I'm sure it sounds like the ultimate in jetsetting to most of our American friends and family, but it's really just like going to Florida. Slightly more exotic in that it's a totally different culture, but it's the same 2 1/2 hour flight from London and there's probably the same percentage of English vs. Spanish spoken as, say, Miami.
Anyway, we stayed in a self-catered villa in a tiny village at the foot of a larger town on a hill called Vejer de la Frontera. The villa was one of four casitas and a larger main house on an estate called El Sueno - or "The Dream."
We arrived a few weeks before the official high season began, so I'm going to give El Sueno the benefit of the doubt that they usually work out all the kinks before the crowds arrive. They claim to be an ecological and environmentally friendly hacienda, but I was left feeling like it was just of the "turn the water off while brushing your teeth" and "shut off the lights when you're not in the room" variety. Also, because we were out of season, the only direct flight we could get for our arrival date (the villas are rented out Saturday to Saturday) arrived in Spain at about 9:30am, but check-in at the villa wasn't until 3pm. So we killed time by taking the 2 hour drive from Seville at a leisurely pace and stopping to buy groceries along the way. Unfortunately, that meant we had to shop before we saw what was already at the villa, which meant not only did we waste money, but that there was also a lot of wastage in the way of household goods and food. Either a comprehensive list of what's available at the villa, or an earlier check-in so that we could see what was provided before doing our shop - or both - would've been helpful.
But honestly, when you're enjoying a late dinner with a glass of local wine out on the patio, looking up at the white washed Vejer bathed in the day's last rays of sunlight, well, you can forgive the niggles.
Each day we worked our way through the local beaches and surrounding towns - not to mention restaurants. The boys adapted so well - playing on the beach or in the garden at the villa, waving to the locals and even managing a prompted "hola" every now and again.
Highlights for me inlcuded the beach at Zahora, where we had the aforementioned waterfront sangria! It was an especially kid friendly place and though we had no idea of the tides before we turned up, we were lucky to arrive around low tide, which meant sand bars, shallow waters galore and rock pools where boys big and small could hunt for crabs and other creepy crawlies. Though one we would rather not have encountered was this guy! YIKES!
Just beyond the restaurant/cafe were these great guest houses and cabins that we later learned were part of the Sajorami resort. With plenty to do including water sports and horseback riding, it seemed like an ideal spot, though possibly not particularly toddler friendly. If S and I were young and childless, I would definitely be planing a stay there. Something to look forward to in our retirement? <sigh>
Because we were with another couple, we were able to escape for two heavenly date nights. Which brings me to my other highlight, this time of the adult variety - a drink on the roof terrace at La Casa del Califa. Enter through a smart-looking hotel on the street level, through a door, down some stairs, through a restaurant and its garden area, up some more stairs, into a bar and then up another flight and you're there! It was just an ordinary glass of white, but coupled with the warm evening, the spectacular view, the fearless swallows swooping and diving at impossible angles in the pink sunset and the white washed buildings and houses glowing all around us...well, it was worth all the stairs! The subtle Moroccan touches, like the lanterns in the corners, make you feel as if you've been transported to another time and place and if we weren't hurrying off to get dinner before it got too late, well, we probably could've stayed there all night.
We loved introducing T to Spain. Personally, I really appreciate the Spanish attitude towards children - they take them out with them, they show them off, they treat them like they matter, and in Spain, it's okay if children are heard as well as seen. It definitely takes the pressure off any parents of toddlers! :) There's so much of Spain, Europe, the world, even, that we haven't seen yet, that it's not likely we'll be heading back to this corner of Andalucia any time soon, but if you've never been before, I'd say, it's definitely worth the trip!
Viva la Espana!
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