Finca Los Llanos

Painting Holidays

by amapola66

Although we didn't partake, Inspector Leaf and I definitely felt inclined to paint during our visit to Capileira. Below is a link to organised painting holidays there. Acommodation is in Finca Los Llanos (see my hotel tip). being that Capileira is situated so perfectly for painting and has the prfect chilled out, friendly vibe , I can think of no better place to spend a week painting, drawing , taking photographs and writing etc...A great spot to study, surrounded by natural inspiration and without the distractions of the rat race. The quality of light and surrounding views are superb, the village has enough bars and retsuarants for a short stay and even boasts a couple of art galleries.

The long and winding road...

by amapola66

"The road to Capileira"

After waking up at 3 am to catch the 6 am Monarch flight to Granada, 'Inspector Leaf' and I grabbed our hire car and headed down the highway out of Granada and into the Lecrin Valley.

First stop on our mini road trip, was Lanjarron, then a quick cana in Orgiva followed by the long windy climb up to Capileira.

After so little sleep the road seemed rather daunting with large drops on each side and often breaks in the crash barriers, however, the wonderful views easily made up for the nervous drive, it is absolutely beautiful up there.

As everywhere in Spain at the moment, new road surfaces are being laid and new roads being built left right and center, you really don't need a 4 x 4 and our little Purgeot easily made the trek.

Capileria itself (when we finally reached it!) is a pretty, charming little place surrounded by chestnut and fruit orchards and with the lovely sound of little natural springs bursting out and trickling down the mountainside. It's the second highest village in the Alpujarra, so it boasts spectacular views whichever way you look.

We were heading for Hotel Catifalarga who boast a 'surfaced road' up to their accomodation (hmmm!) and an evening of flamenco (Thursday nights). We were greeted by the charmingly eccentric Luis who told us he was fully booked - this was not in the plan! The problem was, we didn't have a plan - we were on a road trip and we hadn't booked anywhere, just going where the mood took us. It seemed that Hotel Catifalarga only had 4 rooms and a small apartment, all fully occupied that evening. We explained that we wanted to see the flamenco there that evening and he said no worries to come along around 10 pm even though we weren't staying. He recommended Finca Los Llanos (see my hotel tips) 5 mins down the hill, which had also been on our list of possibilities, so all was well.

We had a really fun short stay in Capileira. If you don't mind the long windy road up to the village, I would highly recommend it as a place to unwind, take in nature at its best, paint, write, ride, handglide and all such things...best of all, just do nothing and enjoy the being in such a place for no other reason than being alive.