What can I say…. it’s been hard work and it’s given me more grey hairs than I like to admit to but, we have achieved our goal and can now open the doors of Cuevas de la Paz to our guests.
When we purchased our own casa cueva we did not intend to buy anything else. We had (and still have) lots to do to transform our large cave into a home and a separate holiday let. However, whilst sitting with a cup of coffee, up pops the bargain of a lifetime on my Facebook timeline . The selling price had been dropped dramatically and we had no hesitation in wanting to know more. We quickly arranged a viewing for the next day knowing that others would be interested to. We had been determined not to rush into anything but, once viewed, we soon realised that these caves were ‘too good to be true’ at the reduced price. They were full of artifacts collected within the farming region and with a little TLC could be up and running quickly. Once we had looked over each cave twice we both decided to take a risk. We jumped in with two feet and the caves went off the market.
There are many quirky things in these caves but one ‘adornment’ in particular has people coming up with lots of ideas! One cave has two iron rings above the bed! We were told by the agent that these were used for the animals when the caves had been shelters for the local goats. We will leave you to decide whether that is a true fact or an addition made by a previous owner for other uses!
Our next decision was whether we left the caves as they were, (already a going concern but being trueful, they were dark, cluttered with various items and not that appealing), or should we give the caves a makeover. After several conversations with my loving accountant husband it was decided to start with plastering (yeso) the lot rather than patch the walls up! We knew that this would give a cleaner and a more pleasing look to the interiors. Once you start looking around you find other things to do don’t you? – well we did!
The large expanse of barren car park appeared to be a waste of land. So we decided to make a smaller car park at the top end with its own gated entrance and the rest of the area into a walled garden and seating area.
Then there was the bedding, toasters, towels, patio area and how about making the store room into a new gym. To cut a long story short we have spent more than we intended to but, isn’t that always the way?
Gym? Well why not. Some people do like to ensure their fitness does not deteriorate during their holidays! We have tried to cater for most tastes with 5 different machines – treadmill, rowing machine, bike etc and a small set of hand weights.
The immediate outside area has been stripped of its tangled ivy and replaced with seats. We have added a budha or three to give a calming and relaxing feel to this outside area. It is now an ideal place to sit with a morning cup of coffee.
We are now happy with the new revamped look of the caves and the area they sit in and any further work can be completed when and if. I need to get my hair coloured and my back mended before we do anything else!
The area we live in is varied and beautiful with great walking paths, magnificent lakes that we have around us and old abandoned caves to explore. It is truly beautiful and so vast – you will have to return again and again to see it all!
To see the other transformations, especially of the interior of the caves, please take a look at the Cuevas de la Paz website. www.caveholidays.com Any questions please do not hesitate to ask.
Thank you to all our friends and family who have given us encouragement and offered help during this time. It has been much appreciated and we will never forget you.