Happy campers

Another positive review from one of our guests below. This gentleman spent two and a half weeks in our place during April and May this year and despite being without power for a few days following a thunderstorm he was delighted with the house and the village. (He was a paying guest who found us through Villarenters, by the way, and so he has no particular motive for being nice!)

"This is a really nice house that is excellently equipped. The standard of the kitchen fittings is really good. The main room upstairs (living room, dinning area and kitchen) has wonderful views from the roof terrace. The house is in a good location in the village to get the best views. Juviles is a very good village to stay in. It is small, quiet and peaceful, but there are a few bars and a shop. It is close to the much larger village of Berchules which has a good collection of shops and eating places. Unlike many of the villages Juviles has many parking places on the main street, just a short distance from the house. This house is very warmly recommended!"

The power problem was caused by a blown trip switch. Fortunately our friends managed to get hold of an electrician and sort it out fairly quickly. We do get frequent power cuts in the Alpujarra and keep a supply of candles and torches around the place accordingly. As we cook with bottled gas and keep warm with a wood-burning fire, it's usually more romantic than irritating, and the power normally comes back on within an hour or so.

Happy guests

The week before Easter - Semana Santa - we had paying guests in the shape of Nicola and Guy from London, who found us on-line. The weather was changeable and it was a bit cold at night, apparently, but like everyone else who's stayed so far, they loved it:

Nicola e-mailed me with this:

"We had a really great time at the house in Juviles. We thought the house was very nicely done and liked all the little touches such as guidebooks, cookbooks and DVDs...
...you mentioned the walk to El Fuerte; we only did it on the last day which is a shame as it was a spectacular view which we could have enjoyed with a book and a picnic every day!!"

Don't know if they had a camera with them when they went to the Fuerte, but the last time I was up there I took these. Above is a random bit of landscape (that's digital cameras for you) and below right is a hazy view of the village from the footpath. The Fuerte itself is the very limited remains of an old Moorish stronghold; an important fortress that once dominated the area and provided a refuge when the pesky Christians tried to persuade the Muslims to eat ham sandwiches and worship the Virgin Mary. There's only a few stubby bits of wall left, although a water deposit remains, and the walk and the views are great. In warm weather up there, the scent of wild herbs, particularly thyme, is lovely.