Every year on Easter Sunday, the Cartajima villagers are eager to see who will be the subject of the Judas doll. The Judas doll is just one part of the complex Easter tradition but perhaps the most explosive as those guests of Los Castanos who were brave enough to withstand the noise and joie de …
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31
Dec
On the last day of 2011, a year of mixed fortune for many people and countries, we send greetings to all who happen upon this page and hope that 2012 will be better for everybody – healthier, happier, and less hungry. We walked up to the mirador to catch the last of the sun in …
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31
Dec
On a late November morning, as soon as the sun rose and cast low rays onto Cartajima, the temperature in the new solar pipes rose 10 degrees in just a few minutes. Not bad technology! Unlike previous solar experiments, cobbled together from bits and pieces that John found in his pockets, the new solar panels …
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24
Nov
We are fortunate to have an EDEN in our backyard! Just a few kilometres down the road from Cartajima is the Sierra de las Nieves, the snowy peaks, which has been named a European Destination of Excellence. 100,000 hectares of wild land where forests of rare pines and oak thrive, where otters, eagles and mountain …
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12
Nov
The sweet chestnut trees that surround us – hence Hotel Los Castaños (the tree is masculine in Spanish, the fruit is quite rightly feminine) have performed their annual magic trick. Suddenly the green Alto Genal valley is red and orange and gold and yellow and all the colours in between. When the sun shines directly …
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27
Oct
Should you be contemplating an Autumn escape, here are a couple of great ideas for breaks here in the undiscovered Serrania de Ronda. The annual Mosto Festival in Cartajima. Whilst the wine is not so great, the party is! And the accommodation we offer is of course second to none. Combine the Festival on the …
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25
Aug
Everybody who is interested now knows that the little pueblo blanco just four kilometres away from us is no longer a pueblo blanco but a pueblo azul. People are flocking to see the blue walls. The village is thriving. Restaurants and bars full to bursting. What a turnaround for an unknown village in a forgotten …
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23
Mar
I am very happy to annouce that we are now full members of muchbetteradventures.com and that Los Castaños is a muchbetter hotel! Not that it wasn’t much better before but we have passed all the stringent requirements to become part of this great collection of purveyors of adventure. It was a tough ride with many searching …
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