A friend of mine, Amanda Hamilton, runs a boutique B+B in Cordoba, Iznajar to be exact, if you look online you will find it
here. She has written an article for the Website
www.womeninspain.com and I thought it might light your fires.
"I'm the owner and manager of Casa La Celada, my beautiful guest house, micro hotel and B&B on the outskirts of stunning Iznájar in Córdoba, Andalucia. I am also a published artist and I practice healing and reflexology in my "spare" time.
Having had a 15 year dream to live in Spain, alongside a violent and drug infested marriage, the thought that I would ever realise my Dream seemed like a stupid pie in the sky idea. But with a lot of support from family and friends and many court cases later, I departed the shores of England on 12th May 2006 - ironically my wedding anniversary, with my then six year old son, a motorhome packed to the hilt, and a lot of hope in my heart.
We spent our first year in a mountain village called Rubielos de Mora, in the Teruel area of the Aragón province - about an hour and a half from the beautiful city of Valencia. But it wasn't our "home". We were strangers, and worse still, I was a "loose woman" - no husband to reduce the threat perceived by the locals. It was time to move on.
So I packed up our lovely motorhome again, sold and gave away probably 70% of my possessions, and we headed south towards Andalucia, finally stopping in Cazorla after many kilometres and a lot more adventures. Then, when my son went to spend August 2007 with his father, I spent the first two weeks of my August paragliding, canyoning, and exploring the vast province of Andalucia in a tiny little hire-car . and I started to fall in love.
Within days I found Iznájar. Iznájar comes from the Moorish and means Happy Castle - and it truly is a happy castle - teetering atop a huge rocky outcropping that juts out into the vast lake called the Embalse de Iznájar - 999,000 hectolitres of water when full . and my heart was stolen for good.
Within a matter of days I had found a property that would be perfect for us - Casa La Celada - right in the heart of a gorgeous little white sleepy Andalucian village called La Celada with it's own tiny school, shop and divine eight sided church, just 2km from Iznájar itself. I didn't want to buy within the village of Iznájar because, magical though it is, it is all hills and very narrow streets which means that the views are limited mostly to your neighbours' windows unless you are lucky to be able to afford a lake view, to say nothing of the damage you'll do to a car while you get used to the tiny roads. Instead, I have the delight of seeing Iznájar every time I need the bank or post office - a drive that thrills me every time I make the journey.
And our house in La Celada is HUGE! We have five, arguably six bedrooms, three of which are on the ground floor with luxurious bathrooms - it was immediately obvious to me that I could set myself up as a B&B Guest House owner, work from home where I could also paint, and therefore be "there" when my son came home from the local school and be a Mum. WHAT a luxury after the six jobs I held down in the UK!
My son is totally accepted, loved and integrated into our community, as am I. Thankfully we can both speak Spanish which in my view makes the difference between surviving and "going Native". He can play outside in the street on his bike, roller blades, or playing football with the other children without me ever having to have concerns, and I can work on marketing and PR, painting a new commission, practicing healing and reflexology knowing that he is safe, loved and happy in our sleepy little village.
And when we need "action", we are an hour's drive from three of the most important cities of Andalucia! To the South we have the beautiful city of Málaga and the Costa del Sol beaches, to the East we have Granada and the Science Museum, ski resort and the world famous Alhambra Palace, and to our North we have possibly my favourite city - Córdoba - once the capital city of Europe (a LONG time ago) - absolutely steeped in history, flamenco and beautiful winding streets festooned with flowers during May when the huge fiestas begin.
And speaking of fiestas - well Spain is famous for them! A long siesta in the afternoon prepares you for a night of revelry, paella, local sangria and a lot of dancing and games. The Spanish really do know how to party and have welcomed us into their party fold with open arms - I couldn't have possibly asked for more.
But it does get better. House prices were great when I bought here enabling me to buy a second house which has the most exquisite views over the huge Lake and our mountain range, the Sierra Subbética. So my longer term dream is to bring this lovely but abandoned house to the reaches of people who want even more than Casa La Celada offers - I will renovate it so we have little cottages around a huge pool with the view that you could happily die gazing across ...
And when I consider that just six years ago a doctor put me on tranquilisers to survive my marriage, and I used to hide under tables when it was all unbearable, and I look at the successful, motivated, happy and dynamic woman I have become, I say one thing : Follow your Dreams, and NEVER be afraid to make changes - If I can do it, ANYONE can .."
