May 2010: Wild Flowers!
We arrived in early May and discovered fields of wild flowers both on the hills above the villa and all the way down to the beach. In all our years of visiting Atlanterra we have never seen the hills and fields so densely and colourfully covered - it was like an Impressionist painting.
We were also eager to see the completed refurbishment of the two garden bedrooms. We hope guests will be as pleased as we are with the new cabinetry and beds as well as the new bathroom.
Before heading back to London, we had a chance to spend a day with Stephen Daly probably one of the best wild life photographers in the area. Stephen is a keen ornithologist and is extremely knowledgeable also about the history and topology of the Costa de la Luz. A few pics from our day......
Vejer Spring Festival
Vejer de la Frontera celebrated the end of spring Feria during our stay. Entire families come dressed in traditional costume. It was also a great chance to see the stunningly beautiful Andalusian horses which are ridden by old and young in a parade and in the ring.One of the riders (in the picture below) took his horse right up the pavement and rang the doorbell to impress his sweetheart.
Finally on our way back to Gibraltar and with the wind picking up we had a chance to stop and watch the kite surfers just by the Hurricane Hotel.
. January 2009: Escape to Sunshine
We love returning to Miramar after the holidays. It gives us a chance to set up the Villa for our guests and try to take a few of those Christmas pounds off with long walks on the deserted beaches. This January, the Costa de la Luz caught the tail end of the storms which had plagued Britain. The hillsides were bright green with more rain than usual and the waves were high enough for some competitive surfing. Last year we planted a number of fruit bearing trees in the garden and had more oranges, lemons and bananas than we ever imagined. The first bunch of bananas was a real treat to eat right off the stalk.
January blue skies create an almost magical light on our beach.
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Blog from September 2008 Trip to Miramar
Action packed...
This best describes our recent week at Villa Miramar. We have acquired a new toy for adults and kids alike... a new light weight blow-up kayak which is much easier to take down to the beach. We had ideal conditions for kayaking - gentle, rolling waves enabling easy access to the water but with sufficient
kick to give all kayakers a ride for their money. We made many forays over to Franco's bunkers to try the eddies between the bunkers and the beach. The water was crystal clear, and we could see why the local fisherman clamber far out on the rocks to catch dinner. Large sea bream were just below the surface and could be spotted easily from the kayaks.
The weather was perfect, and we decided to walk over to Bolonia to see the recently opened €4 million museum at the Baelo Claudia Roman ruins which is free to all European passport holders. The Roman ruins at Bolonia are said to be the best preserved site outside Italy. It really is a must. Allow an hour to hike through the pine forest and down the huge sand dune to Bolonia where we enjoyed a swim, some good lunch (towards the opposite end of the beach to the dunes) and a wonderful visit to the fascinating museum and ruins. It has to be said that walking (or sliding) down the dunes is far more 
fun than
walking up, so if walking is not your thing....drive. Interestingly, it takes about as long to drive as it does to walk!
fun than
The evenings brought some wonderful Costa de la Luz sunsets which we enjoyed either from the jacuzzi or the terrace at the villa or on the beach in one of the chirinquitos (beach bars) that have now closed for the season.
There was even a "last day of summer" celebration in the Roman fort in Zahara, complete with a local troupe of spirited flamenco dancers. In the garden at Miramar, summer's end also marks the blossoming of an unusual cactus plant that Pepe has nutured lovingly on the wall by the pool. It only flowers once a year for a few weeks,and the bright white flowers blossom in darkness and close at dawn.
Whales and Dolphins
At the end of the week, we went whale and dolphin watching with FIRMM in Tarifa. We were hoping to see orcas, but although the Moroccan and Spanish tuna fishermen were still in the Straits, it appeared that the orcas had left for their migration back up to Norway. We did, however, see several different dolphin and pilot whale pods, but the great excitement was to see a sperm whale as it "fluked up" ie lifted its tail clear of the water in preparation for a dive. We were glad not to be in the kayaks behind the immense shower of water that this created!
Since we had a 7:00 pm flight to London from Gibraltar, we left Miramar early to introduce our friends to some of our favourite sights in Gib. The clear skies ensured spectacular views from the top of the Rock. Even the Barbary apes appeared to be enjoying the clear views over the Straits and to Africa.
Blog from March 2008 Trip to Miramar
We are occasionally asked for additional photos of Miramar so we decided to start this "blog", having just returned from a week at the villa. The pictures were taken over Easter, and we would
encourage visitors to Villa Miramar to send us their favorites throughout the year so we can update the blog.We were lucky enough to have excellent weather (unlike the UK) with sunny, warm days for the most part and some fabulous sunsets and night skies. The garden is looking lovely with lots of bougainvillea in flower. Pepe, our gardener, is just starting to plant the vegetable garden, and this year is turning his hand not only to the "regular" vegetables of peppers, aubergines, lettuce, tomatoes and herbs but is also trying out potatoes. The lemon tree is laden with huge lemons, the oranges are not quite ripe but very plentiful and the recently planted avocado tree in front of the kitchen window is growing well, although it will not fruit for a while yet. We are hoping t
hat this year the banana tree will not only produce bananas (which it did last year) but that they will ripen sufficiently so that they can be eaten. Throughout our stay we had very clear views over to Africa.This picture was taken at the lighthouse. We were tempted to take the walk over to Bolonia but instead just went back and enjoyed the beach which we had entirely to ourselves..
The sunsets each night were really fabulous as you can see in the pictures below
We have bought some new, outdoors furniture for the terrace - a comfy sofa and chairs for coffee, drinks etc, as well as a new outdoors dining table for evening dinners.
The jacuzzi was put to good use although the swimming pool is still on the cool side
and with no one around we had, not only, the beach but also Vejer to ourselves when we visited it one afternoon.
This is a picture of the daily market in Barbate which we love and where, at all times of the year, there is an excellent selection of fish, meat and veg.
Do please send us any information/pictures for the blog as we would love to expand it further. We will update it regularly. This year, in addition to regular "special" birthdays, anniversaries etc, Miramar is also hosting its second wedding party. Please send pictures to or comments to Miramar@hotmail.co.uk or connect to http://www.villamiramarspain.com/
Best wishes from all at Villa Miramar
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