Finca Los Alcornocales

Amidst the verdant setting of the Alcornocales National Park, gnarled cork oaks surround the one acre Finca.

Visitors come in the guise of eagles circling above, wandering deer, goats and even the odd horse or two. The National Park forms part of the forest spanning the entire length of Spain, an ecosystem rich in flora and fauna, making for superb walking, hiking, biking and riding trails to be enjoyed throughout the year.

The delightful gardens of Finca Los Alcornocales are home to a 100 year old Mulberry tree, sitting majestically on the front terrace and a flame tipped avocado tree provide plentiful shade for lazy lunches or for long peaceful reading sessions. The swimming pool is small, but inviting offering a welcome cool down from a long morning walk. Throughout the year, the kitchen garden produces figs, tomatoes, courgettes, plums and strawberries to name but a few and guests are encouraged to enjoy them.

As is appropriate of the setting, the Finca is powered by solar panels, providing enough electricity for conservative comforts and even the satellite internet system in this modest countryside hideaway. To continue the green-theme the Finca is located 15 minutes from El Colmenar train station, with links via Bobadilla to Ronda, Seville and Malaga – where civilisation can be rediscovered if you can tear yourself away from an old way of rural living.

Sssssh! I’ve seen the future!

by Sarah Mallows

AFTER a dreary first week in a villa in Mijas, which was last decorated in the 70’s (but to be fair, probably cleaned once since then), and which came complete with anthills in the kitchen from which the ants had all fled to dance the flamenco in the sugar basin, and a with a “small breeze” that blew all of last year’s leaves and petals into the swimming pool, we approached the second week of our holiday with grave misgivings and a massive dose of trepidation, ignorant of the discovery we were about to make...

Finca Alcornocales is within the portfolio of CV Travel, and is described thus:  “Amidst the verdant setting of the Alcornocales National Park, gnarled cork oaks surround the one acre Finca.“  It goes on to say:  “As is appropriate of the setting, the Finca is powered by solar panels, providing enough electricity for conservative comforts and even the satellite internet system in this modest countryside hideaway. To continue the green-theme the Finca is located 15 minutes from El Colmenar train station, with links via Bobadilla to Ronda, Seville and Malaga – where civilisation can be rediscovered if you can tear yourself away from an old way of rural living.”

Following the CV Travel’s directions is a bit like undertaking a Special Ops brief, but without being asked to eat the maps on arrival!  For the final stages of the journey, there are no sign-posts or road names along the way – rather like dear old Blighty 40 years after the Second World War – instead the traveller is advised to reset the vehicle’s tripometer and proceed along the road for 3.6kms until they spy a white box (photo supplied), at which point they should turn left, and prepare for a little mild bumpiness.  At 4.9kms they should note a tree with a white line painted on it (another photo), negotiate a sharp left, and prepare for less gentle discomfort.  The weary wayfarer should proceed a final 1.3kms to a left fork (another photo), at which juncture the more delicate passenger may be relieved to disembark and walk the last 300 metres... 

My father, an Old Salt, likened the movement of the car to being on his tramp ship in the middle of hurricane Dora in the North Atlantic, when the Queen Elizabeth reported in Southampton that they had never experienced such a rough crossing, whilst his ship was 5000 tons with a rounded keel to protect the cargo!

Then, suddenly, we arrived.  It is no exaggeration to say that upon opening the car doors, the National Forest of old gnarled cork oaks opened its arms and embraced us all in tranquillity and peace – and we, in turn, heaved a huge sigh of relief, for this was as far from the 1974 Mijas rabbit warren as far could be...

My mother has long been our benchmark for innate Good Taste;  my father insists that were we to move into Buckingham Palace, she would change the kitchens and bathrooms...  And now, as we opened the front door of the Finca, and groped our way to the windows to throw back the shutters, all we could hear for the first five minutes were her expressions of delight as she moved from room to room!  The house is beautifully appointed – the kitchen is large and light with hand-made wooden cupboards and a tiled worktop, and the windows cast the room in the dappled sunlight of the forest.  The colours show flair and style, but are so tasteful, and sympathetic to the surroundings.  This is not a rental space but a home that the visitor feels immediately comfortable in:  wherever your eyes fall there is something to admire – a homely touch here, a little surprise there - a rocking chair in one corner and a bookcase in another filled with quality books and DVDs (I could already feel an argument brewing over which to watch in the already too-short time we had);  a tripod and telescope for night-viewing the universe and an invitation to use at will;  a wonderfully comfy sofa and armchairs each with its own reading lamp...  The bedrooms all contain uniquely painted wardrobes and chests of drawers which even have mothballs inside!  The beds are comfortable and there are soft pillows (unheard of!), and again the colours are vibrant and adventurous yet remain in harmony with the overall palette of the decor...  “Wow” she said and “Wow” she meant.

Our next surprise was the welcome pack:  two bottles of wine (one red, one white), black and green olives, pasta, six bottles of water, jam and honey, cereals and 3 large cartons of fruit juice.  There were fresh fruit, crisps, nuts, bread, and in the large fridge butter, ham,  French beans, tomatoes and cucumber, a small joint of cooked pork, milk and cheese.  Above the fridge were ranged coffee and tea, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, all sealed and new.  And on the table, under a box of chocolates, lay a note from our owners:  “We hope you enjoy our house.  In the garden there are avocadoes, oranges, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, French beans and lettuce.  Please help yourself.”  This we duly did, and I submit that there is almost nothing on earth like the fresh taste of an avocado you have picked yourself, watched ripen in the Spanish sunlight, and eaten drizzled in a little olive oil and vinegar, and seasoned with salt and pepper...

As CV explained, the Finca, being so isolated, is powered by photo-voltaic solar panels.  There is, in the gardens, a small outbuilding which has 16m2 of panels strategically placed to capture optimum sunlight.  The panels collect approx 3kw per day, which covers the direct demand from the Finca, and diverts the surplus to an array of 2 volt batteries. We were so impressed by this – and suffered no hardship (OK, I did attempt the hair-straighteners just the once) – that we did a bit of research:  It appears that  89,000 terawatts (one terawatt equals 1 trillion watts)  of sunlight reaches the Earth's surface annually -  almost 6,000 times more than the 15 TW equivalent of average power consumed by humans.  Astonishingly, of all the energy needed since the Industrial Revolution, half of the total has been used over the past twenty years...

Obviously very hungry appliances will not work for very long using this storage system, so toasters, air conditioning , washing machines and dishwashers are out, but who wants to wash clothes on holiday anyway, and someone can usually be bribed to do the washing up...

However, the Finca houses an abundance of lights (and you could read deep into the night), a flat screen television and DVD, a satellite and router systems for the internet, and a German fridge/freezer whose green credentials were betrayed only by its lack of internal light.  The house is pleasantly cool due to the construction of its thick walls, so we never really felt the lack of air-conditioning, and frankly its absence meant we never woke up shivering in the night, which I have done many a time, having left the damn thing on full power prior to retiring! 

If, however, you really can’t manage without the luxury of hair-dryer and styling appliance, then I recommend you chance it in the midday sun or resort to using the nearby diesel generator, which is provided should the batteries run down or fail...  But I defy you not to feel a tad guilty, surrounded by the natural world in all its splendour!!!,

There is a small but perfectly adequate swimming pool, carved out of the ancient rock but looking every bit as though it grew there, and this uses a separate solar array to work the pump – which is of course not on a timer, and as such results in a pool which is always clean and beckoning you with a sparkling invitation to plunge into its modest depths!  This surely is the future, our chains cast off from the multi nationals that hold us all to ransom!

The nearest village is El Colmenar, where we went one morning for toast and coffee.  The Locals were already sitting at the bar as I ordered, glued to last night’s football match, whilst above the optics was a radio so old that Franco probably still came through it. Our toast arrived with olive oil and salt, which  dad tried and said it reminded him of dripping.  Further afield is Gaucin, a very picturesque village with most facilities and enough shops for topping up on provisions.  There is a very nice beach an hour away, and a Carrefour supermarket in Estepona, which sells everything - even superglue, which averted near disaster after 3 year-old Jacob thought it highly amusing to rip off Grandad’s glasses and snap them cleanly into two...  Whilst you are in the Estepona area, check out the Buddhist Temple and Stupa in Benalmadena.  It was inaugurated on October the 5th 2003 due to the wishes of the great Buddhist Master from the Himalayas, Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche, and at 33 metres tall, is the largest temple of its kind in Western Europe.

Forest nights are magical – millions of stars in the heavens, total silence apart from the odd hooting of an owl, and a darkness of the kind that only our early ancestors would have experienced.  Looking out of the kitchen windows, it felt like being in a giant tree house, suspended in the ancient forest and enveloped by the pitch blanket of the night.

It was the most peaceful, relaxing break you could imagine – modern yet ancient, remote yet surrounded by the rich vibrancy of life. This really is a little slice of heaven, so ssssh!  Don’t tell anyone else . . .

Room Description

Open-plan sitting/kitchen/dining room • Master double bedroom with bathroom en suite • Twin bedroom with shower room en suite

Private Plunge Pool: 6m x 3.5m, 1.5m deep with ladder steps

Facilities

Your Stay Includes

Maid service 2 hours 2 days per week

Additional Service

Cook service on request payable locally

Facilities

TV (Spanish channels) • DVD • CD player • WiFi • Barbecue • Pool Towels

Child facilities

Cot (available on request, extra cost), High Chair (available on request, extra cost)

Linen Change

Linen change on arrival day. Second change on request at extra charge payable locally

Tenancy Times

Tenancies commence at 15:00 hours on the day of arrival and villas are to be vacated at 10:00 on the day of departure

Map

Andalucia available on request (extra cost)

Your Location

Shops and restaurant El Colmenar 4km, Gaucin 13km, Casares 28km, Jimena de la Frontera Castle 32km, Ronda 48km, San Pedro de Alcantara 60km, Mijas 100km, Jerez 162km

Beaches: Sabinillas 38km, Estepona 52km, Puerto Banus 73km, Marbella 78km, Tarifa 98km

Airport: Gibraltar 73km, Malaga 128km , Seville 188km

Further Information

Recommended: Jeep hire

CV Representative

Your Accommodation

Open-plan  sitting/kitchen/dining room • Master double bedroom with bathroom en  suite • Twin bedroom with shower room en suite

Private Plunge Pool: 6m x 3.5m, 1.5m deep with ladder steps