Los Josefos

Los Josefos

So, let’s start with where we are – 1,370 miles from London virtually due south. Three days of driving in the super sexy, deeply dependable, beautiful blue Berlingo brought us here. What a motor!

Our village or ‘pueblo’ is called Cariatiz and claims 55 inhabitants (now 57, of course!). Were you so inclined, you could find it on a google map. Then it all gets a bit confusing. The pueblo is made up of several pueblitos – in our case, a group of 4 houses called Los Josefos – don’t even try, Google doesn’t get down to this level of detail. Yet we also seem to be in the pueblito of Las Manas (44 inhabitants). I wonder how the postman copes – maybe he knows everyone by name and to hell with the pueblito!

Los Josefos, it seems, is probably named after the farmer who built the main house. Likewise the other pueblitos, Los Martinez, Los Andreses. Don’t know about Martin or Andres, but our bloke, Farmer Jo, a bit like the water in the barranca, is long gone. Could be he sold out to an eager ‘ingles’ who pitched up here with a fistful of readies and a yen for sun, sierra and sangria. Who knows? Wise man though as I doubt there’s much of a living to be made out of almonds and olives. But they do give captivating texture to the landscape, even now when the almond trees are bare and the olives fruitless, they decorate the horizons with their dark silhouettes – stunning.

There are a few ingleses, some in permanent residence, others part timers. Enough for a weekly gathering ‘down the town’ (Mojacar, of which more soon), a bit of collective euromillions and a chinwag – no prizes for guessing we won’t be joining in. But hey, for the English retiree, looking to live in the sun, eke out the pension and get away from the kids, you could do a lot worse. It’s peaceful, tucked away from the busy coastal strip but close enough if you need the bright lights and property must be dead cheap given how much there is for sale – Se Vende signs abound.

1Comment
  • Hilary Ivory
    Posted at 12:03h, 12 January Reply

    Jalouse, moi? Oh yes I am: it’s howling here, with the roof threatening to lift as I type. What garden plants thrive in spring/summer there (ignoring naturally-occurring scrub, and almond trees)? We Brits might need to know. Pics, too, per favor – it’ll help my fantasy life 🙂

    Divertirse!
    xx

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