Casa Alma and the Casita.

Casa Alma lies in a patch of green, irrigated land, surrounded by the ochre hills and blue skies of Andalucía, with a full view of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The orange orchards are filled with birdsong and you can grow almost anything you want with the abundant water and almost constant sunhine. Some people have described the place as a paradise.

The house is built in the taditional Alupjarran style, with flat roof and massive walls, and has been recently renovated. It could sleep up to six people. The verandah has views of the mountains and is a magical space for long evenings, with night-scented jasmine wafting in from the garden. On the other side of the house a beautiful old olive tree stands beside a sunny patio, surrounded by the garden and orchard, which contains almost a hundred assorted fruit trees. Nearby is the casita, the little house, recently converted from the traditional farm buildings. It sleeps two and has its own garden and view of the mountains. It is self-contained and can either be an annexe to the main house or an independent household.

In order to get to Casa Alma you have to drive along a track  through a dry riverbed occupied by a few travelllers. Also there is no mains electriciy or mains water. But there is  hot and cold running water stored in a huge underground storage tank filled from the nearby water channels.This needs refilling approximately once a month..

Being cheap it provides a unique opportunity for people with limited means to buy a beautiful cortijo in this much sought-after region. It would be ideal for anything from a small community or an extended family to two families who wanted to live quite separately. There’s unlimited scope for growing your own food as the land extends to almost an acre, with the main irrigation channel running along the uphill boundary. In all years but one we’ve had a surplus of our own home-grown olive oil.

However it is not a house for people who want a push-button life. The electricity supply is solar and this requires consciousness and attention to keep it running smoothly. Washing water is on tap, but drinking water has to be collected from a spring five minute’s walk away – a beautiful walk with stupendous views of the mountains! Through much of the year the land needs to be irrigated once a week, and the dometic water tank is filled with this water at the same time. Both houses have compost toilets and in winter wood must be hauled and chopped.

Contact Cathy on:
cathylotus@yahoo.co.uk
(0034) 64 54 91 81 6