Dear Asturias,

Michael and I know your secret.

We’ve seen your glossy ads in travel magazines: lush, green hills under blue skies; a tagline encouraging visitors to “Return to Paradise.”

And like so many others, we’ve heard–and believed–the rumors about what it takes to create these verdant landscapes: rain.

Lots of rain.

In the winter.

And the spring.

And the fall.

But now we see the game you’re playing.

You want people to visit. But you don’t want them to move here.

So you do nothing to quell the rumors. Rumors which, according to our lives here over these last few months, are completely false.

I’ve woken up to blue skies so many days that today, when I opened my blinds to see a cloud-filled sky, I was surprised.

But I’m on to you. I know those clouds won’t last long.

And yes, it does rain here.

Sometimes a lot. (I.e. the floods on January 16.)

But other than that deluge, the rain seems to only come at night–as evidenced by the wet roads and muddy trails I see on my morning walks under clear blue skies.

So no. You can’t fool us any longer. We know your secret.

But rest assured: it’s safe with us.

With love from sunny Villaviciosa, Spain,

Rebecca and Michael