USVI-On-Line

Frente a la vista

When we bought the lot back in 1980, the real estate agents had named it " Frente a la vista", which means something like " in front of the view". We decided to keep the name even though you can discuss if you are in front of or behind the view.

Now you can judge yourselves. Here some pics of the finca and the surroundings taken from different angles.


Frente a la Vista, the view and the surroundings:


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through the door



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from the terrace to the right side



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and to the left


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from a place down the mountain- the land you see belongs to us, no one can disturb the view




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from the road



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the mountains seen from our back door terrace




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as you can see our neighbours house is a little too close to ours




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here "the servants house" with the 4 big houses behind




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our small cottage on the mountaintop seen from the town



Sunset/sunrise
I love sunset and sunrise, but I cannot show you some spectacular pics from our place. The sun rises behind the mountain and goes down behind the mountain. But sometimes it can be a nice sight looking at the cactus against a red sky.



Frente a la Vista inside
We like our finca, as it is, think it's pretty. We have tried to combine the Spanish style with our Danish style, which too example is that we don't like too much stuff in the rooms. In Spain we also try to "keep it simple". I only use plants from the nature to put in pots, mostly plants found in our own plot, and one of the pots is too example an old jam jar. I also use pretty stones as decorations, actually one of them is a big "gold and diamond" stone, which son found back in 1980, when we bought the lot. We have also kept the old tiles, even though we know that if we changed them, we would save some work. Actually we need to varnish them each time we come, many of them are more or less dissolved. But one of the reasons, why we haven't changed them yet, is that we in a way like them as they are! It's an old sort of tiles made of sun-dried clay, and in some of them you can see impressions of cat's paw. A good combination with " keep it simple".

Why do I tell all that? Because I know that some people don't share our taste. During the years we have had many visitors among them many foreigners. The majority of course say that it's a beautiful finca - it's polite people-, but I can see and feel that not all mean it. It is as if they wonder, why we cannot afford to buy nicer things or have a nicer floor. So now you know! You will not be the only one, who perhaps wonders, how I can say that our finca is pretty.

I also have to tell about our Spanish miracle stuff: Rapido.
When we lived in the unfinished finca, we were surprised seeing how the workers very fast and very easy could build shelves etc. with the help of a binding material called Rapido. It's a sort of gypsum, strong and very quick- drying. Hubby of course wanted to try Rapido too. Now we have a lot of things, where he has used this stuff. When our wooden bookcases in our dining room were stolen, he built new ones similar the old ones and placed them as before. A closet in the bathroom was stolen too, but now we have white shelves instead of, which I like much better. The termites ate a big part of the closet in the passage, now we have removed it and have an arrangement around the new refrigerator, which is much more functional and built with Rapido. And so are the table and all the shelves in the garage. I don't know if you have something similar in USA, but in DK we cannot use Rapido because of our climate. If we could use it, we would have started an import trade. In Spain it has been a good helper to us, and we wouldn't have known it, if the finca has been finished in time. Another advantage with the changing from wood to cement things is that either the thieves or the termites can take it away.


But here some pics from the few rooms we have:

dining room and kitchen:
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<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 9938"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpQtcXYv ... 7.JPG"></a>
the guest room

notice the brown bookcase on the wall. It's one of the bookcases I have told about, and the only
one, which wasn't stolen





<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 2818"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpQ_NBMc ... 9.JPG"></a>
our sleeping room

I just love our sleeping room. There is a big room height, and as in the rest of the house, there are visible ceiling girders, nice to look at from your bed, when you wake up in the mornings. And when you raise your head from the pillow, you see such a fantastic view through the window.




<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/Gam ... 2130"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/benthe44/SITscp70P ... b.jpg"></a>
the passage/utility room




<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/Gam ... 5170"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/benthe44/SITss9EeB ... t.jpg"></a>
the bathroom

you cannot see the shower cabinet, but of course we have such one too. It's an old pic. We have a nicer mirror now.




<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 2706"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHph3QT4W ... 5.JPG"></a>




<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 1394"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHph8xSPt ... 6.JPG"></a>
our lovely garage

we make fun with our garage. Until now there haven't been a car there. And we like to have it clean
and in order. (Not many people remove dust regularly from their garage!!). And we boast about it to our neighbours, because they have much nicer houses, but we have the nicest garage, and the one with the best view.


The "garden"
Most people around us have very beautiful gardens, but it's not possible for us. Often we are only in Spain once a year, and we will not spent a lot of money for having someone to take care of a garden. We also like the wild flowers, although we mostly see them, when we visit Spain in spring. But then the different flowers in different colours are incredible beautiful to look at.

Instead we have planted many cactus plus 2 almond trees and 2 olive trees. The biggest olive tree is planted because there is a pylon, which I hate to look at sitting on the terrace, thinks that the electricity wires should have been dug into the ground. Now the olive tree covers it.


But you can still find a few flowers in July!:
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and almonds in the tree


Regrettably some of our agaves have begun to set flowers. We love to see the flowers, but it's so annoying to see the plant die afterwards. When we came this year one of them was broken, and we had to remove it.


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<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 6674"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHtC_uOAe ... 8.JPG"></a>
a funny picture of a part of the broken agaves



The position of Frente a la Vista
Frente a la Vista is placed in the mountains of the town Torrox, and Torrox is placed about 50 km east of Malaga. In old days it could take a long time to reach the finca from the airport, because we had to drive through many small towns. But now the road is mostly motorway, which means that it normally takes less than an hour. From Frente a la Vista to the town it takes about 5-10 minutes in car, and if you want to continue to the beach, it will take about 5-10 minutes more

Torrox

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The climate
The slogan for Torrox is that the town has the best climate in Europe. It is actually documented in an investigation. You can of course always discuss, what a good climate is, but if you want many hours with sunshine without too many unbearable warm days, I agree with the slogan. In the summer months you know that you nearly always will have sunshine from morning to evening. In spring you cannot be sure, some vacations we have had sunshine every day, and a few vacations we only have had some days with sun. We have also visited Spain in December, one year we spent Christmas there, and I could wear my bikini from morning to late afternoon. But in the wintertime and sometimes also in spring, the evenings can be cold, especially in our place, where it can be very windy too. But Torrox also has rainy days. Normally when we come our water deposits with totally 58.000 litres are filled up.

The Spanish
The people we have met in Spain are the nicest and most helpful people you can imagine.
When we came the first time only a few of them could speak English or German, today we can find many more. Still most people only speak Spanish, but they are incredible patient, when we try to explain something or ask for something in our halting Spanish. If we ask for help to find our way, we have experienced several times that if it’s not too far away people follow us to our destination. It’s to understand that they were kind and patient at the time, where not so many tourists were staying there, but it’s the same experience we have today even though the number of tourists has increased considerably.

Also as you see in many places with much sunshine – the people’s attitudes are in some ways very laid-back, no stress! Not like in the Northern Europe! We love that laid-back attitude, but sometimes if we have had an agreement about something to be done, I must admit that we have wished it wasn’t so. Many of them don’t find it important to arrive to an appointed time, or tell if they don’t come. Being on vacation perhaps only with a few days left, it can be a problem for us.

It’s also a little strange because they have a lot of bureaucracy, but in another way they are very relaxed about it. An example: When we built our garage, we went to the town hall and asked for permission after it was built (that’s the easiest way our neighbours told us). We had to show drawings, the bill from the building company etc.. Copies were taken, documents were filled in, and then we had to go to the bank, pay and return to two other offices to have the document stamped. We did that, and people were as usual very kind, and we got the needed document. But about four years later we had a letter telling that we had to pay some money, because we didn’t have a building permission. We couldn’t understand it, but were explained that the document we had only was a request for having permission!! Not to believe that a request needed so much bureaucracy, when they know from the beginning that the garage already was built, and not to believe that it took 4 years before a letter was sent!

The town
If you photo freaks visited the town, I’m sure a lot of photos would be taken. A walk around in the old town with the steep and narrow streets offers a lot of nice sights. Flowers all around, nice houses with pretty doors, people sitting on a chair outside talking or perhaps cleaning or painting etc.. In the middle of the town there is a cosy square with a few restaurants, there is an old church and many places, where you can see visible relics from the Arabian time. What also impress us are how beautiful the roads and roundabouts are made - filled with palms and flowering trees and other decorations.


Here some pics:


a walk in the old town:

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<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/Spa ... 8898"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/benthe44/SI8MFZ-QC ... 8.JPG"></a>



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<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/Spa ... 5938"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/benthe44/SJGEKLn-J ... 1.JPG"></a>



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other pics:


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<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/Spa ... 5026"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/benthe44/SJGESYTC9 ... 7.JPG"></a>



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<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 8786"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpm137Pn ... 5.JPG"></a>
there is always a lot of old men in the town talking together in groups or sitting on a long row on a bench:


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the churchyard



<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/Spa ... 6178"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/benthe44/SJGFCfoLY ... 4.JPG"></a>
goats on the road- you need to stop to let them pass

But no rose without a thorn.
In the old town you can see many signs with “house for sale”. The young ones want to live in a modern apartment, and when the old ones die the heirs try to sell the house to foreigners to get the best price. So I’m afraid that this pretty old town will change during some years.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 4178"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpeS7k08 ... 0.JPG"></a>



Crises
In Torrox the building activities began to explode for a longer time ago. The climate attracts both the foreigners and people from other parts of Spain. But like in the rest of the world you now can see the crises. A lot of unfinished buildings and a lot of “for sale” signs. In the country (the campo, as it’s named) all the building activities have nearly stopped, and they are very strict about the rule which says that you need 25.000 square meter before you can build. So in the campo too you can see unfinished buildings.

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<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 2450"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpV8SzqI ... 9.JPG"></a>



Also you can see houses, which after our opinion should have been removed several years ago.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 7138"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpqrMu87 ... 4.JPG"></a>



<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 4146"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpVpFHpx ... 6.JPG"></a>
this is an old finca, so it's not so bad to look at


And what to do with the immense volume of rubbish from the building industry?
You make an agreement with the owner of a very beautiful canyon about filling it up with the materials!

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 5650"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpV1txxI ... 8.JPG"></a>

I have to say that the plan is that when the canyon is filled up, they will cover it and try to make it nice, but still I feel sorry, when I see it. I liked this canyon.



There is also a problem with the garbage cans. In the campo where we live, there is always a lot of rubbish thrown in the surroundings.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 6418"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpqyXHi4 ... 6.JPG"></a>


But I’m aware that in small countries as Denmark, you normally are more conscious about keeping the nature clean (even though we also have problems with people throwing garbage in the wrong places), so perhaps other people don’t see it, as we do.



The beaches
The town Torrox is not placed on the coast, but a few kilometres from the town there is the suburb Torrox Costa, which now is much bigger than Torrox. It’s mostly here you find the tourists, the hotels, big buildings with vacation apartments, restaurants etc.. And the beaches!

The beaches in the area cannot at all be compared with the Caribbean beaches. Most of them have brownish sand, and there is stones along the shore. And most of them are often very crowded in the summer season. But it’s a beach and we still like to be on a beach, listening to the waves, having a bath, sunbathing, reading etc.. Better than a pool after our opinion. And I also like to look at the stones, think they are so fantastic with the different colours and shapes. I always try to find stones with a hole in – I collect them- but it’s so difficult to find any here.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 3538"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpiwkt2x ... 4.JPG"></a>


We have a favourite beach. It’s not because the beach itself is better than the others. But we like the restaurant there, a nice family restaurant with friendly people, who knows us, there is a parking place close to the beach, which is practical, because we normally always bring our own sun beds with us - place them very near the sea. It’s not overcrowded with tourists, mostly Spanish people come and very important to hubby - the restaurant make the very best grilled sardines.


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The sun beds are ready for us- nice to be on the stones<a



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the beach an early weekday, later some more people will come

In the weekends it’s another sight. Very crowded. So most of the time we avoid the weekends, but now and again we like to look at the life, like to see, how the Spanish people are together in more generation, they bring their tents, they make food, they grill, they discuss etc., and it looks as if they are having a good time. We admire the family life in Spain. We don’t have the same tradition about having parents, grandparents, aunts’ and uncles together on the beach helping each other to take care of the children and the old ones.


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Snorkelling
There is not much too see when you snorkel. Of course there are fish but none especially colourful.
We have tried to snorkel from a beach with some cliffs, we found a little more variation, but at the same time a strong current. Today we don’t think it’s worth to bring our snorkel equipment with us.



The promenade
In Torrox Costa you can find a very nice promenade with a long beach, a lot of restaurants, playgrounds for children, rental business and people (often foreigners) trying to sell you something.
We don’t come there very often, but sometimes we like to take a stroll in the evening and have our dinner in one of the restaurants.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/benthe44/080 ... 2354"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/benthe44/SHpoo7Ncp ... 7.JPG"></a>



The restaurants
There are a lot of different types of restaurants. Along the beaches you have beach bars and restaurants like our favourite restaurant, all with nearly the same on the menu - mostly fish courses. Along the promenade and in the adjoining streets you can find all sorts of restaurants. Fine and expensive, cheap cafeterias, Chinese, Indian, typical Spanish etc. The prices are very low, sometimes you can have “Menu del Dia”, which is 3 courses and perhaps a coke for 6-8 Euro. And the food is normally delicious. The competition is very hard here.



This was what I want to tell in this part. I hope you liked to see all the pictures.

The next and final part will be a TR from our great vacation this year, and again there will be lot of pics including many “food porn” pics


Linne

Beautiful... thanks for sharing your Spainish home with us!

You've done it again, mesmerized me! Although I have a very busy morning I read through the whole report. I love Spain and your pictures brought back many memories especially all the white homes. Thank you for sharing once again.

Fascinating! LOVE all the photos. Thanks for sharing!

Your cottage is gorgeous Linne. I think the simple decor you've chosen is perfect.

Besides, more htings just means more things to dust .

Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful pictures and description of your cottage in Spain. My father's side of the family is originally from Denmark and I share your desire for neatness, simplicity and order in your home. The cottage is beautiful and it looks like a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature.

DELETED

Linne, Thank you so much for sharing this journey with us. It's truly fascinating and your place is completely charming.

I had to laugh about your garage though. Holy cow! Honey needs to take garage keeping lessons from you guys. Ours is a mess.

Hi Linne,

You joke about it being the "servants' house" but it looks just perfect! It's exactly what I would want for a get-away location. I love the floor and the front door too. And the views!

Again, thank you for your nice comments, I like to see that someone can understand, why we enjoy our cottage.

But some of the replies made me curious:

diana2 wrote:
My father's side of the family is originally from Denmark

Do you know anything about DK, where they have lived
etc. ?

Saltydog wrote:
the look of your kitchen that Old World look is how I visualize Bo Atabey to look....

I don't understand "Bo Atabey". What's that or who is he/her??

Linne

DELETED

To Saltydog!

What a good idea to name your house in Taino.

But now I'm curious again: from where do people now
Taino words?

To Silverheels!

I forgot to ask you where you have been in Spain seeing the white homes ??

Linne

Linne - I truly love reading your perspective and seeing such wonderful photos, so rich with special images from another place. And your version of "keep it simple" decorating is, in my opinion, just perfect. Lovely.