| This
is a thousand year old Moorish house at the very top of the whitest of
the pueblos blancos, the gleaming, cubist towns of western Andalucia.
Vejer
de la Frontera, in the unspoilt province of Cadiz, south of Seville, is
only ten kilometres from the wild dune beaches of the cape of Trafalgar
and excellent local fish restaurants. A fortified mountain town declared
a national monument, which dominates the vast scorched plain below, giving
spectacular views and an amazing sense of history in its whitewashed alleys
and squares.
Numero
6 Calle Castillo is a series of original rooms radiating off an inner
courtyard and a garden with vines, lemon trees and a small pool to temper
the unforgiving summer sun. Sleeping 6 to 7 in four bedrooms it is a charismatic,
rambling old house with stone floors and beamed ceilings, a cave and a
well, There is also a kitchen with washing machine and dishwasher, two
bathrooms, a dining room and living room complete with television, DVD,
and books. All of it decorated in a style befitting its origins.
But
the real joy of the place is that it puts you in the heart of this genuinely
welcoming community, in the most fascinating part of southern Spain. This
area has not been spoilt by tourism, is authentic and atmospheric with
vast areas of virgin national park.
To
visit Vejer you can fly to one of four airports and hire a car. Jerez,
served by Ryanair, is closest at just under an hour, then Gibraltar an
hour away, Seville ninety minutes, and finally Malaga two and a half hours
along the motorway. |
