If you looking for the no-frills, authentic experience of the Alpujarra of old,
in a beautiful rural spot, this is the place.
For peace and tranquillity, away from it all, Puerto Juviley is hard to beat.
Life here in the tiny hamlet is lived much as it always has been. The villagers
still plough their land with mules and the women do their washing in the river.
There is no mains electricity, there are no shops or bars. The church opens once
a year - for the fiesta of their patron saint. Walk along by the cane and bullrushes
down by the river and you almost feel like you are in Mexico, rather than Spain.
This
cottage used to be part of a "parador", or inn, catering to travellers
along the Camino Réal (Royal Road) from Granada to Almería. Before motor roads
were built - just before the Civil War - this pass was the only way through the
mountains to the coast. Mules, horses and donkeys, sheep, goats and pigs on their
way to market bedded down here for the night along with their owners.
Fear not, you can choose your own bedfellows! The house itself is old and unpretentious,
very simply furnished but clean, well-swept and with more character than a Cervantes
classic. Lighting is by solar power and candles, but there is piped water, hot
and cold, although you will still need to fetch drinking water from the spring
by the river.
The stairs are massive, not for anyone with wobbly legs, and
in order to get to the second and third bedrooms upstairs, you will need to pass through the first bedroom.
But here you will sleep well, the crickets singing down by the river to accompany your dreams.
The one kilometre track down to Puerto Juviley is steep and winding, a bit eyebrow-raising
in places but quite passable in an ordinary car. Parking is below the village
and a steepish path leads up to the house. The English owners live a little further
up the lane.
Certainly not luxurious, but for anyone who enjoys the genuine atmosphere of an age almost forgotten, it's a lovable, delightful place. The terrace spaces are really nice and there is a wealth of nature and wonderful countryside all around to explore. Children love it, and adults too.
