The walls of our house have a thin outer big containers when a bowser comes to deliver water”.
wall, thick insulation padding and then the
thick inner wall. The windows are set so Do talk to the owners about any aspects of the build you
the sun in the winter can reach the back would like to know more about, or even better, take a trip
wall of the living room and store heat, there and see it all for yourself. About 2.5 km from the village
but in summer, when the sun is higher, and with very little traffi c you can be sure of a relaxing time.
the rays cannot get in (also helped by a
strategically placed pergola). Do visit the web site you will see the beautiful accommodation
The fl oor has been designed with under and rest assured everything is taken care of to ensure that
fl o or heating tubes, all solar powered. The your time there is as relaxing as possible, and if there is
solar panels are on the roof of the main anything you need, you only have to ask.
house, there are 8 of them and they power
our hot water, our electricity, our heating,
pool and house.
The hot water is contained in a seriously
padded container and can stay hot for up to
3 days. The solar system which feeds this
tank has been created by a solar power
genius in the region, Martin Stegmann,
from Albaricoques, near Fernan Perez,
about 30 miles into the National Park of
Cabo de Gata.
Finally, the house was built by a local
builder, Sr Francisco Simon, who had
experience with other eco-houses in the
area. We were absolutely stunned by what
he and his men could do to create the
solar-heated pool on one of the old Arab
terraces on the Finca, and we thought at
some point the big digger would go over
the edge! But they managed to build the
house and environs entirely in the style
of the region, with stark white walls, terra
cotta highly sun-absorbent tiles indoors,
sun-rejecting pizarra (slate) tiles on the
outer terraces and chimneys which remind
you of a vacation in Marrakech!
The waste water goes into a Pozo Negro
with three chambers and completely soaks
away. Water for the lavatories is stored in
2 Aljibes (storage tanks), one next to the
house and one higher up, so if the power
cuts out (which it sometimes does), the
force of gravity still manages to get water
to the house for fl ushing.
The water for the Finca is provided by a
well which gets its water directly from the Sierra Nevada’s.
We had to dig 140 metres deep but our water is clean and
in constant, suffi cient supply. The village of Agua Amarga
(Bitter Water) does not have a good municipal supply
because we are in a volcanically disturbed area. The aquifer
has been shaken by a movement of the tectonic plates and
the sea water infi ltrates the town water, which is brackish
and undrinkable. We found that out when we tried to make
a cup of coffee using tap water in a rental apartment!!! So
we had to fi nd other means of getting potable water. The
well water has a high calcium and magnesium content. We
are in the process of having it tested, but for now we use
bottled mineral water for drinking. The town, meanwhile,
runs dry every so often and the locals have to line up with
International Lifestyle Magazine
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