Looks like we'll miss the figs this year

I'm extremely disappointed. We have to call off a planned visit to Juviles for a week from October 15th, which is the half-term holiday in Glasgow, and this means we're unlikely to get there again until Easter next year. This is a wonderful season in the Alpujarra. This time last year we enjoyed some fantastic walks, saw lots of interesting wildlife and, amongst other pleasures, ate lots of free figs and chestnuts.

So, our house is unexpectedly available to rent. As it's short notice, we'd accept a reasonable offer for rent. Get in touch if you fancy it. Oh, and as the English half-term is coming up soon, together with a few Spanish puentes, now's the time to book for later in the month too.

The rain in Spain falls mainly in the Alpujarra

It's hardly stopped raining since Christmas in the Alpujarra. Here, where drought and forest fires are more often the cause for worry than the occasional drop of precipitation, reservoirs are overflowing, rivers are bursting their banks and roads and bridges have been washed away. Here's a link to Chris Stewart's Guardian article about it. We're off there at the weekend, and I'm hoping the past few days of dry weather bodes well for a nice week ahead. At least with all that rain, the place will be beautifully green and should stay that way all summer - for which we still have plenty of availability for rental.

Back in Scotland

Where did that fortnight go? Juviles and Spain in general were blisteringly hot, although as there was a lot of rain over the first half of the year the landscape is still beautifully green. We had a fairly lazy two weeks, although I did manage to fix a few things, oil the woodwork, and touch up some paint. The house is now all ready for our next guests, who arrive from Barcelona on August 2nd. Still some weeks available late July, then late September, early October, and then the main October school half-term.

We're off to Spain....

...and will be in our place in Juviles from 28th June until 11th July. We may be able to pick up email but I can't guarantee it, although you can always call us on one of my mobiles - both will be with us.
+44 (0)7713 261172
+34 697914136
We've just taken a booking for September, and there isn't much availability in between, although the October half-term for London schools (w/c 26th) is still free, as are a few weeks here and there.

Here's a picture of one of Tino's cats, sneaking around on our roof terrace. He'll be waiting for us when we get there on Sunday, no doubt. The cat, that is, not Tino.

Rush hour, Juviles

We're off to Juviles in about three weeks and while I'm thinking about it, I thought I'd post a shot of our neighbour's horse in the main street, taken last summer. Our latest guests left at the weekend and we've just taken a booking for the first two weeks in August from a Barcelona couple. They are bringing one set of aged parents, who are originally from the Alpujarra, and they'll be there for the highlight of the social calendar in our village, the glittering Semana Cultural and fiesta. July 12th - 31st is still available.

(Probably) No Swine Flu in Granada

Cancelled your holiday in Cancun because of Swine Flu? You wouldn't have liked it anyway, it's horrible. Why not try the lovely village of Juviles in the Alpujarra instead? Our house is still available for most weeks during the summer and as of the minute, there are no suspected cases of the disease in our province. Anyway, if pigs get ill in the Alpujarra, it's nothing to worry about. You see when they die, they're cured.

Obama's Bo, the First Pup

I trailed the arrival of Bo, the Obama's Portuguese Water Dog, on this blog a couple of weeks ago, so in another shameless attempt to draw a bit of random traffic, I'm putting a picture of him here. Looks like an energetic little thing. To quote my sister-in-law, an experienced veterinarian, the President would do well to "get a Halti". NB: there are lots of cute dogs in Juviles, where our house remains available for most of June, the second half of July and all but the last week in August.

At last someone wants Easter...

A couple from Copenhagen (and their little baby) have confirmed for our house for a week from good Friday, so Easter is taken. Plenty of availability for summer - most of June, latter part of July and first three weeks of August still free.

Spring is in the air?

What with the clocks going forward at the weekend and the nocturnal antics of five energetic fox cubs in and around our garden, it's beginning to feel like Spring in Glasgow. Fortunately the same can now be said of Juviles - despite a surprising wintry reprise a week or so ago, they're now getting highs of 16 Celsius (60f) plus. Happily the forecast for Paris, where we're going for a week from Easter Sunday, is equally pleasant. Yesterday we had an enquiry for the house for that week - the potential customer hasn't got back to us yet so it remains available, but hopefully they'll confirm soon.

Funny weather we're getting

A couple of weeks ago it looked very much like Spring, both in the Alpujarra and here in Scotland. There's still a little bit of winter left in Southern Spain yet, with snow highly possible this coming weekend in Juvíles, with the cota de nieve at 1200m and over, although it won't stick. Unlike the top of Ben Lawers in Tayside, where I was braving the elements last Saturday (see right). Still, I'm sure the sun will be shining in the Alpujarra at Easter time in a couple of weeks, where THERE IS STILL AVAILABILITY TO RENT OUR PLACE DURING THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.

Portuguese Water Dog

The Spanish media showed grudging approval for Obama's choice of an Iberian breed for First Dog last week; Portugal is just next door after all. Adorable though this fish-herding canine may be - it's described by Sabine Durrant in this Guardian article as giving "every impression of being a person zipped up in a dog suit" - round our bit of Andalusia they prefer an altogether more elegant creature called the Podenco Ibicenco (below). Thought to be traceable back to the Pharaoh hounds of ancient Egypt, the Podenco was probably brought from North Africa to Malta and then on to Ibiza and Andalusia by the Arabs. (If true, this is interesting in itself, as modern Muslims aren't generally keen on dogs at all.) If there's anything better than a Podenco at hunting rabbits, it's the lynx, which is both nearly extinct and highly unlikely to let you take the rabbit off it when it's made a kill. Podencos coincidentally are said to be the most cat-like of dogs and have an impressive ability to leap into the air to get a good view of their quarry, then to pounce and grab the little blighters by the neck. Go rabbit-hunting with a Podenco, and you can leave your rifle at home. There are a few of them in our village, including one particularly handsome devil, solid sand in colour, who came into our house once while helping to deliver a fridge (long story). He then disappeared, and his owner Antonio practically accused us of kidnapping him. But after an extensive search of our back bedroom, he was found in the village square with his nose up another dog's bottom. The Podenco that is, not Antonio.

Get to know Antonio's Podenco, Vraclaw the Czech family's part long-haired daschund and part something else, our gentle old mongrel friend Luna and any number of fearsomely professional sheepdogs - not to mention cats, goats, sheep, chickens, horses, birds and lizards. Simply book a week or two at our beautiful Juviles village house. Sleeps five from only £200/€250 a week, and STILL AVAILBLE FOR EASTER.

Anyway, is it just me, or is there a serious inconsistency in publicly declaring that you're going to take a dog from a rescue centre, and then specifying that it has to be one of the rarest and most expensive breeds in the world? Maybe the logic is that the Obamas say they want a Portuguese Water Dog, thousands of thick Americans still suffering from Obamamania go out and order PWD puppies for themselves, realise they can't look after them what with not having any fish to herd, and give them to the Washington DC equivalent of Battersea Dogs' Home. Obama's little girls then get to take their pick from hundreds of pups, they get a PWD for free and they do their bit to help out the poor abandoned doggies. Aww!

Did the earth move for you?

I can't say I was aware that Granada was in an earthquake zone when we decided to buy property here, but over the past year there have been at least four significant (if not particularly dramatic) tremors in the area. Another one is reported here - it occurred yesterday and was centred in Atarfe on the Vega - the other side of the province from us, on the road to Cordoba. Last Autumn we suffered a mysterious broken plumbing joint (and subsequent minor flood) which coincided with one of the little earthquakes, and while we can't know whether the events were connected, I wonder. These tremors are still sufficiently rare to make the front page in Andalucia, even without damage. In Mexico they're a daily threat and I remember seeing signs like this one in public buildings.

Anyway, our plumbing was fixed and the floodwater cleaned up by our wonderful friends from Nieles, and the house is spick, span and awaiting your visit. There's still 20% off full weeks if you book before the end of March, and Easter is still free.

Spring comes early in the Alpujarra

Last week Juviles was effectively cut off from the world by snowfall and temperatures were well below freezing. The forecast for this week is bright sunshine every day, with temperatures up to 15c (which is almost 6o Fahrenheit). It'll get gradually warmer week by week now, and by the end of February the almond trees - the most representative flora in the region- will be in blossom, and the swallows should be back from Africa a month or so later. We're still offering a 20% discount if you book before the end of March - whenever in the year you choose to visit - and Easter is still available.

It's all downhill from here

The ski season at the Sierra Nevada (above our house) starts a fortnight earlier than last year, with 11 lifts and 27 kms of pistas opening on Saturday 15th November. Lift passes are on sale at a discounted rate if you're quick, and our house is available until 20th December, and then from 2nd January, for about £250 or €300 a week. Latest news from the ski station here.

The credit crunch isn't so bad...

...that your next holiday has to be in a caravan in North Wales. Why not visit a village where there never was any credit to be crunched in the first place, namely Juviles, Granada, Spain? Book a week in our beautiful house for approximately £300. With plenty of room for five, that's just sixty quid a head for comfort, tranquility and staggering natural beauty. A glass of beer or wine in a local bar is between 1 and 1.50 euros, and comes with a complimentary tapa, while a three course lunch with wine can still be had for less than €10. Alternatively you can cook yourself, using fabulous local produce in our fully-equipped kitchen. You can rent a car for about a hundred quid a week in Spain, and walking in the beautiful countryside costs nothing. Which means that if you can sort yourself out with a good flight deal, you can have a holiday at our place for less than it costs to stay at home.

We're currently taking bookings for most weeks up until the middle of December (we're booked for Christmas) and for all of next year, so visit our permanent site to check availability. The alternative could be too grim to contemplate...

Late cancellation

Our house WAS booked for the week from Saturday 11th October (half term in much of Scotland) but they've cancelled, and we can't go. So if you'd like it, you can have that week for a small consideration - make us an offer.

Still some half-term slots...

...as long as you live somewhere eccentric or send the kids to private school. Week commencing 27th October, (half-term for London state schools) is now booked, as is w/c 13th (Glasgow and some parts of Scotland). You could still have our place from about Saturday the 18th to 26th, which would suit you if you're in Edinburgh or some Northern English counties.

October half-term availability

The English, Welsh and Scottish schools half-term holidays are fairly spread out this year, and we've currently got availability for the main English week and weeks either side. Currently the house is:

- Booked for w/c 13th (Glasgow and other perverse bits of Scotland)
- Free for w/c 20th (Edinburgh and most of the rest of Scotland)
- Free for w/c 24th (some rogue counties in Northern England and Wales)
- Free for week commencing 27th October (London and most of the rest of England)

Apologies to the Irish and the rest of the world, but I can't be finding everyone's holibags for them and presumably you've already got the dates red-lettered on your calendars anyway. As for the poor old Spanish, they don't get half-term.

So knock yourself out and book a restful week in a beautiful house in an authentic Andalucian hill village. The kids can practice Spanish with the villagers while you enjoy the breathtaking view from the terrace and indulge in a few glasses of the idiosyncratic local wine. Flights should still be cheap for most weeks if you book now.