Casa Lucia, Cozvijar, 20 minutes south of Granada, Andalusia

Cozvijar is a quiet village in the Lecrin Valley south of Granada. The locals are mostly farmers tending their plots of olive trees, orange and lemon trees and grapes. Many households produce their own wine – Mosto – that is available from December onwards. The nearby village of Conchar holds a Mosto Festival each New Years day serving Mosto and barbecued meats and sausages in the village square.
Granada offers Tapas bars, shopping, the Alhambra, the Albaicin, the cave houses of Sacromente, a bustling nightlife and is only 20 minutes via the easily accessible motorway. The same motorway south allows easy access to the coast - the Costa Tropical - through the stunning scenery of the gorge of the Guadalfeo River as well as access to the Alpujarras – the southern facing slopes of the Sierra Nevada range. A car is essential. For summer driving it must have air-conditioning and must have enough power to get you up some very steep inclines if you want to explore the Sierra Nevada.

Casa Lucia - our house in Spain
Casa Lucia is our house in Spain. We find it very hard to come home even after the shortest stay. The village is tranquil and the snails pace of life is catching. The house is very peaceful and relaxing. Before we renovated the house it was a ruin. We have rented villas in France and Spain for many years so we incorporated all the best features of our past experience to ensure that being on holiday was as comfortable and easy as it could be. The shaded external dining area in the patio is close to the kitchen making alfresco dining simple and hassle free. At night the pool and patio lighting create a superb atmosphere for eating out under the starlit sky.
Cozvijar Fiesta – the population of the village swells in the first week of August for the Annual Fiesta. It is impossible to describe the experience of the Fiesta other than to say that anyone staying for Fiesta week has to enjoy partying and needs to have enough stamina to be able to survive with little sleep for 5 days!
In the village there are 2 bread shops (1 does wonderful pastries), 2 supermercados (not supermarkets but sell everything self service shops) that sell all foods including fresh meat, vegetable, cheese, jamon etc, a fish shop, an iron mongers, a pharmacy, a bank (but no cash machine!), a phone box and 2 bars that do wonderful tapas (free with each drink). White vans crawl through the narrow streets blowing their horns to announce the fruit, vegetables, fish or fresh milk from the churn that they have for sale. All of these are 5 minutes walk from the house.
The house is cool in the summer by traditional Moorish air conditioning supplemented by ceiling fans.

What to do in Andalucia
The pool, the patio and the shade area allow those who wish to chill out. For the more energetic hill walking, bird watching, sailing, horse riding, mountain biking, skiing (November till April), paragliding are just some of the outdoor activities available either from the village or within 30-45 minutes. Granada is only 20 minutes away and offers the Alhambra and other fantastic architectural or historic sites. At night Granada buzzes with life and is great to walk through to enjoy the people, the atmosphere and the tapas bars. Part of the enjoyment of holidays is exploring and discovering new things. Every time we stay in Casa Lucia with discover something new in Cozvijar, Granada or elsewhere in Andalucia. Part of the enjoyment of a holiday is stumbling across the unexpected (last summer I found waterfalls and caves full of stalactites). This description is therefore more of a taster than a comprehensive description of all that is available. Explore and be prepared to be amazed and delighted.