Villa Jardin is a typical Adalucian country house with whitewashed walls and terracotta floors. It comprises a good-sized lounge/dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms (two with a double bed and one with two single beds) and a bathroom with toilet, bidet, shower, sink and mirror. The property has mains electricity. Water is provided from a well. This water is adequate for bathing, washing, cleaning teeth, cooking and and boiling for making hot drinks. Cheap bottled mineral water for drinking is easily available from the several supermarkets in the nearby village of Gibraleon.

The modern kitchen has all-electric cooking facilities and the utensils and items necessary to produce any meal to the very best standard. The lounge has a log fire, is fully furnished and is equipped with an airconditioner, TV, Skybox and music centre. Spanish TV and UK TV and radio channels are available. Access to telephone and internet facilities may be made available by special agreement with the owner. Bedlinen is provided.

Meals may be eaten inside using the six-seater dining table or under the covered back porch/terrace which overlooks the villa's private swimming pool. From here there are magnificant views of the villa's orchard, the surrounding hills and the cultivated countryside.

The pool is approximately four by nine metres in size. The depth is about one and a half metres in the shallow end and about two metres at the deep end. A small portable charcoal-burning barbeque, table, chairs and sunloungers are provided for cooking, snacking, reading, dreaming, lounging and soaking up the sun or simply enjoying the exquisite tranqility of the picturesqe panorama. For just doing nothing in particular, getting away from it all, relaxing and 'chilling' out the villa is ideal.

The rural setting

Villa Jardin is set in about an acre of its own garden and cultivated land which has been carved out of the surrounding farmland. Its orchard has orange, lemon, pear, plum, peach, grape vines and other fruit trees. In spring the scent of their blossoms floods the house and fills every room with its aroma. A neighbour is permitted to harvest the olive groves located in the lower part of the land and also to use it for growing wheat.

Encircling the villa are olive groves of deep purple and undulating hills hugged by fields of wheat or swamped by an ocean of dancing yellow sunflowers. The landscape is punctuated by a patchwork of trees of various species and is dissected by a stream edged in tall bamboo. Bird life is abundant, especially during the migratory season when they can be sighted passing overhead. Occasionally a couple might drop in for a drink at the pool! Night and early morning skies are beautifully clear. Stars and their constellations are spellbindingly identifiable and can invoke a deep wonder. Sunsets and sunrises can be spectacular. The view from the villa of a rising sun fingering the distant church steeples in the village is truly enrapturing.

There is only one near neighbour. He is Spanish and he and his family live in the local village. The rural scene is therefore one of complete peace and tranquillity in an idyllic Spanish setting, broken only by the remote movement of tractors, mules or sheep for brief periods during the year.

But as rustic as the scene is, the villa is conveniently near urban and coastal centres.

Situated on the Costa de la Luz (the Coast of Light), the villa is a five-minute drive away from the village of Gibraleon on the N431. The distance can be walked in 25 minutes or biked in ten. The unspoiled beaches of the Costa de la Luz are around a 20 minute drive away and Huelva, the Provincial capital, can be reached in 15 minutes. Gibraleon and the villa are easily accessible

Access and transportation

By car the villa is about a one hour drive from either Faro or Saville airports. Both airports are served by regular and various low cost airlines such as Easyjet, Ryanair, Monarch, Thompson Fly etc. From Faro follow the E1 and directions to Espana and the A49 towards Huelva/Saville. Take junction 94, signed up as the route to Gibraleon oeste, to the N431. About two kilometres before arriving at Gibraleon and before reaching the road signs at the junction to San Bartolome and Tharsis, take a left hand turn on to the road signed up as the 'Camino de la Mata'. Approximately three-quarters of a kilometre along this road take the first dirt track on the left to Villa Jardin.

From Saville follow the A49 towards Portugal, turning right at the N431 towards Gibraleon. Skirting the village, cross the bridge over Rio Odiel and continue past the sign at the junction to San Bartolome and Tharsis. A kilometre or so past this sign take the first right on to the road signed up as the 'Camino de la Mata'. Approximately three-quarters of a kilometre along this road take the first dirt track on the left to Villa Jardin.

Although a hire car is recommended, it is possible to use local buses. Two buses a day run to and from Huelva and Faro. Buses from Saville airport run into the city from which frequent buses run to and from Huelva. From Huelva there are buses every hour or half an hour to/from Gibraleon from where it is possible to take a taxi or walk to the villa. Bus's run to all the local villages from Huelva and there are also national train and bus connections.

However, a hire car will enable convenient access to the local facilities.

Leisure activities

Walking: From the villa it is possible to explore the surrounding cultivated land by foot. And the old railway, within a few minutes walking distance, has now been converted into a dedicated walking track through a mixture of cultivated and unspoiled country with signs identifying the flora and fauna likely to be encountered. For the more energetic this path can be taken all the way to Ayamonte (around 45 kilometeres)! There are also other dedicated walking tracks in the local vicinity. A short drive away the fine beaches and coastal pine woodlands offer invigorating opportunities for walking and picnicking.

An hour's drive will take the really keen walker to the footpaths of the beautiful sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche national park. These treks through the mountains of northern Huelva province range from the relatively easy to the challenging. Maps are available giving full details.

Cycling: There is ample scope for cycling, an activity the Spanish are keen on, using the old railway or woodland tracks, or, if preferred the sealed roads.

Golf: Golfers have a choice of venues from between 20 to 40 minutes' drive from the villa. There are courses at Aljaraque, Nuevo Portil, Islantilla and Isla Canela for example, with more planned for the future.

Birdwatching: The Donana National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and just about hour's drive from the villa, is the most important natural reserve in Europe and birds flock here during the migratory season. Just a 15 or so minute drive away from the villa are the Odiel marshes, complete with visitors centre, a well-established stopping place for birds.

Ecosystems: Whether or not for birdwatching, the Donana National Park is well worth a visit. It comprises three ecosystems - marshlands, scrublands and forests - with associated and stunning varieties of species. Its sand dunes, used for filming parts of the film Lawrence of Arabia are an astonishing contrast. Fishing fleets from Huelva and Cadiz can be seen at work from the park's empty beaches.

Beaches: The whole length of the Costa de la Luz, from Cadiz to Ayamonte, is a series of wide and completely unspoiled beaches of white sand, peppered with pine and juniper trees. Punta Umbria is a traditional, and perhaps the most popular, beach for Spanish families. Within easy reach, if desired, are more secluded beaches that can be used for sunbathing or they can be walked for hours alongside an uncharacteristically gentle Atlantic Ocean. And there are nudist beaches, for example Nuevo Umbria in the Natural Reserve of El Rompido.

Horseriding: It is possible to go horsetreking, as a couple of local people hire out horses.

Sports: Gibraleon has its own sports stadium and municipal swimming pool as do most other local villages but Cartaya goes one better and has a waterpark and carting area as well as a sports complex - the kids will have great fun!

Other: Other possible activities include, for example, fishing, surfing and sailing. And there is a bowling alley in Huelva.

Shopping: Self catering can be fun, experimental and is made easy as Gibraleon has several supermarkets and a complete range of shops for the purchase of fresh food, whether bread, fruit, vegetables, meat and fish such as tuna, shark, cuttle fish, clams, shrimps, prawns, mussels, squid and trout etc. - all at relatively cheap prices. The short drive to Huelva city opens up a wider range of shopping possibilities. Huelva is renowned for its fresh seafood. Discovering and testing the delights of the municipal fish and vegetable market is a gastronomic adventure. And to wander the streets of Huelva's shopping district is a fascinating and very Spanish experience. The Huelva sierra is equally famous for its ham (jamon) and it is well worth a try.

Whatever item might be required can be purchased locally. Whether or not there is a wish to buy, browsing and meandering a way through the shoppers and traders of Gibraleon's Tuesday morning cheap clothing and footwear open market is a unique experience.

Shop opening times are generally between about 9 or 10 am to 1.30 or 2 pm in the morning and from about 4.30 or 5 pm to 8 or 9 pm in the afternoon/everning. Supermarkets are normally open all day from 10 am to 10 pm. Generally there is half-day closing on Saturday and all-day closing on Sunday. But beware! Fiestas are frequent. All work ceases on these days and folk fill the streets in anticipation of a good time. These are opportunities to join in the fun and enjoy the colour and gaiety of Spaniards at play.

Eating out: Any meal is a five-minute drive away but there is generally a very restricted selection for vegetarians. Breakfast (from around 6am in a handful of cafes) at any of the multitude of cafes/bars in Gibraleon typically comprises toast and coffee, tea or hot chocolate drink. Tasty tapas are available all day. Lunchtime (from around 1 am to 4 pm) is when the main meal of the day is generally taken. This might be chosen from a menu but the 'Meal of the Day' offers a very economnic three-course meal, bread and a drink costing from about six to nine Euros. The quality of these meals will vary from place to place and in some places they represent great value. Gibraleon now has a couple of excellent restaurants which open from around 9pm and which offers a commendable dinner menu.

The more adventurous however can make a short 20-30 minute drive to Huelva or the coast where pretty fishing village restaurants such as those in El Rompido offer delectable fish meals at very reasonable prices.

Health: Gibraleon has a number of pharmacies and dentists. There is also an optician as well as private doctors and a health centre in which general practitioners are available. An ambulance is based in the health centre and in an emergency will rapidly transport patients to the health centre or direct to any of the three major government hospitals in Huelva.

However, exploring the province and the Costa de la Luz beyond the immediate locality offers an exciting opportunity to uncover what is frequently referred to as 'the hidden Spain'

A voyage of discovery

Visit the village of Palos de la Frontera where the two caravels accompanying Christopher Columbus on his great voyage of discovery to the Americas were built and crewed. And the monastery of La Rabida, a must to visit and just a 10 minute drive from Huelva, has fascinatingly rich connections with Columbus and his voyage.

Explore the powerful economic and political British legacy with the province (the first Spanish football team was created in Huelva by the British) by visiting the Rio Tinto and Tharsis mines and walking the streets of the British-built Queen Victoria district and the restored Rio Tinto pier in Huelva or visiting the British House Museum in Punta Umbria . Take a ride on the aged British-built steam or diesel Rio Tinto Mines trains.

Soak up the engaging ambience of the limestone caves in Aracena (Grotto de Las Maravillas), reached after an hour's stimulating drive into the sierra, and walk to the hilltop site of the historic church and walls of the old fort to enjoy the panorama.

Wander through castles of Moorish or medieval Christian origin, wonderfully preserved and restored in villages such as Niebla (a 12th Century walled city), and lose yourself among the enchanting whitewashed coastal and sierra villages. Savour and wonder at the distinctly changing landscape as you climb ever deeper into the sierra. See cork being harvested and deer glide through the woods

Take a boat trip from Huelva to Punta Umbria or from Ayamonte (a 30 minute drive from the villa) up the Rio Guadiana to the pretty Spanish village of Sanlucar de Guadiana or the equally charming Portuguese village of Alcoutim. Or take the short ferry trip from Ayamonte to the Portuguese village of Vila Real de Santo Antonio and begin an exploration of the Portuguese Algarve.

View or participate in the myriad of fiestas and processions - uniquely traditional Spanish celebrations and cultural explosions of colour, feasting, song, dance and music. Experience first-hand the Andalucian passion for horses. And if so inclined see a bullfight or a first-class football match in Huelva.

The charms of this still relatively unknown and unspoiled Spanish province are endless and seductive to the open-minded hunter of things magical.