Season´s Greetings to friends of Los Castaños all over the world! Two lasting Christmas traditions were born In 1843. The first Christmas Card was created at the behest of the first director of London´s V & A. It had all…
During the construction of Los Castaños – eighteen months of fearful nail-biting punctuated by occasional outbursts of joyful anticipation – we at last reached a stage where security became an issue – in short, things were being nicked. The builders…
My friend, Penny, was wandering in Ronda the other day and spotted this intriguing sign: What sort of massage? As I make it my business to keep my readers abreast of local activities and opportunities, we made appointments and gave…
An exciting new restaurant – well, really just a bar with food but none the less thrilling for all that – has opened in Farajan, two villages along from Cartajima in the Alto Genal. We try to keep up with…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…