News from Little Hotels, Edition 10

Welcome to a sizzling summer! It’s been "sizzling" in England too, so I believe. Margaret and I popped over to England for a few days recently and actually enjoyed some delightfully sunny days (though it was raining stair-rods when we arrived at the airport and were trying to find our hire car!).

Recent New Hotels

El Patio De Tita is the perfect spot on Tenerife for anyone wanting a self-catering apartment but doesn't want to be stuck in one of those tower blocks that infest some of the bigger resorts. It's a typical little Canarian country house (once the centre of a tobacco plantation) that provides suites or apartments with one or two bedrooms, and the independence of having your own kitchen. It's economical, but not frugal, so come and enjoy!

From one island to another, L'Escaleta is another modestly priced hotel, this time on Mallorca . It's close to the lovely marina town of Puerto Andratx , where the yachties go to. Get close to the high-life without breaking the bank.

Finally, let me mention the littlest of little hotels: Casa Julio Verne has just three rooms. Individual attention is guaranteed at it's in a super location with views of the Rock of Gibraltar, and even over to Morocco . This is a position that offers excursions out to either the Mediterranean or Atlantic coasts as well as local walks, bird-watching and visits to Gibraltar or Morocco.

Not so many additions to mention this time, but we've been busy looking around so there should be several more hand-picked hotels being added soon.

A Lovely Day Out

La Almendra y El Gitano was already a feature of Little Hotels of Spain, but one weekend, Margaret and I couldn't resist a trip down there again. This is just the place to get away from the people who got away from it all, nestling, isolated, amongst low rolling hills in the Cabo de Gata natural park.

It was a lovely sunny day in early summer, gently cooled by the wind blowing in off the sea. We revelled in the peace and solitude there, set off by the slightly zen style of the hotel and garden. The gardens, incidentally, are huge, several acres. At first we couldn't even find the swimming pool, until at last we spotted it in a hollow behind some large agaves. This pool is no startling turquoise gash on the landscape, but an oasis of soft natural colours blending into the surroundings.

Having chatted with the charming Angel (the "gitano") and Ana (the "almendra"), we were keen to sample the local beach at Cala del Plomo. It took about twenty minutes, quietly burbling down the fairly smooth dirt road until cove opened up before us. On a sunny summer Saturday afternoon, there were about a dozen cars there, with mostly couples spread thinly across the broad expanse of beach. At other times, you would probably have the beach to yourselves.

Having waved goodbye to Angel, we drifted down quiet country roads to the little bay at Agua Amarga; a little further, but actually quicker to get to. This picture-postcard village is a delight, with a huge expanse of sand, a few boats bobbing on the water, and a couple of bars and restaurants to sustain the soul.

If you love Benidorm or Blackpool, you will hate this place. But we recommend it highly for anyone who wants a really quiet holiday enjoying the natural beauty of the Mediterranean coastline. Although the hotel can provide bicycles, we think a car is essential.

Big Fast Boats

As a contrast to the tranquility of Cabo de Gata natural park, we also went to see the Spanish Grand Prix for Class I power boats recently. This is the Formula One of power boats, with hugely powerful and noisy engines hurling the boats across the water at racing car speeds. Spectators enjoyed a lively party atmosphere on the beach, with the boats thundering by just a hundred metres or so offshore. Great stuff.

Spanish Wildlife

For people who venture away from the cities and the beaches, there is a lot of interesting wildlife that you may or may not see, quite to different to anything you could possibly find at home. Many twitchers already know of the diverse bird-watching opportunities in many areas of Spain , and I'm not going to go too far into bird species when I know so little about the subject. I'll just mention a few of the birds that I have seen and managed to recognise here.

Flamingos. Well every knows them, don't they? There are flocks of flamingos in many places in Spain , wherever there are large expanses of shallow salty water. I've also seen one lone flamingo quietly feeding alongside the road, just a kilometre outside our local town, quietly strutting through the marshland completely oblivious to the traffic and houses. Another elegant long-legged wader that we see a lot of is the egret: pure white, a lovely sight in fields alongside roads.

Spain is blessed with several species of eagle, and other birds of prey. Supreme among them all is the "águila real", a huge and powerful bird which gives it's name to the Hotel Cortijo Aguila Real. We often see eagles soaring over the mountain-tops near our home.

The most beautiful bird I have seen here (perhaps the most beautiful bird I have ever seen) is the bee-eater. They have been particularly prevalent this year, so it has been a joy to see their brilliant iridescent colours flashing across the hillsides. They're not at all shy, and there are nests right by the side of the road in our village, so they're virtually all around.

Well, I've just scratched the surface of the birds of Spain and not yet reached the mammals, reptiles, or insects. It's too big a subject to cover here, so watch out for a bit more information appearing on the Little Hotels of Spain website in the near future. We'll be trying to add a fairly random series of articles covering wildlife, castles, history, and anything else that might come along.

Feedback

Just a reminder that we welcome feedback of all sorts. Our Feedback page, which is accessed by clicking the "Feedback" button on the left side of most pages on our websites, is your opportunity to learn from your fellow visitors and to help them too, by leaving your own views. Hotels of course, but it would also be good to learn about nearby restaurants, places to visit, places to avoid, things to do, things not to do, and so on.

Happy holidays!
Paul Melhuish  

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