In 2018, we swapped London’s drizzle for Spain’s sizzle. Patricia was 3 months pregnant (perfect timing for a big move, said no one ever), and we decided “sustainable living” meant “let’s buy a farm and hope YouTube teaches us plumbing.” We toured Spain like two clueless participants on “A Place In The Sun”. Our checklist for paradise? Green hills, plenty of water, mild climate. Then the Sierra de Aracena Natural Park hit us with a “How YOU doin’?” and we were sold.
Finca Bravo was the first and only farm we saw in the Sierra. No electricity? Check. No plumbing? Check. 100 years of cobwebs? Checkmate. The estate agent called it “a project.” We called it “promising”. Two months later, we owned it (and our family began Googling “intervention for midlife crises”).
Renovation Highlights:
Year 1 Learned Spanish bureaucracy moves slower than a snail taking a siesta. Got planning permits roughly 2 years after we died of old age.
Year 2 Mastered “rustic chic” (see: repurposing barn door as headboard). Opened two eco-apartments in July 2020—just in time for the entire planet to cancel travel.
Year 3 A bit a haze, too much pandemic too little construction.
Year 4 Added two more apartments and our own house, birthed a second child, and adopted enough pets to start a small scale petting zoo.
Current Status:
– 3 cats (staff)
– 1 dog (part-time goat chaser)
– 2 kids (CEOs of chaos)
– 6 chickens (breakfast club)
– 4 apartments (we survived)
– 0 sanity (MIA)
