Day 14 - Orgiva Community

With everyone back from Etnosur having had a great time, we spend a last morning at Orgiva getting ready and chatting with Ras, Pixie, Vicky and Eddie.

Ana enjoying a last dip in the Pixieland "alberca"

Orgiva is an area which has attracted many “alternative” types. Some live on private land in huge communities of over 200 people, where there are no rules, which has resulted in nothing really advancing, to the point that with all those people they have not yet got their toilets and other basics sorted out - when enthusiastic people arrive here, they soon lose the oomph as they get affected by the general laissez-faire virus...

Others have created more structured organizations such as the Valle de Sensaciones (in this case German-run), which we have been very kindly invited to but we unfortunately cannot visit although it sounds good, as they are away preparing and participating in Etnosur.

And yet others like Ras and Pixie have taken on the stewardship of their own piece of land, trying to integrate with the locals, and also trying to strengthen the network of good people who are dotted around, and who make up in Orgiva a community in the sense in which Danny and I agree on: a network of like-minded while multi-faceted people, who share views about the health of the planet and our effect on it, but who each have their space to “play with” to suit their personal views and tastes, while sharing resources, ideas and labour when required. For example, there is an abundance of organic farms organised in an association who have together bought a shredder for all to use (and turn garden clippings into mulch). Also, they have teamed up to get their olives turned into beautiful oil.

Pixie kindly shows us around the neighbouring Steiner school, for whom she does the accounting. No mean feat, as this school is riddled with debt and crippled by various practical aspects, like the lack of running water and little official support, plus other more inmaterial ones, such as the difficulty to reach agreements amongst the parents, who are from many different countries, “alternative”, and therefore each with their own personal views. Knowing that a school is the staple of a community, and with the support of the Spanish Steiner association, Pixie is working hard to try to revive this school which held 60 kids in its hey-day within its amazing facilities: seven yurts and a composting toilet, within two large fields and with the mountains as backdrop! What a dream location!

Hearing about the problems involved in getting strong-minded people to agree, be practical and commit; and then in getting Steiner-trained teachers in the area; and in sourcing the labour and funds necessary to maintain the facilities, we cannot help but encourage Pixie whole-heartedly and thank her for her vital work. If anyone reading can help in any way, whether with funds or teachers, please do consider supporting Pixie! Let us know, we will put you in touch with her.

We leave Orgiva laden with delicious oil from Pixie and Ras's ancient trees and dried fruit that is better than any confectionery, feeling inspired and with the strong feeling that we will be coming back this way...

After all, we heard through the grapevine that this whole area may soon be declared Pueblo Ecológico by the Spanish government! It certainly has many of the right ingredients...

And on to Granada city! It's hard to leave this beautiful bubble we have been in, but we are excited about discovering Granada and its secrets...

Wary of driving around and parking up in a big city, we head for the municipal campsite and park up there. Suddenly our little mobile home which sat so comfortably in Orgiva seems a little displaced...

We get our party hats out and hit the town and its wonderful tapas bars, enjoying night-time views of the Alhambra from the old Muslim quarter of Albaycín. This is one place we have to try to get to tomorrow!

Day 13 - Golden Waters

Following the indications given to us by Ras, with alluring promises of finding a “golden river” and “the best fountain in the universe!”, today we go off on a trek to explore the valley below the town of Pitres, up in the heart of the Alpujarras. Here, ancient trees and stone-built settlements cling to the side of the mountain, their roots entwined in the history of the Alpujarras... When the Moors were beaten out of Spain and had to leave the famous final bastion of the Alhambra in Granada, their king begged to be given some land for his people to take refuge in. They were granted the Alpujarras. Life must have been hard in this arid, extreme-weathered series of peaks and valleys, but the Moors built these houses and irrigation systems that have stood the test of time – long after the inhabitants themselves were finally thrown out of Spain by the Reyes Católicos. How much the Catholic Isabel and Fernando have influenced the history of Spain!

For us, after a breakfast with a view, this is a day to explore the Moorish walkways and waterways, to let our footsteps follow those of ancient men and women, drinking from the many water sources dotted along the steep walk.

Starting off in Pitres, we are amazed to come across what is truly a “golden river”:

The mineral content of the water is so high, that the waters are sparkling and all they touch is a rusty golden colour! We slurp some of this metallic water, having been warned to drink only a little as, while beneficial, it can be too much for the organism to absorb...

Our next stop is the old village of Atalbéitar, where every corner of the narrow streets is picturesque and misterious.

While stopping to refresh at the village fountain, a group of men on handsome Spanish-Arab horses ride into the village. Even the few locals all come out to their doors to watch the elegant sight of these noble animals clip-clopping up the cobbled stones.

The horsemen gather in the small village square...

In true AnaD-style, she graciously receives and accepts the men's invitation to ride one of the horses, who is made to dance in the small stone square...

Even Anita wants a go!

We continue our walk following the Aguamarga route, and come across a truly fantastic fountain. This water is naturally carbonated, and sometimes bubbles and spits as it flows. Today it is calm, but when we try it.... wow! It's like drinking soda water, incredibly refreshing, and the taste it leaves behind just makes you want to drink more and more....

Danny feels totally connected with this place:

We fill up our bottle with this special water that comes from the guts of the earth, and continue down to reach the village of Ferrirola. Another amazingly picturesque little village, from where we make our way back up the valley along the other route which we have been told is even more beautiful. Every corner of the camino is a discovery!

We soon come across what is called the Era del Trance, which is a stone-paved (restored) old thrashing circle, which hangs on the side of the mountain, and where one can imagine women some would call witches gathering under the moon... This is magical...

The stone Era del Trance in its setting:

One feels at home in this witches' land:

Up the path, and at the only crossroads where we could have got lost, the five horsemen reappear and point us in the right direction - synchronicity! We find a beautiful spot in the cool forest by the flowing golden river and devour the picnic Danny prepared earlier... Yum!

You will be glad to know this is an area where humans and nature interact beautifully - although we did find the odd bits of rubbish, which seasoned greenhearts cannot help but retrieve!

Back up where we started, after jumping into every stream along the way, and as we leave Pitres, the horsemen appear once more to wave us goodbye as we drive away...

In the neighbouring valley of Poqueira, we find an ice-cold beer and reflect on the magical day we have enjoyed...

"Ooooh, that is divine..."

After filling up our water tanks with the famour Bubion water, we make our way back to Pixieland for yet another fab shower!

Day 12 - Campo Creativo

Now the shower is taking shape, details start to be added, such as a shelf, tidying up the surrounding area.... and Pixie's favourite part: the plants!

This Bali-inspired shower room is now a beautifully welcoming and useful addition which fits in nicely with the very fine adjacent stone “alberca” (water deposit) – and has been built entirely with materials found in Pixie's shed and land!

The only thing that has been purchased are the plants, who will now thrive happily – this is a shower to splash about in!

"I'm a little teapot..."

Also, the used shower water runs through a small cannal to the nearby plants, which are the water-thirsty variety – so everybody wins!

A very enjoyable working creative Saturday culminates with everyone taking a well-earned shower - sorry, no photos of the group shower available ;)

A very satisfied pair of creatives...

Pixie, Ras, neighbour Keith and wwoofers Vicky and Eddie all head off to Etnosur, a festival held a couple of hours away in the town of Alcala la Real.

The party troupe with the protection of the greenheart...

Not feeling up to the hussle-and-bussle of a big urban party, Danny and Ana stay behind to watch over land, cacti, veggies and dogs, and we enjoy a very magical nightime moonlit tour of Pixieland... what a place! It's hard to imagine that when she bought it, Pixie was told she could never make anything of this land. A few short years later, and thanks to her own strength and determination, this place is truly a slice of paradise. Here are some piccies....

Pixie's outdoor living room:

A very fine double-chambered composting toilet:

Lovingly cared-for ancient olive trees are dotted around...

Rainbow living!

How lucky we were to find the Pixie at the bottom of the garden!

Day 11 - Alpujarras Adventure

Following up on the contacts made at the Orgiva weekly Thursday market, we went yesterday afternoon to visit “Huerto Lechuza”, a lovely piece of land within an ancient olive tree orchard.

Ras and Ana sitting on the edge of the trunk of an olive tree that is over TWO THOUSAND years old - and still going although it was chopped!

Ras, a very easy-going, permaculture-inspired young man with an old soul, owns and manages this land, and has filled it with vegetables, flowers, trees... and especially cacti, his passion.

Check out his cacti site for more info!

Ana very much enjoyed carrying out some garden tasks to the sound of Ras's reggae music - Rastafari culture is his other passion, while his space reflects his inner and outer voyages...


Two yurts with wooden floorings hold his room and his office-cum-fruit-drying space. Four of Ras's friends from London were there, at the end of their two-week stay – quite a change from urbanite London life!

We stay over for a lovely group dinner, during which Ras's next-field neighbour, Pixie, invites us to park down in her drive, which we gratefully accept, especially as we can tell from our chat that we seem to have a lot in common with her – and after all she was the one who had picked us out at the market, pointing to the greenhearts we wore!

The view from the bottom of Pixie's garden: Orgiva mountains - wow!

Friday morning begins with trying to get showered, but Pixie is embarrassed to show us the outdoor shower (which all the - very spoilt - London boys have been using during their stay - eek!). Pixie, we discover quickly, has great attention to detail and loves things to be “nice and pretty”. So this shower, made hurriedly and unlovingly by someone who stayed on her land for a bit, breaks the balance of her beautifully sculpted piece of paradise. Also, it just don't work!! Staring at someone else's stagnating dirty shower water, Pixie wishes outloud she could just rip the whole thing out and start again... Danny's “Mr.Fix-It” side is awoken by this cry, and he offers to help her take it down and build another one! So begins a three-day adventure in Pixieland... an experience of creativity, recycling, use of natural materials, enjoyment of the task in hand, team work... a common vision that grows as it becomes a reality in caring, talented hands... Here we offer you some shots of before, during and after...

This has just got to go:

Back to basics, and start afresh:

On a plastic undercover, stones and pebbles from the land are placed to make up a natural shower floor:

Three doors Pixie's mum had saved for her are used as the back wall...
This gives the shower an Alice-in-Wonderland feel!
Maybe through those doors is another dimension...

Ana screwing:

Danny relaxing after a good day's work

Day 10 - Alpujarras

Waking in our fabulous spot, we breakfast and make the plan: aim for Orgiva, where there is a weekly market on Thursdays where we hope to find some interesting info / contacts...



The drive through the Alpujarras is truly breath-taking... The arid land has pockets of green where streams run through or people farm the land. Many many olive and almond trees here, perched impossibly on steep hills. The soil is every colour from cream through yellow, red and brown... and has parts, like veins, that "shimmer" in gold, ochre, silver, blue, pink and purple! Together with the colours of the bushy, resilient plants, a very striking landscape.

Alpujarras is the area that was given to the Moors for them to settle in when they were beaten out of the rest of Spain by the Reyes Católicos. It must have been harsh living! But a magical place...

In Orgiva, we have made contact with a couple of very, very interesting places to visit... on our way there now, we will keep you posted!

Day 9 - Heading South

The morning sky is moody, and as we breakfast we can see a storm out at sea. The wind suddenly changes and it comes inland towards us. Time to test the weatherproofing of the Renault Express! Pepe, the owner of Casita Verde, has done a truly fantastic job on what was a roof like a colander, and not a drop comes inside. Thanks Pepe, and all the wonderful friends who have helped us, allowing us to ride off for the summer!

We explore the north of Cabo de Gata natural park - this is indeed spaghetti western country! When the sun appears we take a dip in the cool waters, marvelling at the sand, which is a mix of gold and coal-black.


We continue South through Murcia and into Almería, deciding to make the most of the cloudy weather to travel, and not stopping off finally to see the Earthship in Murcia. But I must tell you: the particularity of this Earthship is that... they have just obtained planning permission for it! This is huge! It is such a revolutionary way of building, authorities just don't know how to handle it and generally prefer to say NO. Laura, who with hubby Dave are building this Earthship, explains a little on the phone about the process they have gone through, which is applicable to any sustainable, self-sufficient, wacky little construction project you may have in mind... and here are the main tips she gives:

1. get an official (or more!) from the council's building department on your side (slowly does it...)
2. divide the project into bite-size pieces they can handle, until all sides feel comfortable with a larger project
3. a good justification for the project: the reduction in CO2 emissions that Spain has officially committed to + benefits to the environment. Drum that in!
4. be patient. It will take time, probably years.
5. dont' hassle, but follow up and follow through

Laura and Dave's blog is well worth visiting, and they are available to discuss details further with those interested.

We avoid the Almería 'mar de plástico', or sea of plastics made up by the huge greenhouses where a huge chunk of the fruit & veg consumed in Europe is grown in the winter. Most of these greenhouse plastics will only last one season, and will then either be burned (releasing poisonous dioxins) or chucked somewhere.

No photos of this, but we ab-so-lu-te-ly recommend the following film: "We Feed the World". Find the original version (German) with English subtitles here.

It is 96 mins long, and in some moments feels a little slow, but is well worth watching all the way through. The last five minutes really are the punchline, all the more effective if you have seen the whole thing.

Top recommendation from us to you!

We drive into the Alpujarras - breath-taking views! Finding a perfect spot to camp out at, sheltered and with amazing views - a little of it on the photo above, in the forefront our comfy set-up, ready to make our evening meal and sit back and enjoy the moon bathing the wonderful views.

Day 8 - Hurrah, we still have a car!

The mechanic eventually hands over the car – they have spent many man-hours and done a pretty good job, repairing a couple of other things and doing a full oil change. Handing over 750 € is painful, but we are grateful to be able to continue on our way.

We say goodbye to our new-found friends in Sax and get back on the road!

Here we are, leaving Sax with our precious vehicle-cum-home...

We drive gently South, finding the coast at Mojácar, 'the Ibiza of the mainland'. It certainly had enough beach chiringuitos and souvenir shops, as well as big English tourists, to merit the name!

Wishing to stay away from over-run touristic areas, we drive on to find a watch-tower down the coast, which Ana had been to 12 years ago, and remembers as an isolated stone beauty on the beach. What a shock to find a huge luxury resort sprawling down from the nearby hill, still under construction, with the works going on right down almost to the doorstep of the ancient, silent tower!

Not wanting to wake up to 'obreros' and cranes, we continue and enter the Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata. We are also shocked to find absolutely massive hotels being built here, and finally find a little spot by the beach. Sheltered from the very windy night, we go to sleep in our little van to the sound of crashing waves nearby...