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First Thoughts

Maybe it was the fact that we didn't arrive until well after midnight, or it may have been the biting cold wind on the February night and also being unable to see anything. I remember my first thought as being "what on earth am I doing here?" We had arranged to view some caves a few weeks before and were looking forward too, at least for a few days living in a cave.

Matters were made worse by the fact that we had arrived on a Sunday, not that this would have made any difference at midnight but we had to survive on crisps and a few free biscuits until the next morning. We didn't bother lighting the fire either as we were just too tired.

Monday morning after enjoying a nice long lie in (unusual for me in a strange bed) we rose out of bed, spent an age to work out the Spanish kettle and eventually took a peek outside with our coffee. What a view! Things were looking up, the day was cold but very sunny and a clear blue sky, all we had to do now was to meet our agent and ring a Spanish guy we had arranged a private viewing with. The first cave we went to see was in a state of reform (to say the least) my wife Jayne was visibly shocked by the old walls, earth floors and the fact that one room had partially "caved" in. Not to let that worry us off we went to see some more caves although we had decided to up our budget slightly to find a property needing less work!

My time on the internet back in the UK looking at caves turned out to be time well spent as the properties we viewed were beyond our expectations. Neither of us had imagined how large some of the cave rooms could be or how many rooms a cave could have. The scenery also took us by surprise with some of the views being similar and even more stunning than the highlands of Scotland or the Lake District. By the end of day one our minds were pretty much made up - we wanted a cave.

Day two and three saw us view eight more caves in the area around Baza and we were very impressed with the area, the people and the food, we had been to a tapas bar the evening before and found the experience quite pleasant and a big change from England. I enjoyed the evenings indoors with an open fire and a strange sense of security, we could definatly see ourselves getting used to cave life. Sooner than we would have liked the short visit was over and off we went on the two hour drive to Malaga airport armed with photos, leaflets and a note pad full of points we had jotted down.

Eight months later we would be proud owners of a cave, after a second and third visit and many estate agents later we placed our offer on a three bedroom cave with a large garden and fantastic views. Only a holiday home at the moment but in a few years time it will be tapas, open fire and relaxation!

Article written by
Bill Cummings

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