Welcome to my quick rampage through those things  you ought to pack (apart from your passport suntan oil, an E111 form and something to treat diarrhoea). This page attempts to deal with those less obvious things that can enhance your enjoyment a Spanish holiday.

Let's start with the insect life and how to keep it from spoiling your holiday. I dare say that you have bought all kinds of things that claim  they keep mosquitoes from using you as a café whilst you sleep. This is a product that will keep mossies from supping at your circulation--even if the window is open! The oddly-named 'Kill-Paff' is a plug-in that isn't cheap ...but you won't hear those high-speed wings in your bedroom anymore. The company don't even know I am recommending this product. I took the pack shot myself and lifted the sectional diagram off their web site!

Staying with our six-legged brethren, and how to keep them away from you, let us turn our attention to outdoor winged assailants. Insects don't have noses, but they do have bodily organs that do the same job in a different way. There are some smells that keep most things off, during the course of the day. By far the most effective method of keeping all flying insect life at bay is Lavender oil (hellishly expensive). Use Lavender Water instead (or Agua Lavada--pronounced "ah-wah la-ban-dah"). You may not want to smell like an aging dowager and take your own risks with your cologne or perfume. Splash this stuff all over (best brand pictured below--called PUIG) two-to-three times a days and most insect assassins can be seen to veer off about an inch away from your skin. I have even put a drizzle of this stuff on the table immediately surrounding my plate when I have been eating outside--and it kept the flies away! You can't buy PUIG Agua Lavanda in the UK ...but the better Spanish supermarkets sell it.

Okay, so you're not covered in itchy bumps and that's great all the time you have some idea where you are. The only reliable maps of Spain are produced by Michelin ...all the Spanish maps have the same out-of-date formula (useful only to practised exponents of 'dead reckoning').

Both maps (pictured left) cover the Provinces of Valencia and Alicante, the price and scale appear identical and only the Levante map (top) goes as far as Madrid. I have scratched my head over the commercial or logical purpose of the second (lower) map ...but it serves well for the immediate area

Armed with your map, and insect protection, you may decide to tread boldly into places that not many tourists go, and have a day out of experiences that will fill your winter nights with richness and a sense of achievement.

Such a pioneering holiday spirit comes at a small price ...the willingness to use some of the Spanish language. The BBC publish the best pocket-sized phrase book (pictured left) and this includes phonetic explanations of how to say commonplace holiday phrases, phrases for medical emergencies and a well thought out dictionary that might help you fill in some gaps in those unexpected scrapes.

My use of Spanish has progressed well past the need to use phrase books and I have taken the time to  re-examine this (and other) phrase books with the benefit of hindsight. The BBC phrase book is always the winner and I would commend it to you.