History

How the place came to be

A jungle of cacti, burdock-like creepers and other dense plants welcomed us when we looked at the area for the first time and tried to find a way to the small stone house.

The finca had been lying fallow for decades, the owner had emigrated. In the small stone house and in the caves there were rusted oil sardine cans, empty bottles, shot shells; small fireplaces were visible. Legacies of the hunters who hunt rabbits and partridges for three months every year. It took a lot of imagination to picture that this is an enchanting place and worth living in. After he first visit we were not sure if we would return. But something lured us back. he wide view to the sea, the gentle valley that ran through the grounds? The deep calm that surrounded us? The living nature that was tangible despite the dryness?

On top of that came the simple fact that the owner at the time had all the necessary papers for a sale and we only had to agree with one person and not with a community of heirs spanning generations. A lucky coincidence… he Finca became our property in 1998. Many years with a lot of work followed…. At that time our parents still lived in Abades and came up daily to carefully work their way up and discover the small testimonies of their former life and the structures of the landscape.

We, the children with our partners and later our own children, spent our vacations on the island from then on not on the beach or on hikes, but we dug, built, planted on the finca and thus did our part to make the place habitable. The big wooden house was added in 2000. The road was asphalted, electricity was installed, and years later we finally got a drinking water connection. Until then, we used the untreated water for the plants, which flowed through an above-ground channel in a tank every two weeks. Our parents had acquired shares in an underground water reservoir. This all sounds easier than it was… every step was connected with big administrative hurdles and costs, with many conversations in the community, with contacts without which nothing would have worked and so on…

Our parents had worked as stage designers at the theater and without their gift of developing and realizing unusual visions, it would not have been possible to make the Finca the way it is today. The landscape was only carefully interfered with, the given structures were uncovered and gently supplemented to create a little comfort and enough space for the whole family. Every time we came, we were surprised with something new. The hit was the swimming pool, which we found completely exaggerated at first (the sea is after all only 12 minutes away by car) but of course it is wonderful to have a pool here after all. And as the engineer who helped build it recently told us: he had thought it unimaginable to build such a large swimming pool on this site. But it was possible, perhaps also here thanks to the gift our parents had practiced for years, to realize the seemingly impossible.

The cave extension on the other side of the valley with the big glass house in ront of it, the “Refugio”, the last project of our parents: what luck to find Canarian builders who participated with a lot of enthusiasm and brought in their experiences. The “Refugio” has a special history: on the other side of the valley we always saw the entrance to a big long cave, which inspired our imagination of what was probably there once. For many years the cave was a popular retreat or the little adventurers in the family. Plays were invented and presented. Expeditions were conducted. Until one day we were amazed: the cave was painted, bright, wooden floor was laid and attached was a huge winter garden. dreamlike place to live had been created, which combines the traditional form of living with a high light architecture.

The real Mongolian yurt: brought to us from Mongolia and built up because more space was needed for the grown family. Soon the favorite place of us. The round shape gives a comfortable living feeling. Through the open roof you can dream yourself into the starry sky at night and lie comfortably in a warm bed. he glass dome is carefully handmade by a Canarian carpenter. It protects against rain and humidity, but through small air slits it allows permanent ventilation of the yurt, which is very important in view of the many layers of fabric.

And of course the old caves, formerly used as living cave or as stable for the animals. It felt good from the first moment to sleep there, after we had made hem habitable bit by bit. Quiet, cosy, warm in winter and cool in summer. An ingenious form of living.

The small wooden house was added later and at the moment it is still very visible on the hill opposite. This makes it a bit out of the ordinary on this finca, where no accommodation stands out and wants to be big. The “Casita” was intended as a retreat for us during the time when we rented out almost the entire finca after the death of our parents. Small, but equipped with everything hat is necessary for a vacation. It is our secret favorite, and Paolo even lived here for over a year and felt very comfortable.

The Finca has grown slowly, it changes again and again in small steps…. it is still a beloved place of the whole family. And we are happy that today we can share it with our guests for short or long. Most people discover the magic of this place very quickly and fall in love. Many friendships have developed with all the special people who come to us and whose presence we greatly appreciate. You contribute a lot to the liveliness of this place! Thank you, see you soon!