Late winter in Andalucía and, as the sun creeps through the shutters, I wake and my day begins. No alarm. I amble to a dawn kitchen and begin the lengthy process of making coffee on a small stove. In a couple of hours, I may be able to charge my phone – or reconnect the fridge, which ran out of power yesterday. But only if it’s a clear, sunny day.
A few months ago, my husband and I, along with our two dogs, left our centrally heated London flat to spend winter in a recently built but unfinished eco-cabin in the Spanish hills, existing day to day with the sun as a guiding force.
This lifestyle may be an alien concept for anyone who, like me, has spent years living in a big city, but look back through history and it’s difficult to find a culture that hasn’t engaged in some form of sun obeisance. The Jewish Shabbat, or rest day, is defined by the sun’s cycle, beginning on Friday at sunset and ending on Saturday at nightfall. Emperors of the Incas were believed to be the sons of their ancient sun god, Inti, who was worshipped across the empire. In Norse paganism, the goddess Sol was seen as a symbol of energy, warmth, joy and motivation.