2014 turns into 2015, parents’ house is finally sold before Summer and Jill’s daughter Sarah is about to deliver our first grandson! Family first, our house hunt in Vejer can wait until Spring 2016 or so we think at the time.
I’m surplus to requirements for a week in September while Jill helps out with the new-born Noah. As it happens, my daughter, Jessica, has a little time on her hands so we decide on a week’s holiday together, but where. I’ve always wanted to take Jess to Morocco and closer to home I fancied walking some of the Jurassic Coast. I was also keen to get Jess’s views on the Costa de la Luz and that’s where we ended up – Jess was keen to practise her Spanish. We quickly booked flights to Gibraltar and into a small apartment in Vejer old town, close to the castle and with a lovely terrace view.
Coincidentally, Jill had an email from our friendly, local estate agent in Vejer, recommending three properties to us. My instinct was this was a holiday not a property hunt and Jill and I would have plenty of time to do a thorough job in the coming Spring. However, Jill thought I should take a look so Jess and I agreed to spend a morning with the agent. One property was delightful but wrongly configured and damp. The second was small and in my view over-priced. The third was interesting.
It looked quite like a property Jill and I had viewed briefly on our most recent visit to Vejer. Checking some old photos with the new blurb showed the same kitchen! However, the rest of the house and roof terrace had been transformed by the owner’s son, who was an interior designer. The family had moved to La Noria and were selling up, letting the house on AirBnB successfully over the Summer. The transformation was impressive! Décor and furnishing in the living area had been brightened up but in a Spanish style. On the first floor some clever partition shifting had created a second bathroom and made all three bedrooms accessible from the corridor – much more practical and a big improvement on having to walk through one bedroom to get to another. To cap it all the roof terrace had been fitted with a block built seating area and the walls had been subtly lowered to open up the view across to Vejer old town.
As I’m looking around I beginning to think, ‘what’s not to like?’ A decent kitchen adjoining comfortable, spacious lounge area, three bedrooms, an external storage space, no obvious damp and a truly stunning roof terrace with Summer kitchen as a bonus. I’m now firmly stuck on the horns of a dilemma. This house fits the bill, I’ve got the funds and there is no knowing if anything better will come along in Spring. However, I was keen that Jill and I do the house hunting together. Thank heavens to the internet and Skype. I take lots of photos and talk the situation through with Jill. She likes what she sees and is enthused too! The asking price is over budget but we agree to make an offer we can afford and then Jess and I enjoy the rest of our holiday.
We hike in the Alcornocales mountains, walk the La Breña cliff-tops and spend time on the wonderful beaches at El Palmar and around Trafalgar. We also enjoy exploring Tarifa and wandering the streets of Vejer. I’m secretly delighted that Jess loves the Costa de la Luz too.