We first bought a villa in Spain about 20 years ago; we had lived in Peru and so spoke an amount of Spanish, and were looking for a holiday home in the sun, just a short flight from the UK, in a Spanish speaking area, where we could take our 3 young children. The southern coast of Spain was the obvious answer – it’s not called the ‘Costa del Sol’ for nothing! However we didn't want to be involved in the British invasion along the coast west of Malaga.
We soon decided on a villa just outside the village of Canillas de Aceituno, 50 minutes east of Malaga. It was perfect: in a beautiful setting; with its own pool and far enough away from neighbours not to have to worry about the noise the children made as they played in the pool all day long. We could also ramble over the hillsides, through orange groves and vineyards, visit the local farm and trek to nearby streams for a dip. The traditional whitewashed village of Canillas, just 2 minutes away, was full of charm and character, and the people there very friendly. Not only that, but the coast was just half an hour away, so we could still go down to the sea, water park, horse riding, go-carting etc and had lots of shops, supermarkets and restaurants available should we need them.
We called the villa ‘Bajo La Maroma’ (beneath Maroma) as it sits beneath Mount Maroma, the highest in that part of Spain. I’m happy to say, that we still own the villa and it too is available for holidaymakers when we and the family can’t use it. (See property 703736 on this site.)
However, as the children grew into teenagers, we realised that they’d soon be wanting a busier environment: the buzz of the coast with shops, bars, music and restaurants beckoned.