Gafares
Initially, the village of Gafares was composed of little farms which practiced terrace agriculture. The river flowing in the middle brought the water needed for the crops. This river unfortunately dried out over the years and today, it only gets its flow back on days of heavy rain. As a result, slowly farmers left the region and houses fell in ruin.
Casa sol y luz
We are a French couple with Spanish roots, and have wanted to have a radical change of life after years of busy city life.
We fell in love with a steep lot with a gorgeous view and three little ruins, that they have partially conserved. We dreamed about building a house there that would welcome in a family atmosphere all those who want to escape a sometimes too busy life and want to explore another facet of the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata, wilder and less touristy than what the villages on the coast offer, especially during the summer.
This was a real challenge, considering there was no drivable way up the mountain to get to the lot.
We built a house with a classic white Andalusian style, bright and embellished with pergolas and individual patios that allow guests to have unobstructed views.
The pool was built on an old terrace uphill from the house, which is out of the view. This emplacement makes you feel like you’re swimming in the middle of the mountains.
Eco-friendly house
This house is eco-friendly; it only relies on solar energy, which partly inspired its name, Casa Sol y Luz (the house of sun and light). 30 solar panels provide electricity for the house, and are backed up by a generator if the skies are cloudy, which rarely happens!
Water is delivered by truck from the Sierra Nevada mountains. We are kindly asking our guests to use it in an eco-responsible way, in this region where it is such a scarce resource.
This eco-friendly house doesn’t have air conditioning, but it was built with hollow bricks, as to conserve coolness. Part of the house was also built right up against the mountain, an Andalusian way of keeping the house cool. Additionally, every room has a ceiling fan.
For those who don’t know the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata, it is noteworthy to say that the temperatures are not as high as in Seville, or even Grenada. In the summer, it’s usually between 28 and 35° with breeze from the sea cooling the atmosphere.
The construction of Casa Sol y Luz was completed in 2019 with the last finishing touches during winter 2019-2020.
