The first time we ever drove to the house on our own, in a hire car, we simply turned off the main road, followed the rough track past a few houses, and set off downhill through the olive grove. We were confident we would recognise the way. It was October 2007 and we had last visited in August. Thankfully the earth was dry and rock hard. We followed a straight line, between the olive trees, trusting our memory that the valley was somewhere vaguely below us out of sight. Somehow we negotiated the holes and cracks in the dry land, without damaging the hire car.
The track is rather different now. To enable 365 day access we improved the section which, during the January rains can be the slickest and muddiest, with hardcore and concrete [below].
The more easily navigable sections of track [below], we simply lay down gravel which evens out the bumps and adds a little grip.
We took a deep breath and made the improvements after our first winter, when the rain hammered down and visitors were unable to reach us without driving 4×4 vehicles. Our predecessors at the house had learned the hard way – the rough track above the house had literally washed away during a storm in 2004 [below] – and we were determined to learn from them and not wait for another storm to do its worst. So we carried on improving the track where they had left off.
el coche de alquiler – the hire car
cuesta abajo – downhill
agradecido/a – thankfully
en línea recta – straight line
vagamente – vaguely
That’s great work you’ve done there! I remember Spanish storms, they can be very sudden and destructive (and affect also the electricity supply, I had several burnt computers and game consoles to prove it 🙂
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Thx Antonio. Yes electricity can fluctuate, we have our own solar electricity supply and have circuit breakers on all important appliances. We learned the hard way! SD
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You have done so much improvement on your home, but I never before thought about how you got there. So your track requires negotiating a bit of a trek. The new track looks great. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
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That’s why the house is so quiet and the valley is secret! SD
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