El Perello, Catalonia 43519

Lets begin our tour with the main house. From the terrace and sun-room, the Meditteranean coast and the delta stretch away into the horizon. There is an elegant and open plan living area, a kitchen that opens onto a large, lightfilled salon and a conservatory that simply beckons the day inside. There are two bedrooms, an office plus a bespoke bathroom and a long utility and pantry room totalling 120 square meters all told. And then we come to one of those amazing sweat equity features, a fully equipped summer kitchen with outside dining area and barbecue that in turn drops onto a raised wooden terrace with that inviting pool, all created by the owners energy and vision and time. At the rear of the main house, we have another example of ingenuity, a covered parking of 90m2 with a converted trailer incorporated into the structure that functions as a high level workshop. Now one will notice how the lansdscaping facilitates the different spaces flowing gracefully into each other, but there is one particular space that represents the most incredible expression of what sweat equity truly means. There are a series of transport containers that have been adapted to create the most beautiful chalet guest quarters, with two bedrooms, a lounge, independent kitchen and bathroom with its own porsch and internal, shaded dining area for, you have guessed it, al fresco dining on a warm summer evening. And as the finca is conceived as a unified whole, the guest quarters are just the right distance from the main house, not too far away but just as importantly, not too near. Everything feels connected yet there is also a sense of space used wisely. And while the finca is beautifully done, it is not only powered by the imagination. Its also powered by the sun. There are two separate solar systems, one for the chalet guest house and one for the main house. For the guest accommodation, there is a modest but adequate system which has a fan powered heating system. For the main house, there is a powerful array of sun-tracking solar panels that are 40% more efficient than fixed panels, a separate electricity room with a a modern inverter, batteries and a back up generator that is as quiet as a mouse if it needs to come on which, it appears, is not that often. There is a high-tech pellet burner and a convection wood burner for heating in the main house. And then to the water situation. There is a 22, 000 liter water cistern that gathers water from the rain and interestingly, the cistern forms the base of a very useful storage shed. Now the finca is impeccable, the olive trees groomed like a poodle at a dog show, but it is nice to know that it is not gigantic, the perfect size at just 1, 7 hectares, easily manageable that creates some work but not too much work. The other great thing about this property is that it is located in a natural park so there can be no building done or no change effected to the landscape and thats good news. Because this landscape tripping down to the coast and the blue Meditteranean creates a visual poem that repeats itself each and every day and it never grows boring. Now that is something that even sweat equity cant create. And finally finca La Punta is not that far from civilization, just 8 kms from LAmetlla and half that distance to El Perell. Basically a property that you need to see to believe.