Cortijo Los Lobos - Rural mountain retreat

05/11/2024

We drove further north on the west coast today to a very pretty estuary town called Vilanova Milfontes. There were serious Atlantic waves, it was breathtaking. It was a little bit wild for swimming but quite warm in the sun. Clive found some sea glass and Tiggy found some nice big stones to carry around. With the rock pools and clear water it reminded us of beaches in the Highlands of Scotland, not to mention the soft white sand. Back home Carlotta is perfecting her helping skills and Matilda has been helping Papa with his new office. Can't wait to get back to those mountain views again 😍. They are having lovely weather this week which is making life a lot easier for them. Our neighbour Jose Manuel gave Lily lots of quince and some gorgeous sweet potatoes so I am sure she has been busy turning them into delicious things. We finally had an hour on the beach to read again this afternoon when we got back as the cold wind has gone and it looks like being a lovely sunny day again tomorrow , our last day, fingers crossed 🤞

04/11/2024

We decided to pretend that the weather was better and have a picnic on the beach. Tiggy thought she should share it 🤣. She soon got her own back for not giving her a sandwich by digging a big hole and covering us in sand . Rain stopped play and we headed home. Tiggy was quite happy to join us on the sofa. Clive found a big jelly fish washed up on the beach, poor thing. On this day last year Annie was leading us a merry dance at dusk, roosting in the grapevine and trees instead of the hen house. I hope she isn't going to be silly this time, with little Susie. Poor little Fluffy was being a nuisance with our jigsaw, we miss that funny, grumpy cat 🥰😪

03/11/2024

The tide was right out on our morning dog walk and it exposed some amazing rock formations. Tiggy found a stone almost as big as her head to carry around, silly girl. Meanwhile back home Sierra is in season and obviously annoying Bonnie with her flirting 🤣. Our lovely guests who left El Granero on Saturday sent me these photos of their children enjoying their holiday despite the weather 🥰

03/11/2024

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Our El Establo cottage is just 700 euros per week or 110 euros per night for short breaks, up to the 21st December (21st to 27th December , 6 night Christmas break 750 euros) The perfect pre-Christmas getaway Snuggle up ...

03/11/2024

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02/11/2024

We drove up the mountains today, with the plan to do a hike but when we got to the top you couldn't see a thing. Nice to drive through some different scenery though, we especially enjoyed the different fungi and the chestnut trees and cork oaks, though sadly most of the forest around was eucalyptus which isn't native to Portugal or Spain (we do have eucalyptus in Spain too but an effort is being made to replant the native oaks) . Tiggy enjoyed the ride and a few short walks when we got out of the car to look at things, then we stopped at a beach on the way back which she always loves. Lily and Martin had to go to Nerja today so enjoyed a bit of beach time too, though the beaches are a mess after the floods, luckily for our region nothing like the devastation in the Valencia area. I saw this photo of a horse swept away in the floods today, which is actually from the Cartama area, not that far from us. The horse reminds me of Leo 😭. It doesn't bear thinking about, I can only imagine the horror of having our horses washed away. We are so lucky that we are not in an area that floods. Naughty Carlotta, Lily found the eggs she had put on the ground after collecting them from the chickens - Carlotta had completely covered them in gravel . Luckily they were all ok. You really need eyes in the back of your head with her 🥰

01/11/2024

On this day last year I was enjoying the sun by our pool and we had just started emptying it ready to re-grout. Today it has been wet and miserable here in Portugal but we made the most of it by taking Tiggy on a 2 hour walk, dodging rain and chasing rainbows. Lily and Martin made an effort for Halloween yesterday with a pumpkin and sweets for the guests.

31/10/2024

Happy Halloween from Bracken ❤️. Such a little cutie and look how cute Suzie and Annie look, all fluffy with the rain. Suzie is getting so big! Milly has obviously decided that the floor is too cold and the playmats are much nicer. Clive bought a little cactus from a recent farmers market, isn't the flower gorgeous! I heard a funny noise outside the kitchen door earlier and found a group of cattle egret sitting on the power line, they were so noisy, all having a chat 🥰. With rain on and off all day and builders working in the house next door every day with very noisy power tools we had to go out again so had another long walk around Lagos, it really is a pretty little town and lucky for us it's a 5 minute drive. Clive is missing his work shop - rainy days are meant for tinkering 🤣.

31/10/2024

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Our El Establo cottage is just 700 euros per week or 110 euros per night for short breaks, up to the 21st December (21st to 27th December , 6 night Christmas break 750 euros) The perfect pre-Christmas getaway Snuggle up ...

30/10/2024

We had rain over night and it was a bit chilly and grey this morning so we decided to visit Faro. It was quite pretty in the old town but not a lot to see really so we headed back and took Tiggy for a walk to the beach. We have been hearing the horrific news all day of the tragic floods in Spain , in particular Valencia where the death count is rising by the hour with so many people still missing. We can only think ourselves lucky that at home , though it has been a challenge for Lily and Martin to juggle riding and help guests to make the most of their stay, it could have been so much worse and being wet and cold , though not what you come to Spain for, is nothing compared to what some people are going through. The young guests have been making the most of spending time with the animals, despite the rain and I am sure that Matilda is enjoying having little friends to play with🥰

29/10/2024

It was a bit chilly this morning and spitting rain but we decided to brave a cliff walk to see the rock grottos in Lagos. Tiggy was a willing accomplice once we could coax her out of our bed 🤣. We had a look at the castle in the town before heading back for some lunch. With builders next door making lots of noise we drove into Luz to read on the beach for some peace but there was a freezing wind coming off the sea . We eventually admitted defeat and after a quick look at the church we picked up an Indian takeaway (what luxury, can't do that at home) and headed back to the house. We can't complain about the weather as it is so much worse in Spain where there has been terrible flooding and storms, worse on the coast fortunately but really not nice for Lily and Martin and our poor guests.

28/10/2024

Tiggy has had a fun day today. She started off by cheekily jumping on the bed this morning and burrowing under the covers with Clive 😁. She had lots of fun at the beach, chasing stones and digging holes. Then she posed for the sunset on the cliffs overlooking Luz ❤️. We also drove to Burgau (also known as Portugal's Santorini, which is definitely a huge exaggeration 🤣). We then drove along the coast to Sagres , the most Westerly point in mainland Europe. We walked around the fort and had a look at the harbour before going home for a cup of tea. I thought I'd drink it by the pool but the sun went in after 5 minutes 🤣. Tiggy took the chance to have a little swim though ❤️. Back home, Lily had a nice ride this morning and Matilda helped Papa with his new office. The sunsets are still as dramatic, clouds always make them even better. I was rather worried to see a forecast for home for tomorrow showing 41 mm of rain falling at 11am, the most I've ever seen on a forecast. Fortunately it seems it was an error as it is now showing around 6mm , phew! 🤣

27/10/2024

It was lovely to enjoy the extra hour in bed for the first time in years, with no animals to feed (apart from little Tiggy, but she seems to like her bed and as we get up earlier than most people anyway, even an extra hour was probably appreciated by her 🤣) . After a leisurely breakfast we took Tiggy for another long walk along the beach and then we went back to the beach for a bit of sunbathing and swimming. It's been a pretty lazy day really, finishing with a drink at the caravan site across the road from the house. Lily and Martin have had a busy day at home, doing the horses, then a ride, then driving over to Nerja again to do a same day changeover before coming back to do the horses again, I do find it hard to switch off when I know how much work there is at home! The weather hasn't been too bad at home with some sun but they did drive through hail just after leaving Nerja - typical that the weather has changed for the worse for our poor half term guests but there isn't a lot we can do about it. We have rain forecast for most of the latter part of the week here in Portugal too , it's the chance you take at this time of year I suppose. At least the Sierra Nevada ski resort has had a nice fall of snow ❤️

26/10/2024

We've had a few light showers today but apart from having to wait for a few minutes outside a shopping centre for the rain to ease we haven't been caught out in it and have had a lovely day. We went to the farmers market in Lagos this morning, lovely to see so many different vegetables locally grown. We were going to buy some tasty looking rustic bread but the queue was quite long and it was like the Rowan Atkinson scene from love actually , watching the woman very carefully and lovingly wrap each loaf in layers of tissue paper and string before choosing a flower to put under the string. We decided that we would be there for quite some time and gave up on buying bread 🤣. Clive did try some street food - a local delicacy of slices of pork in a roll. Lagos does have some pretty buildings , especially the tiled ones. We took Tiggy for a long walk on the beach this afternoon , just dodging a rain shower. She's a very quiet dog so we didn't notice while we were eating that she had taken one of her toys from her basket and chewed it up all over the rug 🤣. The weather back at home is very similar today I think, with sun and cloud, Lily sent this nice mountain photo (I must admit, I do miss the mountains 🥰)

25/10/2024

Back home Lily, Martin and the girls are doing a good job keeping everything ship shape. Matilda seems set on improving her tree climbing and raking skills and Carlotta is good at checking Sierra's water 🥰. Lily took the new guests or a ride this morning and has been practicing her new pool breathing skills from her recent course. We took little Tiggy for a long morning walk across the fields to the beach and then spent an hour or so beachcombing and checking out the fossils, the rock is very interesting. Later we drove out to a reservoir and a nearby woodland for another walk . Tiggy is getting very cheeky and likes to join me for an afternoon read 🥰.

24/10/2024

Happy 43rd wedding anniversary to us ❤️. We've had a lovely day so far celebrating. We started with an hour and a half walk along the cliffs with little Tiggy, then we went into nearby Lagos. It's a pretty little town with some quaint back streets. We had a light lunch at the marina. Clive was happy to get an I.P.A. loved this cute recycling octopus sculpture. Tiggy is keeping us entertained, hiding under the bed and sneaking up on the sofa for a cuddle. She is perfectly behaved though, such a little sweety. Sad to see that Portugal has the same problem with the cactus being eaten by grubs as we have, such a shame.

23/10/2024

We had our first lie in for as long as I can remember, with the hour time difference it was a bit confusing but we didn't get up until 8 which would have been 9 in Spain!. After a leisurely breakfast we took little Tiggy for a walk. We hadn't intended to go too far but she was determined to lead us down a particular track so we followed her and ended up at the beach. Good old Tiggy, we will be doing this walk most mornings now, a lovely way to start the day and Tiggy really loves the beach. We didn't have a ball with us so she seemed a bit confused, not wanting to go in the water until we started throwing stones and then found an old plastic plate which we used as a frisby. After walking home , past some loose horses, we took the Landrover down and were able to park right on the beach to have a swim. Well that was the plan until I realised that I hadn't packed my swimsuit 🤣. In a great stroke of luck we passed a charity shop on the way back to the house and I got a brand new swimsuit that fits perfectly for 2 euros! It is a shock that Portugal is a lot more expensive than Spain, we should have brought more food and drink with us , wine is about 3 times the price and most food seems to be double. The sunsets are almost as good as at home though , just without mountains 😍. Back at home Katie is making plans to foster this gorgeous little Podenco Maneto , the poor little thing has recently had pups and needs a home now that the pups are finding homes. She looks very sweet, hopefully she will be a good friend for Katie's dog Rolo. Lily took this amazing photo of a preying mantis eating a fly.

22/10/2024

We left a beautiful red sunrise behind this morning and headed for Portugal. Our first stop was lovely Tavira where Clive even found a cream tea! I love all the stork nests on pylons everywhere! We sampled our first Portugese beer at a little fishing village called Ferragudo before arriving in Prai de la Luz at our lovely house sitting home for the next 16 nights. We will be looking after this cute little Jack Russell called Tiggy ❤️. We don't have a mountain view from the house but there is a nice hill. Our host gave us some local gifts including these delicious fig and almond treats.

21/10/2024

What a beautiful day it has been. We trimmed Picasso's feet then did a ride for guests. Sierra and Fern were happy to sample the first sprouts of grass. We've ticked off all the last little jobs before our holiday tomorrow including fitting a heater in our kitchen in case it's cold when we get back in 16 days! The girls were very happy to have Lily home from her course in Germany and couldn't wait for an afternoon swim. We really do get stunning sunsets at this time of year, every night is a new show ❤️.

20/10/2024

After trimming Spirit's feet we took the girls to Iznajar to a classic car show. Matilda loved the colourful cars and those with picnic things on the roof. She also found a little motorbike just her size 😊. Carlotta takes after her grandad and liked the Ferrari, Landrover and Minis 🥰. After a lovely brunch at where I had the tastiest avocado on toast I think I've ever had and Matilda had a month's sugar supply in chocolate pancakes we got home to summer temperatures. The girls stripped off and played outside, Matilda was doing some repairs on her tricycle, after seeing all those cars this morning maybe she wants to be a mechanic 😁. Clive was determined to finish splitting the last of the logs while we checked up on what how Martin had got on with his new office in the old tack room while we were out.

19/10/2024

There was a beautiful pink sky early this morning when we did the horses and trimmed Sierra's feet. It turned into a lovely sunny day and the horses were very happy to be back on their mud paddocks. The secret garden guests left and I cleaned the apartment ready for the next guests arriving next week. The rock pool looked lovely and sparkly. We walked down to El Patio del Molino for lunch as they were having a Romería. The girls enjoyed seeing the horses and donkeys, though Matilda was worried about the horse ' all in its own ' , that was tied up the whole time away from the others. I was also worried about it as it clearly wanted to join the others at times and I was worried it was going to hurt itself, being tied to a solid pole. The girls enjoyed swinging in the rope chair, then Carlotta picked up her nappy bag and decided she was leaving 🤣. Matilda decided that she needed to go in the pushchair on the way home, don't blame her as it's up hill all the way. Grandad now has backache from carrying Carlotta on his shoulders. No fun getting old 🤣.

18/10/2024

The sky was very low on the mountains this morning when I took the dogs for a walk but we finally saw blue sky later and that seems to be the end of the rain Clive and I are rushing around ticking off jobs and organising things in preparation for our house sitting holiday in Portugal on Tuesday. Always so much planning to do when we go away but we will be away for a whole 16 nights, can't remember the last time we had a long holiday like that 🥰. Can't wait. We will be looking after a cute little dog called Tiggy too. The dogs made me laugh on the walk as there was a rock that had fallen on the track with the heavy rain and their reaction was as bad as the horses 🤣. Sad to see the newly laid sand tracks washed away too 😪. Our new big bin has a new home, a bit further up the road. Not sure how long the sand base will last though. Marmalade is spending too much time with the horses, he was rolling in the sand like one today ❤️. I looked after the girls this morning but found time this afternoon to move a pallet load of tiles from the car park into the building store - quite a workout. My arm is back to full strength now and has healed well, though it definitely isn't pretty!

17/10/2024

There were some incredible cloud formations today. Carlotta helped with the horses this morning but she still had the energy to pull all the books off the shelf in our kitchen. After a bit of TV time she did finally collapse, though she still held on to the fly swat🤣. I did a big batch cook to use up left overs and stuff in the freezer- three soups - carrot and coriander, roasted veg and couscous and mushroom and a big vegan chilli using Clive's chocolate habonero. I finished sorting the new tack room with a bit of help from Clive. He and Martin moved his old Landrover engine out of the old tack room ( don't ask, he may need it for spare parts one day 🤣) and Martin started digging a trench to run WiFi to what will now be his new office. Carlotta helped with the raking and the chickens thought they might find some worms ❤️

16/10/2024

The sky was different every direction you looked today and when the sun came out it was very hot. It was miserable when we did the horses this morning though and Clive had to dig channels out to stop the sand arena flooding into the paddocks. Annie brought little Suzie to see where she will live when she is a big girl - hopefully it won't be long now and she will join the others. Clive gave the pellet burners in the cottages a service ready for when they will be needed and the girls helped me clean El Establo ready for guests arriving tonight. They also went round to play with Katie and Rolo this afternoon, Rolo didn't look too impressed and Carlotta stole Katie's pasta after eating her own - she is a very good eater at the moment. Katie took this beatiful photo of seed heads at sunset last night and the lovely Dutch guest who left recently sent me this great photo of Olive stretching and a cartoonised photo of the farmhouse with a Hoopoe! (she was here to birdwatch, but she definitely didn't see a giant one!)

15/10/2024

The sky was quite eery this morning, almost like a tornado heading towards us, though fortunately no wind. The girls helped me clean the feed buckets then they escaped from the house with bare feet and legs to play with the hose , they are so feral 🤣. Aren't Bonnie and Twiggy so beatiful with their lovely big heads 🥰. Clive is happy that he has almost finished the firewood that has been sitting on the car park for years. Every time he got it cut up and moved we would get more from friends or neighbours so the pile never diminished. There is just a bit let that he can't fit in the log store that he has covered with a tarpaulin and there are a few big chunks to split with an axe. Martin also helped Clive to move the wooden pylons that have been sitting there for a couple of years down to the sand arena where some will be used to make a car port for the caravan and maybe we can use some for the tree house. I feel very satisified that I have finally finished mucking out the stable next to the new tack room, with some help from Lily and Clive this morning. It will be used for an emergency stable if we have a horse that is ill but apart from that will be an entrance to the tack room which is now finished , ready to put everything in. I feel very satisified that I managed to move everything out of the old tack room today too and cleaned all the shelving and cupboards ready to organise, it will be nice to have everything clean and tidy. I disturbed a big gecko when I moved a chest, poor thing.