Was going to Spain from start to finish but now I, Luca have taken over

 The final day of house searching proceeds today & we are off to Sedella just above Valez-Malaga & as usual we will leave soon to look around early in the morning. We are seeing Juan at about 11.00 to 11.30am.

Yesterday was good, going back to survey the houses & area that were initially in my thoughts & Tim was again an excellent host.

The weather was sunny but cold in the shadows. This time we used his car as I think perhaps he had had enough of my faltering driving around the narrow country roads & even narrower little village streets. The excellent thing about Tim is that although he wants his properties let or sold he showed no signs of pushiness (or is that an excellent salesman technique?).

For anyone wanting to view this area I recommend him highly. 

The three properties did not lose any of their initial "gloss" & are very much in my thoughts.

I think though that although I am even more set on coming to Spain I'm not certain that Richard has the same intensity as I. Must get it right for my wife as well.

When getting up this morning the sun was shining & from inside it looked like a super start to the day, but going out onto the terrace a chill wind spoiled it all. The beach was even cooler!

So its back to re-visit the places already viewed (& liked) & maybe to take a view photographs to see what a second view does for me. Tim has consented to go with us again & to show us a restaurant recommended to him. He will also show us some spectacular of the sierra's. He's a good egg Tim, although I am aware he's trying to sell me something.

Can't make up my mind whether to buy a dongle or not as I've never had any dealings with them. At the moment I am relying on "The Boat House" 50 yards away or Hotel Rui Monica which I can use very early or late at night for their hotspots.

So the second round of house hunting today commenced, with the weather still being unkind, although the rain had not abated it was not now torrential.

We left Nerja at 9.00am to keep our appointment with Tim Shepstone at 11.00am. We knew it would only take us about 55 minutes to drive up to Acequias where we were due to see him at his home but it would give us time to survey the village & area.

Arriving at about 9.45am we parked up & were really surprised at the really beautiful little village of about 100 inhabitants approximately doubling in the summer.

50 minutes later I decided to call Tim to tell him we had arrived. It transpired we had parked outside of his Villa & he directed us through the old tall gates to his door, where a big beaming Tim was waiting to greet us. This was so different to yesterday’s indifference & my optimism was repairing. After sitting for a while chatting over his home made delicious coffee we were beginning to realise that Tim was so much more than an “Estate Agent “.

“So”, he said, “it’s time to look at some properties” & he then proceeded to take us next door  to a super old semi detached rebuilt house which was full of character which was rather large & rambling, but still within his garden area. He told us he was the one who had effected the rebuild, as he had the one adjoining which was also for rent soon in the future. (There were some Danish people in residence at the moment). They were quite good but, Umm maybe we were too close to the owner, or perhaps was that a good thing?

“Right, let’s drive to few villages” he said, so we piled into my hire car & off we went to Beznar to look at another rather large house. Three bedrooms, two very large patios, but no gardens, front or back, and only 5 metres from the road, perfect parking & a superb house but a couple of things not right. Tim owned this house as well and had yet again renovated it from a shell. Very unusual, he was telling us all the bad things about the houses as well as the good. Tim’s esteem was rising all the time.

So off we went to Jardines de Pinos & after again negotiating the small & narrow windy streets came across an almost new but small complex of 4 houses & 4 apartments. They were delightful but 4 of the eight properties were for holiday purposes. He had built these too, properly double glazed with full insulation; they had satellite television with full internet access. The patios & views over the reservoir were quite superb, we were 900 feet above sea level (something over 300 metres).

Finally we drove to Pinos where he proceeded to show us a superb 5 bedroom Villa, but with two of the bedrooms closed off for use as a separate apartment with bathroom & kitchen (if required). He had rebuilt this also from a shell & was very proud of it, no wonder I’d have been proud too! Loved this house but would it be too big!

So we drove back to his Villa where he invited us to climb up the hill to overlook the village. We eagerly agreed to this as the rain had abated some about 30 minutes ago. More surprises, as we walked through the village he pointed out the houses he had either rebuilt or renovated, & the owners or tenants of them, quite amazing. 50 houses he told us he had renovated in 20 years.

On top of the hill Tim pointed out all the surrounding villages, main roads & the reservoir to us.

Back down the hill it was time to drive back to Nerja, why does it take less time to drive back?

So...... food for thought, we had looked at seven houses of which three are well within my thoughts. Things are looking better all the time; we just need the weather to change now, not looking at anything over the weekend but we’ll look again on Monday.

Well we arrived at Malaga airport on Ryanaire 6 minutes early (as normal) & were collected by the car hire (Marbosol) as promised. No queue & we saw the rep immediately. We then had the usual fencing dual over the extra that they wanted to charge for the excess & In the end I think it swung my way & for €60 I got the notorious cover plus no charge for the full tank of petrol as long as I took it back full. Happy with that we wended our way to Nerja arriving at our rented apartment 55 minutes later. Unfortunately the apartment does not have a hotspot so were bereft of using the internet.

After a rather restless sleep I heard the Shower at about 7.00pm. At 7.30 ish we were walking along the beach and we both thought nothing could be better.

Then it happened, after coming out of the supermarket where we stocked up with the necessary provisions we felt spots of rain. Eating our breakfast & drinking our tea on the terrace the heavens opened, & I mean really opened the rain was torrential & has been so all day. We were not due to see the Estate Agent until 11.00am so we decided to drive up through Frigilliana & up into the beautiful but misty hills. The scenery if not the weather was stunning.

I thought then to call the agent to confirm our appointment. Oh wow, Spanish culture ..... after 6 attempts someone answered the phone, the girl I was due to meet was off ill today but if we went at 12.00 we could see someone else. Why do we British remain loyal? After walking past about half a dozen Estate Agents we got to the Agency. At least the Irish girl was very nice & accomodating she didn't have the personal touch. She however promised me that Fiona (who the original appointment was with would call in the afternoon, sadly so far the call has not been received.

So we looked at a few places in & around Nerja on our own, nothing was remotely successful, so after a late superb lunch we popped  into the Rui Monica Hotel adjacent to us where I then decided to mask my obvious disappointment by writing my blog.

Still we'll try not to be to disheartened, dust ourselves down (could be dry ourselves down). & try again tomorrow.

Watch this space up around Sabella tomorrow.

 Less than two days now before Richard & I return to Malaga & on to Nerja. My wife this time is staying home to look after her own business so I am off the leash. (Nah not really!!).  I have a super relationship with the owner of the apartment we are renting for a week, the hire car is sorted, boarding tickets printed (with correct details) & everything is buttoned down as far as I know.

On Thursday morning we meet an Estate Agent in Nerja & look around the immediate area for properties, (remember we are looking for 2 places, one for Richard & of course the other for my wife & myself).

On Friday we travel up to Acequias to meet with another agent to look around that area, to include Beznar, Murchas, Pinos & Melegis. We visualize that this will take up the whole day.

I have taken the advice of cleverer people than me on this forum & have kept back the weekend to look again at not only the properties we initially liked, but to look at the surrounding areas, looking for any anomalies.

Also to pinch a few hours of "holiday"

On Monday we go back to to meet another really nice sounding guy to look around Sedella, El Borge I'm certain he will be as good as he sounds etc. The properties on the internet look perfect for our needs.

IF we don't have anything by then, (Heaven forbid my hopes are dashed!) on Tuesday we travel again around the the north of Axarquia to further survey places.

We then return to Birmingham, England on Tuesday night, hopefully with dates firmly fixed for when we will return to Spain on a  permanant basis.

What a buzz, the adrenalin is certainly running high.

 In middle England now, the weather is rapidly deteriorating & one no longer ventures outdoors without a warm weatherproof coat. The nights are cold & dark & I feel very pessimistic about the weather for the next  5 or 6 months.

 It seems such a long time since I wrote my last episode & I feel so frustrated that things seem to me to be going so slowly & except for an awful lot more of preparatory work am not much further forward to realising my dream than a few months ago.

 My redeeming consolation is that I travel to Spain later this month armed with a whole load more knowledge than I had when I was last their in July.

Looking back now, the idea I had that I would just fly to Spain, see something & sort it within a few days was at the best optimistic.

However, I now know the area I want to look at  which is Axarquia, a fairly large area I know, but only a small percentage to where I was looking at previously.

 I have arranged to meet several estate agents & owners over a three day period & will hope to have secured something then.   Of course with my mate with me who is also looking for a place think we may have a stronger bargaining power.

 I cannot deny that I feel truly optimistic of getting a property this month & although the excitement of returning to Spain has not gripped me yet I'm certain that it will.