Nov 07 at 9:59 am
Ummmm…. Ben…. I just came back from Madrid last night and have never been colder or wetter?! I think i will stay in Sevilla
Ben
21 Nov 07 at 10:07 am
Yes…. things went a bit wrong this week!
jonytk
15 Dec 07 at 4:07 pm
sunny?, yeah but only in the south of spain!
wetcloud
17 Jul 08 at 6:23 pm
In Spain It is very easy to have sunny weather in November, but just in the south and the east parts of the country. In the rest of Spain, November usually is wet and cloudy, either in Madrid, where I live.
Here, off course we have different seaseons: fall usually is cool and wet. Winters normally are cold (sometimes very cold) and dry. Last winter was not especially cold (but november was colder than normal with somedays of -7/-9ºC, not a particullary warm weather. Spring can be very variable, sometimes is cool, sometimes is warm, sometimes is wet (I even remember a year with snow in April). Summer is so hot and dry.
If you think all Spain has the same sun and warm weather, I recomend you going in winter to some places as Burgos, Soria, Leon or Vitoria and you will see colder temperatures than you have ever seen in any part of England. Go also to some parts of Galicia, Asturias and País Vasco and you will see day after day cloudy and rainny, no so different than the weather of your country.
Personally, I don’t like Madrid weather at all. For me, it is too much dry, too much hot in the summer to be comfortable. I preffere cold weather.
wetcloud
17 Jul 08 at 6:43 pm
Sorry, I meant ‘of course’.