For over two hundred years the tiny village of Acebuchal, perched in the foothills of the Taheda mountains, was a waypoint for merchants traveling by mule to Grenada to sell their wares. But in 1949 it’s inhabitants were forced out by Franco, who used it as a base to hunt down guerrillas that opposed the fascist regime and eventually the village fell to ruin. For 60 years it was a ghost town until a former resident revived and renovated the 30 odd homes, started a small restaurant, and it is now a thriving family business with home stays. It was beautiful hike there and Sabrina and Ben treated Jen and me to lunch in the quaint little village (sadly Fraser isn’t able to come with us on any of our hikes as he is blind. He stays at the villa and listens to audio books and works out chess puzzles in his mind). We accompanied our delicious savory dish of wild boar and beef cheeks with bread and olive oil which was, hands down, the best bread I have ever tasted.

We will be leaving this sanctuary for another location in this land of olives and avocados on Sunday. Our stay so far has been full of abundance – lots of hiking, writing on the deck facing sea and mountains, Mediterranean cooking, and laughing with lil Ellie.